Wizards vs. Sixers Preview: The Tank Is Back Until It Leaves Again

Five days ago, the Philadelphia 76ers played the Washington Wizards. Now they play again, and a day so close now feels so far away.

The season is only a week old and the Sixers have gone through a whirlwind, from everybody thinking they were going to open the season 0-10 to beating the Heat and the hubbub that then followed their victories at Washington against these very Wizards and the Bulls featuring Derrick Rose, finally returned after the 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. The Wizards, meanwhile, have gotten off to what one can only describe as a nightmare start. The Wizards are a team with playoff aspirations this season and their 0-3 start must only feel like a painful deja vu of years past, even if much like the Sixers 3-0, the current state is only temporary.

After an impressive rookie season, Bradley Beal's first three games of 2013-14 have been decidedly less than that. So regrettable in fact that Beal's PER thus far on the season is 3.7. Beal and Wizards fans can take solace in the fact that no one is going to be that bad over a large sample, but they cannot take solace that it is guaranteed he will break out of it later tonight.

The Wizards should be helped by John Wall, who is doing much better after injuring his back five days ago against the Sixers. Wall had an insanely good start to the night, then a cold streak and a back injury limited his effectiveness throughout the rest of the game. If Wall is fully recovered, expect him to test Michael Carter-Williams, who struggled with Wall in the opening moments of Friday's tilt.

Since the last encounter, the Sixers have played two games, and the Wizards one. The Sixers defeated the Bulls before losing convincingly to the Golden State Warriors and in the process reminding everyone that they are still going to be a bad basketball team during the season. The Wizards meanwhile in their only game between then and now proved their inferiority to the Sixers once and for all by failing to beat the Miami Heat.

Some good news for the Wizards may arrive in the form of Nene, who after sitting out the Sixers game and the Heat game, is expected to play tonight.

Will the Sixers improve to 4-1? Or will the universe continue to right itself and the Sixers pick up their second consecutive loss while the Wizards try to turn around their worst case scenario start to a season where they believe they can finally get back into the playoffs? Join us later tonight for the game thread to discuss all of tonight's proceedings in the Wells Fargo Center!