Washington Wizards (8-24)
vs.
Philadelphia 76ers (13-21)
TV: Comcast SportsNet, NBA League Pass Channel 6
Tip Time: 7:00 EST
Location: Wells Fargo Center
Vegas Line: 6.5 (Sixers)
Previous Meetings: Wizards 116-115, Wizards 116-114
Mortal Enemies of the Night: Bullets Forever
Wizards vs 76ers coverage
We're back home! First victim... the Wiz.
It feels good to be home, baby. Feels good to be HOOOOOMMMMEEEEE! Kanye West said that at some point.
The Wizards (or Wizleback) are bringing their talents to Philadelphia tonight as the second worst team in the Eastern Conference behind the Cleveland Cavaliers. Yes, in case you were wondering, the Sixers are 1-4 combined against them this season.
The first time the Sixers traveled to the District, they were welcomed with this and later fell victim to this. Exactly three weeks after that, the Sixers were in what we thought was another #mission to land a top 3 pick. They listened to our demands and put together a pretty nice collapse capped off by a baffling foul on the part of Jrue Holiday that allowed John Wall to sink three free throws, send it to overtime, and finish it off.
In that last game, newly sanctioned dunk contest participant JaVale McGee exploded for 24 points, 18 rebounds (10 offensive!), and 4 blocks. That was when the Sixers had an entirely healthy frontcourt. He also waved goodbye to Elton Brand after EB committed a 'flagrant-2,' resulting in an ejection later followed by a 1-game suspension.
A few snippets regarding the game tonight:
- Injury Report, Sixers: Andre Iguodala is out as he continues to feel the effects of an achillies injury. Spencer Hawes will be back and in the starting lineup. Tony Battie is listed as questionable for 'personal reasons'.
- Injury Report, Wizards: 2003 ACC Player of the Year Josh Howard is questionable with a knee injury while Kirk Hinrich is out because of a bruised thigh according to the SB Nation team page.
- Rashard Lewis plays for the Wizards. I completely forgot about that.
- While nothing fell for him last game, I'd still like to see Evan Turner as aggressive as he was on Monday against the Hornets. This time, I'm hoping he takes the ball to the bucket more.
- Nick Young is the probable starter next to John Wall in the backcourt. He always seems to do well against the Sixers by just standing in the corner and popping three after three.
- Can Marreese Speights duplicate the effort he gave on Monday? Yes there were some defensive possessions where he was flat, didn't get his hands up, and didn't box out but they occurred at much lower rate than normal. He had a big game against the Wizards last time, let's see if he can keep it up. Collins says he's been happy with Speezy's practices for the past week so I'm going to guess he gets a chance tonight.
- Andray Blatche will probably take a good amount of ill-advised shots.
- Official Book-it Prediction: Sixers 97 - Wizards 86
The mug is round. The jar is round. They should call it 'Roundtine'!
Courtesy our good friend Tom Moore, here is Doug Collins' pre-game press conference: