8:00 PM EST, ESPN – Line: Wizards -1.5, Over/Under: 211.5
Finally healthy, Embiid has been stellar this year, leading the Sixers on a 7-Game Winning Streak, their longest since 2009.
A pair of teams looking to shatter the monopoly in the Eastern Conference face off tonight in the Nation’s Capital, as the Washington Wizards play host to the Philadelphia 76ers from Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. Don’t look now, folks, but the 76ers (32-25, 7th in Eastern Conference) are making a charge up the standings in the East, winning a season-high seven consecutive games. After years of Trusting the Process, the Sixers appear to officially be done with rebuilding, as their cadre of young stars look to be developing ahead of schedule. At one point, Brett Brown’s charges sat outside the Playoff Picture at a meandering 14-18, but since that point have gone 17-7, bullying their way into the conversation, with plenty of time remaining to climb even higher. Their latest victory was a 116-105 affair over the struggling Orlando Magic, whom they led by as many as Twenty-Two Points. The hosts had their way on the offensive end, shooting a blistering 51.9% from the Field, despite 9-of-27 from Three (33.3%), while dishing out Thirty-One Assists in comparison to Fourteen Turnovers. Furthermore, they owned Orlando on the glass, outrebounding them 45-33, while owning quite an advantage from the Charity Stripe, where they knocked down 23-of-27 Attempts, or in other words seven more than the visiting side. Six different players finished the night in double-figures, led by Joel Embiid (23.8 PTS, 49.0% FG, 11.2 REB, 3.2 AST, 0.7 STL, 1.9 BLK, 23.5 PER), who continues his rise to the league’s elite big men, scoring Twenty-Eight Points on 10-of-17 Shooting from the Field (58.8%), along with Fourteen Rebounds, and Assist and a Block. This continues to be a team on the rise, folks, for the last time that Philadelphia won seven straight contests was back in January of 2009, and have now won ten consecutive games at home, their longest run since 2002. But getting back to Embiid, the 23-Year Old has benefitted immensely from simply being healthy, even though Brown and his Staff have taken plenty of precautions in monitoring the young fella’s minutes. After essentially missing his first two seasons in the league due to injury, the Seven-Footer Has started Forty-Five Games thus far, while logging 31.4 Minutes per Game, giving plenty of credence as to just how good this kid can really be (provided he can stay healthy, of course). Then again, just appears to be the 76ers way, for practically the same thing happened with last year’s No. One Overall Pick, Ben Simmons (16.7 PTS, 53.2% FG, 7.8 REB, 7.4 AST, 1.9 STL, 0.9 BLK, 19.0 PER), who a year after missing his entire Rookie Season, has been as dynamic a player in the league this term. The 6-10, 230 lb. Sophomore has been a proverbial Point-Forward for this side, playing literally every position on the court, while managing to make an impact without even bothering much from beyond the Arc; literally, this kid hasn’t made a Three-Pointer all season, making precisely Zero out of Ten Attempts. Size, length, and athleticism have defined this group thus far, particularly on the defensive end, where they’ve been one of the best teams in the NBA, ranking Second Overall in both Points Allowed (105.7 P/G) and Opponents’ Field Goal Percentage (43.5%), while leading the league in Three-Point Field Goal Defense (33.6%) and Assists Allowed (20.9 A/G). Furthermore, few teams have been as dominant on the boards, outrebounding the opposition by a decisive margin of 6.9 Rebounds. With that said, youthful inexperience have certainly played a part as well, particularly in how they’ve taken care of the basketball (or lack there of); no team has committed more Turnovers this season than Philadelphia, turning it over a dismal 17.3 times per outing (30th Overall), while also bailing their counterparts out a few too many times, committing an average of 22.7 Personal Fouls (27th Overall), leading to 26.1 Free-Throw Attempts, third-most in the league. Tonight’s meeting with the Wizards will mark the fourth encounter with the Wizards, whom after falling short against in the Season Opener (120-115), have beaten twice, including a 115-102 victory back on February 6th at Wells Fargo Center. That affair was over early, as the hosts jumped all over Washington early, outscoring them 37-20 in the First Quarter, while shooting a scorching 54.9% from the Field, including 14-of-28 from Downtown (50.0%), with the aforementioned Embiid totaling Twenty-Seven Points on 10-of-21 Shooting (47.6%), Thirteen Rebounds, Three Assists, and Three Blocks.
Beal has helped carry the Wizards in the absence of Wall, assuming many of teammate’s playmaking duties, while becoming a far more well-rounded player in the process.
Meanwhile, the Wizards (34-25, 4th in Eastern Conference), for all intents and purposes, continue to perplex the masses. Inconsistent would probably be the most appropriate word to describe this team, with injuries being the primary culprit for their maddening ways. It never helps to go without a perennial All-Star Point Guard like John Wall (19.4 PTS, 41.7% FG, 35.8% 3FG, 3.6 REB, 9.3 AST, 1.3 STL, 1.1 BLK, 19.2 PER) for over twenty games, but that has been the reality this season, with the electrifying Floor General sidelined after undergoing surgery to his left knee. The initial diagnosis called for a six-to-eight week rehab, though given that Washington recently just signed journeyman Point Guard Ramon Sessions (who previously played for them from 2015 to 2016) to a 10-Day Contract could mean that Scott Brooks and his Staff are expecting to be without the 27-Year Old for possibly even longer than that. With that said, credit goes to Brooks for finding a way to keep his charges from crumbling in the absence of Wall, for they have won eight out of their last eleven outings since his injury. Delegating playmaking duties has been key for this side, with the sharpshooting Bradley Beal (23.7 PTS, 46.2% FG, 37.2% 3FG, 4.5 REB, 4.3 AST, 1.2 STL, 0.5 BLK, 19.6 PER) and Sophomore Point Guard Tomas Satoransky (6.4 PTS, 52.6% FG, 47.0% 3FG, 2.4 REB, 3.2 AST, 0.7 STL, 16.3 PER) filling the void in admirable fashion. Before we get into his Czech teammate, Beal has been absolutely fantastic this season, becoming a much more complete player with more responsibilities heaped on his young shoulders. Long regarded as one of the league’s deadliest marksman, he’s done a tremendous job of elevating the other parts of his game, averaging career-highs in Rebounds (4.5) Assists (4.3), Steals (1.2), and Blocks (0.5), all the while helping to supplement the playmaking role left behind by his Backcourt Partner. Furthermore, in the month of February alone, he’s logged more minutes than at any point of the campaign, while handing out 6.6 Assists per Game in this span. So what’s been behind this big turnaround for Beal, you ask? Health, plain and simple. Injuries have dogged this guy throughout his Six-Year Career; prior to this season, Beal had missed an average of 17.2 Games per Year, and has managed to avoid that in 2017-18, starting all Fifty-Nine Games this term. And then there’s Satoransky, who has flourished with more playing time of late, averaging 29.6 Minutes per Game in February, translating to solid production with 12.9 Points, 3.0 Rebounds, and 5.6 Assists. Quite frankly, Washington’s ball-movement hasn’t looked better, for they’ve amassed at least Twenty-Six Assists in nine out of the last eleven outings without Wall. Ah, but here is when the inconsistency comes back into play; in their first contest after the All-Star Break, the Wizards went into Cleveland and upset the revitalized Cavaliers in a 110-103 victory, only to run out of gas on the second leg of a Back-to-Back, a disappointing 122-105 loss at home to the Charlotte Hornets. Against the 3-Time Reigning Eastern Conference Champs, Beal and Co. rallied back from an early deficit, shooting 47.8% from the Field, including 12-of-30 from Three (40.0%), while dishing out a stellar Twenty-Nine Assists in comparison to just Ten Turnovers, in a very balanced effort that featured five different players in double-figures. The aforementioned Beal and Satoranksy accounted for Thirty-Five Points on an efficient 14-of-26 Shooting (53.8%), including 3-of-6 from Deep (50.0%), Six Rebounds, Seventeen Assists, and a pair of Steals and Blocks, while the Bench also played a large role in the win, with Kelly Oubre (11.7 PTS, 42.3% FG, 36.7% 3FG, 4.7 REB, 1.1 AST, 0.9 STL, 12.3 PER) and Jodie Meeks (We have a Jodie Meeks Sighting!!!!) combining for Twenty-Seven of the Reserve Unit’s Forty-Five Points. Of course, the following night was a very different story, for the Wizards simply looked like a team with tired legs, once again falling behind early (36-26 after the First Quarter), but couldn’t claw their way back into the contest. Brooks’ side shot the ball well enough, netting 49.4% of their Attempts Overall, but turned the ball over on fourteen occasions, while providing little effort on the defensive end of the court. Charlotte shot 48.9% from the Field, including a scorching 17-of-39 from beyond the Arc (43.6%), while hammering them on the boards 41-36, particularly the offensive glass where the difference was 13-6. Six different Hornets scored in double-figures, which despite numerous attempts from Beal (33 PTS, 11-of-21 FG, 6 REB, 6 AST, 2 STL), was simply too much to overcome. This was a particularly troubling defeat, for the win over the Cavs pulled them within a game in the Standings, only to see that progress halted the following outing. Anyone that’s covered the Wizards this season could tell you that this latest disappointment is really nothing new, for this team has developed a disturbing habit of playing to the level of their competition; if the Playoffs began today, these guys would capture the Four Seed leading to Home Court in the First Round, but with ten of their twenty-five losses coming to teams currently below .500, one has to imagine that they will look back on these wasted opportunities to put themselves in a better position. Then again, you don’t have to worry about playing to the level of your competition once you make it to the Postseason, because everyone’s good, right? Somewhere, Brooks is shaking his head…
