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Coming off a loss to Orlando on Saturday night, the Wizards (0-2) take on the Magic (2-0) Sunday at 7:00 P.M. at Capital One Arena in the second game the teams’ back-to-back series. For Washington, it’s the second game of a four-game homestand.
Russell Westbrook (rest), who has tallied triple-doubles in each of his first two games with the Wizards, will not play Sunday. Wizards head coach Scott Brooks announced pregame that Raul Neto would start in his place.
GAME INFO
Capital One Arena | 7:00 P.M. | NBCSW | 1500 AM
PROBABLE STARTERS
Wizards: G – Raul Neto, G – Bradley Beal, F – Isaac Bonga, F – Deni Avdija, C – Thomas Bryant
Magic: G – Markelle Fultz, G – Evan Fournier, F – Dwayne Bacon, F – Aaron Gordon, C – Nikola Vucevic
INJURY REPORT
Wizards: Rui Hachimura (Bilateral Eye; Bi-lateral epidemic keratoconjunctivitis – out), Russell Westbrook (rest – out)
Magic: Al-Farouq Aminu (right knee injury recovery – out), James Ennis III (right calf/hamstring strain – out), Jonathan Isaac (left knee injury recovery – out)
STORYLINES
Wizards look to snap losing streak to Orlando
Since 2013-14, the Wizards have had the Magic’s number, going 20-8 against Orlando heading into this season. But the Magic have turned the tide in the series in the last year. Coming off Sunday’s loss, the Wizards have now dropped five straight to the Magic, dating back to their first matchup of the 2019-20 season.
“I told the guys when we walked in the locker room that Orlando has our number,” Bradley Beal said postgame. “Tomorrow, whatever the hell it takes, we have to win. Whatever that means, whatever it looks like, we have to win tomorrow. That’s our mindset. We’ve got to get rest tonight, come back and get ready for tomorrow because Orlando is a team that doesn’t stop…We can’t do it individually, we have to do it together and we’ve got less than 24 (hours) to do it.”
In the five straight losses to the Magic, the Wizards have brought it on the offensive end. They’ve scored 120-plus points in three of the five games. The common refrain out of the locker room Saturday night was a need to improve defensive communication heading into Sunday’s matchup.
Wizards emphasize communication on the defensive end
While the Magic don’t have a reputation as one of the league’s offensive juggernauts, they have enough scoring threat at every level and, as Wizards head coach Scott Brooks put it, are “veteran savvy” enough to make you pay for your mistakes. Whether they’re combatting Nikola Vucevic’s crafty touch in the paint or Terrence Ross creating the little bit of space he needs to get a shot off, the Wizards know they need to be on the same page defensively when taking on a team like Orlando.
After Saturday’s loss, Westbrook said most of the team’s issues on the defensive end were rooted in communication and familiarity, not effort – and noted that he believes the issues are all fixable in time.
“(Our main problem was) miscommunication,” Westbrook said. “A lot of different guys are getting used to playing a different position that they’re not used to playing obviously with Rui (Hachimura) being out. We have to figure out different things and lineups that guys are not used to playing in, just some communication aspects that will get better as the season goes along. It’s something that can be fixed, which is a good thing.”
Westbrook (rest) to sit
Coming off back-to-back triple-doubles to start his Wizards career, Westbrook has been exactly what Wizards fans had expected coming into the season: a physical force that plays with relentless effort on both ends and packs box scores like no other play of his generation. Throughout the preseason, Brooks said the team would do what it could to keep the veteran point guard fresh throughout the regular season, including possibly resting Westbrook during the seconds games of back-to-backs.
The team announced Sunday that Westbrook would do just that as Washington faced its first back-to-back of the season. With Westbrook out, Ish Smith and Raul Neto will take on most of the responsibility at point guard. Through two games, Smith ranks third on the team with six assists while Neto has been an efficient shooter, hitting 4-5 (.800) from the field and 3-3 (1.000) from deep.