Washington Wizards (40-33) vs San Antonio Spurs (43-31)
When: Tuesday , March 27, at 7 p.m.
Where: Capital One Arena , Washington D.C. TV: NBCSWA / Radio: 1500 AM
Injury
Wizards: John Wall (Out, Knee)
Spurs: Kawhi Leonard ( Out, Quad)
Notes -
The Wizards will look to end their three-game losing streak tonight as they host the San Antonio Spurs.
The Wizards are playing the Spurs for the second time in seven days after losing the previous game 98-90 last Wednesday.
The Wizards have won two of the last three games against the Spurs at home, giving them series splits in two out of three years.
The Wizards have tallied at least 20 assists in 26 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the league and now ranking as one of the three-longest streaks in team history.
Streaks of 20+ ASTS, 2017-18 Streaks of 20+ ASTS, WAS History
GSW (10/17-1/25) 49 11/28/89-2/16/90 38
WAS (1/25-Present) 26 11/27/90-1/28/91 31
DET (12/26-2/11) 23 1/25/18-Present 26
NOP (10/26-12/6) 21 3/7/90-11/9/90 26
GSW (1/30-3/17) 20 3/1/85-10/29/85 25
Wizards Magic Number: 2
Wizards -
107.0 - points per game
106.0 - points against
46.8 - Field goal %
Spurs -
102.4 - points per game
99.2 - points against
45.8 - field goal %
Keep an eye on:
Lamarcus Aldridge: With Kawhi Leonard being out the majority of the season, San Antonio has looked to all star forward Lamarcus Aldridge to lead the charge, he's more then answered the call. The 12th year forward has been on a terror, averaging 23.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game on 50 percent shooting from the field and 83 percent shooting from line. Aldridge was named Western Conference Player of the Week after averaging 34.8 points (59.6 FG/ 86.7 FT), 9.3 rebounds, 2.3 assist and 2 blocks in 34 minutes for games played March 19-25. In the Spurs win over Washington last Wednesday, Aldridge posted 27 points and 9 rebounds. He's deadly on the block, off pick & roll, in the high post and can take bigs off the bounce to score and make a play. Washington's defensive woes will have to end if they are to win this game, if not, Aldridge will lead San Antonio to their 44th victory of the season.
Spurs Defense/ Ball Control: Spurs are among the best defensive units in the NBA, an astonishing feat considering the reigning defensive player of the year Kawhi Leonard has been sidelined for most of the season. San Antonio is second in the NBA in defensive rating 104.3, fourth in blocks at 5.6 and are the best at defending without fouling (17.1 fouls a game), and only allowing teams to shoot 18.6 free throws a game. Add in that San Antonio is fifth in the NBA in turnovers at 13.4 and you see why they have been among the best in the NBA for over two decades. They don't beat themselves and force teams to execute consistently the entire game. If Washington executes on both ends like they're capable, they will have a fighting chance, if the recent play we've seen during this three game slide continues, the slide will be at four games and on the brink of falling out of the playoff race.
