Hawks

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The Wizards return home to host the Atlanta Hawks.

Capital One Arena | 7:00 p.m. | NBCSW | 1500 AM

Wizards (42-37): G - Satoransky, G - Beal, F - Porter Jr., F - Morris, C - Gortat 

Hawks (22-57): G - Taylor, G – Lee, F - Prince, F - Collins, C - Dedmon

With just three games left, the playoff scenarios are starting to shrink, although the Wizards won't likely know their official opponent until either the last day or second to last day of the regular season.

After last night's loss in Cleveland, the Wizards fell to a game back of Miami for the six seed, but because the Bucks also lost, they remain as the seven seed because they hold the tiebreaker over Milwaukee.  If the Wizards finish the season as the seven seed, they'll open the playoffs in the same place they ended last year; Boston.  They could still move up to six, although that's looking more unlikely now because Miami also holds the tiebreaker, and they could still slip back to eight if the Bucks finish with a better record in these final three games.

The Wizards will host the Hawks tonight and then play the Celtics and Magic next week.  The Bucks play in New York on Saturday and then host the Magic on Monday before wrapping up their regular season in Philly on Wednesday.  The Heat play in New York tonight before finishing their season with home games against the Thunder and Raptors.

The Wizards have not officially ruled out John Wall for tonight's game, although Scott Brooks said after last night's game that he would probably hold Wall out on the second game of a back-to-back.  Wall said he wanted to play in this one, but the decision will likely be made by the medical staff as they look to make sure Wall is as close to 100 percent for the playoffs.

The Hawks will use a number of players tonight that the average NBA fan probably doesn't know much about, but sometimes those are the games that can cause problems for playoff teams as they overlook these kind of games.   The Wizards will be on the second end of a back-to-back and are coming off a long road trip, a combination that doesn't always end pretty for the home team. The Hawks have lost seven of eight and sit in last place in the East and have the third worst record in the league, which at this time of year equates to better odds of landing a top three pick in this year's draft.  While the Hawks organization may be looking ahead to the draft, the young players who will play tonight will be trying to prove they belong in the league and the Wizards will have to be ready for the challenge.

Up next, the Wizards host the Celtics next Tuesday in D.C. (8:00 p.m.).

wizards-back-at-home-for-friday-night-game-with-hawks

Wizards back at home for Friday night game with Hawks

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The Wizards conclude their longest road trip of the season tonight in Atlanta.

Philips Arena | 7:30 p.m. | NBCSW | 1500 AM

Wizards (26-22): G - Satoransky, G - Beal, F - Porter Jr., F - Morris, C - Gortat 

Hawks (14-34): G - Schroder, G - Bazemore, F - Prince, F - Ilyasova, C - Plumlee

Wizards: John Wall (Knee - Out), Sheldon Mac (Achilles - Out)

Hawks: DeAndre' Bembry (Adductor Strain - Out)

At Saturday's shootaround,  Scott Brooks revealed that John Wall will miss tonight's game with a sore left knee and will be day-to-day.  It's likely that Tomas Satoransky will get the start in Wall's place and Tim Frazier could see time at the PG spot.   Wall missed 10 games earlier this season with a knee injury, but has played in every game since December 12th.

Tonight's game will conclude the Wizards longest trip of the season, one that began 11 days ago in Charlotte.  It hasn't been a successful trip by any measure, as the team has gone 1-3, with their lone win coming last Friday in Detroit.  While the Wizards will be a favorite tonight against a Hawks team 20 games under .500, they'll need to bring intensity and effort right from the start to avoid any kind of letdown.   The Wiz got the offense going in the second half of Thursday's game in Oklahoma City and will look to carry that over to tonight's game in Atlanta.

The Hawks tied the season series at 1-1 when they beat the Wizards, 113-99, last month in Atlanta.  Dennis Schroder led the Hawks with 21 points and Ersan Ilyasova added 20 in the win.  Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 20 points.  The Hawks are 3-2 at home over their last five home games, with wins over the Jazz, Pelicans, and Spurs.

Bradley Beal poured in 41 points in Thursday night's game and made six 3-pointers, which gave him 782 for his career, the most ever by a player before their 25th birthday.  It was his 3rd game this season scoring over 40 points, tied for the second most in the league this year.  He was just named an All-Star for the first time in his career on Tuesday and he'll look to continue his hot shooting tonight in Atlanta.

Up next, the Wizards return home and host the Thunder on Tuesday night. (7:00 p.m.)

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Wizards close out trip tonight in Atlanta

The Wizards welcome the Hawks to DC for their first meeting since last year's playoff series.

Capital One Arena | 7:00 p.m. | NBCSW | 1500 AM | Buy Tickets

Wizards (6-5): G - Wall, G - Beal, F - Porter Jr., F - Morris, C - Gortat 

Hawks (2-10): G - Schroder, G - Bazemore, F - Prince, F - Babbitt, C - Dedmon

Hawks: Mike Muscala (Ankle - Doubtful), Deandre Bembry (Wrist - Out), Ersan Ilyasova (Knee - Out), Miles Plumlee (Quad - Out)

Believe it or not, the Wizards have not won consecutive games since winning their first three to begin the year. But, after a comfortable win over the Lakers on Thursday, they'll have a good chance to string together back to back wins with the 2-10 Hawks in town tonight.  A big word being thrown around this Wizards team right now is consistency, as that's something they have been lacking through the first couple of weeks of the 2017-18 season.  They've played well at times, but they've had too many lapses, especially on the defensive end which is why they are just 6-5 through the first 11 games.  In two of their last three games, they've held their opponent to under 100 points, and wound up with wins in both games. They are now 3-0 this season when holding teams under 100 points and 46-8 over the last three seasons when they accomplish this feat.  The Hawks played last night in Detroit and enter tonight's game shorthanded, so this will be another good chance for a healthy Wizards squad to take advantage of a struggling team in DC.

Markieff Morris missed the first seven games of the season due to sports hernia surgery in September, but he now has four games under his belt and is coming off by far his best outing of the season, where he had 16 points on 6/7 shooting in 16 minutes against the Lakers on Thursday.  Morris may have been the team's fourth leading scorer on Thursday, as John Wall, Bradley Beal, and Otto Porter all had 20+ points, but it can't be overstated how important Morris' role is on this team and seeing him look like his 2016-17 self again was very encouraging.

The Hawks made some large scale changes in the offseason and this will be a much different looking team than the one the Wizards played in the playoffs last season.  The Hawks traded starting center Dwight Howard to Charlotte and lost Paul Millsap, Tim Hardaway Jr., Thabo Sefolosha, and Mike Scott to free agency.

They also have a load of injuries in their frontcourt, as they'll be without Mike Muscala, Deandre' Bembry, Ersan Ilyasova, and Miles Plumlee tonight, leaving them very thin on the front line.  That will leave them with newly acquired center Dewayne Dedmon, rookie John Collins, Luke Babbitt, and Taurean Prince as the healthy bodies available to play minutes at the forward and center spots.

While they don't have the same talent they had a year ago, this is a hungry Hawks team, and one that recently beat the Cavs and played the red hot Celtics and Pistons down to the wire.  The Wizards are much more familiar with their backcourt of Dennis Schroder and Kent Bazemore and those will be two of the key players to slow down in order to secure another victory tonight.

The Wizards' homestand wraps up on Monday when they host the Sacramento Kings. (7:00 p.m.)

Hawks

Wizards back at home for Friday night game with Hawks

Wizards close out trip tonight in Atlanta

Wizards and Hawks meet for first time since postseason series