Wizards 1-4 vs Pistons 3-4
When: Monday, November 4th, at 7 p.m.
Where: Capital One Arena in Washington D.C.
TV: NBCSWA, Fox Sports Detroit / Radio: 1500 AM, 950 AM, TuneIn
Injury
Wizards: John Wall (Out for the season/ Left Torn Achilles), Jordan McRae (Doubtful/ Finger), CJ Miles (Questionable/Foot), Ian Mahinmi (Out/ Strained Right Achilles)
Pistons: Tim Frazier (Day to Day/ Right Shoulder Sprain), Blake Griffin (Doubtful/ Hamstring), Reggie Jackson (Out/ Lower Back Stress Reaction), Derrick Rose (Day to Day/Hamstring)
Wizards -
117.2 - points per game
121.4 - points against
46.1 - Field goal %
Pistons -
108.3 - points per game
112.0 - points against
47.4 - field goal %
Notes – Washington is on a three game losing streak and have surrendered 414 points in that span
Keep an eye on:
Rebounding: is a must to beat Detroit. Pistons center Andre Drummond leads the NBA with 18.7 rebounds per game, which includes nearly FIVE offensive rebounds per game. No other Piston averages more than four. Washington will have to throw multiple bodies at Drummond to keep him off the boards which will open up rebounding opportunities for Wizards bigs, which outside Thomas Bryant, have been fairly ineffective rebounding thus far this season. Washington ranks dead last in the NBA in rebounding at 42.8 per game. Matter of fact, after Bryant, the next three leading rebounders for Washington are Rui Hachimura (6), Jordan McRae (5) and Brad Beal (4.6). All wing based players. Wizards bigs Moritz Wagner, Isaac Bonga and Davis Bertans have to give Bryant help on the glass or a repeat of what we saw from Washington, being outrebounded 62-48, in a loss to the Timberwolves is highly possible.
Energy & Effort Defensively: shouldn’t have to be demanded by Scott Brooks at all, yet, it was in rare supply in an ugly loss to Minnesota who came in without all-star center Karl Anthony-Towns. The Wolves shot 54 percent from the field and 43 percent from deep. They felt no resistance at all as six players finished with 14 or more points in the win over Washington. Now the Pistons come to town, surprisingly, one of the more efficient shooting teams in the NBA currently. Detroit ranks 4th in field goal percentage (47.7), 10th in three point percentage (36.8) and 14th in free throw percentage (75.7) thanks in large part to the inside dominance of Drummond (61% FG) and sharp shooting Luke Kennard who leads the Pistons knocking down 43 percent from three point range. Langston Galloway (40%) and Tony Snell (38%) are also getting it done from deep, while Derrick Rose has looked unstoppable at times this season, averaging 20.8 points and a team high 6.3 assist on a ridiculous 56 percent shooting clip from the field. It’s about pride and with Detroit coming in with a roster full of players who can do damage in various ways, if Washington don’t take it personal defensively and look to get stops consistently, 1-5 is pretty much guaranteed, no matter how well they shoot the ball.
