Wizards at Kings
The Washington Wizards are winless on the road and would figure to be easy victory fodder for any NBA team desperate for a victory.
Desperate is certainly a word that describes the lowly Sacramento Kings.
Sacramento has lost eight consecutive games and owns the worst record in the league at 4-15 entering Wednesday’s home game against the Wizards.
Washington (6-14) dropped to 0-11 on the road Tuesday by losing 115-108 to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Wizards have been so bad on the road – they have lost six road games by 17 or more points – that the seven-point loss to the defending champions was encouraging.
Washington rallied back from a 19-point third-quarter deficit to make the Lakers sweat in the final minute.
Sacramento would rate as a prime opportunity for Washington to notch its first road win. The Kings have been horrific since winning three of their four games.
The Kings’ only victory since Nov. 1 is an 86-81 win over New Jersey on Nov. 19. That victory over the Nets ended a six-game losing skid but was followed by the eight-game losing streak that includes two losses to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Tyreke Evans has slumped badly during Sacramento’s current woes. The second-year guard has made just 32.8 percent of his shots – a woeful 40-of-122 – and scored 11 or fewer points three times.
Evans is averaging 17.6 points, down from the 20.1 he averaged during his fabulous rookie campaign last season. His shooting percentage has dropped from 45.8 percent to 39.9.
Evans showed signs of breaking out of his slump when he scored 25 points on 11-of-20 shooting against the Los Angeles Lakers last Saturday but then made just 5-of-19 shots against the Clippers two nights later.
The Kings received a stellar performance from forward Omri Casspi in the loss to the Clippers. Casspi had 21 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.
The trio of Nick Young, Gilbert Arenas and John Wall was sensational for Washington in the losing effort against the Lakers. The threesome scored 75 points.
Young had a fantastic game with 30 points, just three points shy of his career high. Young connected on six of Washington’s 11 3-point baskets.
Arenas had 23 points and Wall had 22 points and 14 assists.
Washington hung in against the Lakers without having the services of forward Andray Blatche, who missed the game with a bruised hip. Blatche had averaged 21.5 points over the Wizards’ previous four games.