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In the second game of a road back-to-back, the Wizards will take on the Pelicans on Wednesday night at 9:00 P.M. Washington is looking to rebound from a Tuesday night loss in Houston while New Orleans had their last game postponed in accordance with the NBA’s health and safety protocols and has not played since Saturday. The game is Washington’s final outing of a three-game road trip.
Prior to the game, Wizards head coach Scott Brooks announced that Russell Westbrook (rest) will not play and will be replaced in the starting lineup with Raul Neto. Jordan Bell, who signed with the Wizards last weekend, will make his first start of the season.
GAME INFO
Smoothie King Center | 9:00 P.M. | NBCSW | 1500 AM
PROBABLE STARTERS
Wizards: G – Raul Neto, G – Bradley Beal, F – Isaac Bonga, F – Jordan Bell, C – Robin Lopez
Pelicans: G – Lonzo Ball, G – Eric Bledsoe, F – Brandon Ingram, F – Zion Williamson, C – Steven Adams
INJURY REPORT
Wizards: Deni Avdija (health and safety protocols – out), Davis Bertans (health and safety protocols – out), Troy Brown Jr. (health and safety protocols – out), Thomas Bryant (left ACL injury – out), Rui Hachimura (health and safety protocols – out), Raul Neto (left groin tightness – available), Ish Smith (health and safety protocols – out), Moe Wagner (health and safety protocols – out), Russell Westbrook (rest – out)
Pelicans: N/A
STORYLINES
Wizards focus on finishing games
The Wizards have every excuse necessary baked into the circumstances in which they are currently playing. Coming off a 13-day, mid-season hiatus, the team immediately embarked on a three-game road trip while missing nearly half their normal rotation due to health and safety protocols. But the team has declined to embrace those excuses, stressing that all they can do is go out and fight on a nightly basis. In each of the first two games of the trip, the Wizards competed in quarters 1-3. But as the game wore on and progressed into the fourth quarter, the challenges of playing through fatigue and a shallow bench became more obvious. Against the Spurs, the Wizards trailed by just five with 5:40 to go in the game and went on to lose by 20. Against the Rockets, the Wizards led by one with 1:19 left in the third quarter and went on to lose by 19.
“We’ve got to figure it out and we will,” Wizards head coach Scott Brooks said after the loss in Houston. “We’ve got some good players. Guys are playing minutes that might not be used to playing close-out minutes. We’ll get better. I still believe in our guys’ ability to close games. We haven’t closed many games out, but we’re right there. We’re battling.”
Lopez excelling in elevated role
Robin Lopez has been a source of stability for the Wizards when they have needed it most. Since Thomas Bryant went down with an ACL injury in the opening minutes of Washington’s January 9 game against Miami, Lopez has been efficient and effective on both ends of the court. In the last four games, he is averaging 25.3 minutes per game, shooting 75.0% from the field, and has scored 10-plus points three times. In the last two games, with the team significantly shorthanded, Lopez has upped his game as a facilitator, recording five and three assists against the Spurs and Rockets, respectively. Lopez was averaging 0.4 assists per game in his prior 10 outings. The Wizards have not asked the veteran center to carry too heavy of a workload, but he has answered when called upon.
“He has great footwork,” Brooks said. “He has great hands. He is very deliberate and patient on his moves – and he’s big. He is a wide body and a good target to throw to. He has good hands and he finishes around the rim…sometimes it looks like he’s going to get three seconds in the key, but his timing is impeccable. His footwork is really good.”
Lopez will play an important role Wednesday night against New Orleans as Washington looks to control the paint against the Pelicans frontcourt. Zion Williamson (6’7”, 284 lbs.) and Steven Adams (6’11”, 265 lbs.) are perhaps the league’s most physically imposing forward-center duo, combining to shoot 58.9% from the field and grabbing 17.0 rebounds per game.
Wizards take on Williamson for the first time
Last season, both of Washington’s games against New Orleans were scheduled to take place in April, but the postponement of the season knocked them both off the calendar. The teams met for a seeding game in the Orlando bubble, but then-rookie Zion Williamson was inactive, delaying the Wizards’ first-ever meeting with one of the game’s brightest young stars. He’s a bruising force that rose to prominence with high school highlight tapes packed with jaw-dropping dunks and blocks. That continued in his one season at Duke. But in the 38 games he’s played in his NBA career, the most striking element of his game is his overwhelming strength. Williamson bullies veteran big men in the paint, jumps through contact and puts back offensive rebounds with ease. In his second season in the league, Williamson leads the Pelicans with 23.4 points per game. In the Pelicans’ last outing, he shot just 6-16 (.375) from the field, but still finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds. In the three previous games, Williamson averaged 30.0 points per game, shooting 75.0% on 16.0 field goal attempts per game.