Wizards vs Trail Blazers NBA Handicapping
Maybe John Wall should be in the conversation when we start to talk about voting for MVP in the NBA.
Washington Wizards (8-12) at Portland Trail Blazers (20-20)
Monday, Jan. 21
Rose Garden, Portland
10 p.m. EST
Odds: Portland -6
O/U: 195.5 at Bovada
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Wall’s Wizards are 3-2 since he returned to the lineup after sitting out the first 33 games of the season due to a knee injury.
Washington’s season officially was flushed down the toilet during the first two months of the year, and despite a few surprises (sans-Wall they did have head-scratching wins at Miami and Oklahoma City when the Heat and Thunder weren’t paying much attention), Wiz fans knew early on that their team would again be Lottery-bound.
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The Wizards are finishing up a road trip this week (tonight in Portland, Wednesday at Utah), but Wall’s return has at least given the team a spring in its step. Washington has won three of its last five, building on that OKC victory by beating Atlanta and Orlando at home, and the Nuggets at Denver. Wall has at least made the Wizards a tough out.
Wall’s speed at PG gives the Wizards a more uptempo offense, and his ability to get to the paint creates spacing that gives his teammates more open looks. God knows they need better looks – Washington is dead last in the league in scoring (90.8 ppg). The Wizards have gone over 100 in only nine games this season, but three of those have been in the last six games. [ad-6571516]
With Wall back at the point, Bradley Beal’s rookie year should become a lot simpler. Beal, the Wiz’s top draft choice, was supposed to pair with Wall and give Washington backcourt stability and production for the next decade.
Now coach Randy Wittman can use the final few months of the season to at least see what he has in Beal, who has played well in spurts but is shooting under 40 percent from the floor this season.
Portland, meanwhile, has fallen on hard times. The Blazers have dropped five in a row, including three straight at home – including back-to-back losses to Cleveland and Milwaukee in which forward Niciolas Tatum somehow managed to turn over the ball a total of 13 times.
Not pretty at all.
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There is more than a little pressure on the Trail Blazers to right the ship before things start to get away from them. At .500 they would be on the playoff margins if they were to start tonight.
More important, the Blazers have fallen to 13-7 at home – and teams which can’t protect home-court advantage in a league when good teams tend to dominate don’t often stay in the playoff hunt.
Good battle at the point between Wall and Portland rookie Damian Lillard. BLAZERS 97, WIZARDS 92.
