Less than 24 hours after a tough loss in Cleveland, the Washington Wizards (6-28) are back in D.C. ready to host the New York Knicks (20-15). Here's everything you need to know.
WHERE: Capital One Arena (Washington, D.C.)
WHEN: 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: Monumental Sports Network
RADIO: Team 980 & The Wizards App
INJURY REPORT:
WIZARDS:
TBD
KNICKS:
TBD
FIGHTING THROUGH FATIGUE
The NBA schedule is always grueling and Saturday night's showdown between the Knicks and Wizards in D.C. is a good example of that.
The Wizards are coming off a four-day trip to Cleveland where they played the Cavaliers twice (including Friday night) and are now hosting a a tough-as-nails Knicks team less than 24 hours later.
As for the Knicks, they were in Philadelphia on Friday night to square up with Joel Embiid and the Sixers. Now, they head to the Nation's Capital for their second road game in as many days.
With both teams on their second legs of respective back-to-backs, this game may come down to a war of attrition. Whichever team can dig deeper, stay focused on the details, and execute the game plan will have a better chance of coming out on top.
THE NEW-LOOK KNICKS
The Knicks recently made the biggest trade of the young season, parting ways with RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley and acquiring versatile swingman OG Anunoby. This will be the Wizards' first meeting with the new-look Knicks and just Anunoby's fourth game donning the orange and blue.
The Wizards are well aware of the threat Anunoby poses when he's on the court. On December 27 when the Raptors came to town, Anunoby dropped a game-high 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field and 3-of-7 shooting from deep. His strength, physicality, and ability to stretch the floor make him a tough guy to neutralize.
With Jalen Brunson now flanked by Julius Randle and Anunoby, it'll be fascinating to see how the Wizards game-plan for this new version of the Knicks.
DENI AVDIJA'S FINDING HIS RHYTHM
Deni Avdija's offensive growth has been one of the highlights of the season thus far for Washington. He's improved every aspect of his offensive game, including his deep shooting, pick-and-roll manipulation, and finishing at the rim. He highlighted these newly improved areas in the last two games of December, averaging 19 points on 51.9% shooting from the field and 45.5% shooting from deep to go along with 12.5 rebounds, four assists, and only two turnovers.
Despite having a career season, on Wednesday against Cleveland (his first game since the final two games of December), Avdija struggled a bit offensively. He was making the right plays and getting his teammates involved, but he couldn't find the bottom of the net. He scored only seven points on 3-of-11 shooting from the field.
But on Friday, in a rematch with Cleveland, Avdija bounced back in a promising way. He was aggressive from the jump, scoring from all three levels of the floor, and playing with controlled aggression. He finished the game with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field while adding five rebounds, four assists, two steals, and one block.
Keep an eye on how Avdija is attacking with the ball in his hands on Saturday night. His offensive play will be key to the flow of the game.