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On Saturday night in the District, the Wizards (9-21) will look for their second win over the Knicks (8-24) in the last five days. Last Monday, Washington topped New York 121-115 at Madison Square Garden thanks to a 30-point performance from Bradley Beal and a career night from Troy Brown Jr. The Wizards are looking to bounce back from a cold shooting performance in a loss to Detroit on Thursday night while the Knicks are coming off a win over the crosstown Brooklyn Nets.
The Wizards will be facing the Knicks without Bradley Beal, who left Thursday’s game against Detroit midway through the third quarter due to lower right leg soreness.
Game Info
Capital One Arena | 8:00 P.M. | NBCSW | 1500 AM
Probable Starters
Wizards: G – Isaiah Thomas, G – Gary Payton II, F – Troy Brown Jr., F – Johnathan Williams, C – Ian Mahinmi
Knicks: G – Elfrid Payton, G – RJ Barrett, F – Marcus Morris Sr., F – Julius Randle, C – Taj Gibson
Injury Report
Wizards: Bradley Beal (lower right leg soreness – out), Davis Bertans (right quad strain – out), Thomas Bryant (right foot stress reaction – out), Rui Hachimura (groin injury – out), C.J. Miles (left wrist surgery – out), Moritz Wagner (left ankle sprain – out), John Wall (left Achilles rehab – out)
Knicks: Reggie Bullock (neck, cervical disc herniation – out), Wayne Ellington (left Achilles soreness – questionable), Mitchell Robinson (left greater toe sprain – questionable), Dennis Smith Jr. (left oblique strain – out)
Storylines
McRae’s return a boost for Washington
Jordan McRae made his return to the Wizards’ lineup on Thursday night against Detroit, scoring 15 points on 5-10 (.500) shooting in 15 minutes of action. McRae was a bright spot in an otherwise sub-par performance for the Wizards, notching his second-highest point total of the season. McRae has been in and out of the lineup all season, having missed a stretch of six games prior to this most recent stint out of action. In his 14 games played this season, he is averaging 9.4 points on 47.5% from the field with an effective field goal percentage of 54.5%.
With the Wizards short a number of frontcourt players, the team has been forced to go small far more often than expected over the last couple weeks. Against the Knicks on Monday, neither of Washington’s active centers – Ian Mahinmi or Anzejs Pasecniks – hit the 30-minute mark while Bradley Beal, Troy Brown Jr. and Gary Payton II played more than 32 minutes. Washington now has a bit more flexibility on the wing with McRae back in the lineup. With Beal, McRae, a rejuvenated Troy Brown Jr. coming off the bench and Gary Payton II making life difficult for opposing offenses, the Wizards are able to put out a perimeter rotation that can hold its own until Davis Bertans, Thomas Bryant, Rui Hachimura and Moritz Wagner return to balance out the lineup.
Quick turnaround between Wizards and Knicks
Just five days since their last meeting, not much has changed for the Wizards and Knicks. Gary Payton II and Anzejs Pasecniks, who each put forth solid showings against New York on Monday, maintained their play against Detroit Thursday night. Troy Brown Jr., again seeing a larger share of ball-handling duties against the Pistons, couldn’t match his career-best performance against the Knicks, but made his presence known in multiple facets of the Wizards’ offense. The Wizards’ lineup added from flexibility with the return of Jordan McRae, but will need to find a solution for Julius Randle, who scored 35 points, including four 3-pointers and nine free throws, against Washington on Monday.
Knicks coming off impressive defensive performance, win over Nets
Entering New York’s Thursday night matchup with the Nets, the Knicks had lost three straight and 14 of their last 17 games. However, they left with a much-needed win, thanks to another 30-point performance from Julius Randle an outstanding defensive effort as a team. Brooklyn shot 21-78 (.269) from the field and 13-50 (.260) from 3-point range. Per Elias Sports Bureau, the Nets' eight two-point field goals on Thursday were the fewest by a team in a game since Nov. 22, 1950. How much of that should be credited to the Knicks’ defense or to cold shooting by the Nets is debatable, but it was key to earning the victory as the New York offense managed only 94 points of its own. Only five players total scored in double figures in the game, led by Randle’s 33 points. Spencer Dinwiddie was the only Nets player to crack double-digit scoring. The Knicks offense is likely to fare better Saturday night against Washington’s league-worst defense, but will have to produce more on the offensive end to keep up with the Wizards’ scoring.