Wizards (23-18) vs Magic (12-30)
When: Friday, January 12th at 7 p.m. Where: Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. TV: NBC Sports Washington / Radio: 1500 AM
Injury
Wizards: Sheldon Mac (Out, Achilles), Chris McCullough (G-League assignment )
Magic: Nikola Vucevic (Out, Hand), Terrance Ross ( Out, Knee), Jonathan Isaacs (Out, Ankle)
Notes -
Bradley Beal tallied his eighth-straight game with at least 20 points, tied for the second-longest streak of his career.
Beal consecutive games with 20+ points
2/24-3/17/17 13
12/25-1/10/18 8
12/8-12/21/16 8
Wizards are 12-11 against teams with losing records this season.
Orlando Magic have lost six in a row and 26 of 30 since November 10th.
Wizards -
106.4 - points per game
104.1 - points against
46.2 - Field goal %
Magic -
104.9 - points per game
110.8 - points against
45.5 - field goal %
Keep an eye on:
Return of Aaron Gordon: The explosive forward returned from injury averaging 24.8 points over his first five game before cooling off in the Magics loss to the Bucks with 11 points. He will be motivated to right the ship against Washington. The 6'9 high flying forward has improved his all around game this season, leading the Magic in scoring at 18.9 points on 47 percent shooting from the field and 37 percent shooting from deep, add in his near 8 rebounds and 2 steals a game and you have an efficient two way threat to deal with. Washington blew out the Magic in their first meeting on December 23rd, however, Gordon was sidelined with injury. The Wizards will have to pay a special attention to Gordon due to his versatility, he can play the 3,4 and at times 5 depending on the opposing line-up.
Elfrid Payton: Yes Washington had their way with Orlando in their first meeting, yet, one player who did show up in a big way was point guard Elfrid Payton (Pictured above defending John Wall). Payton torched the Wizards for a career high 30 points on 11 of 16 shooting from the field and 8 of 8 shooting from the line while also dishing out 10 assist, grabbing 5 rebounds and disrupting things for 4 steals in the loss. Payton relentlessly attacked the basket and no one could keep him out of the paint or stop him from finishing once he got to the basket. That can't happen. A healthier Wall this go around should keep Payton in check.
