Wizards at 76ers
THE STORY: It may not be obvious from the record, but the league's worst team has been much more competitive in the last week. The Washington Wizards are firmly entrenched at the bottom of the league standings at 2-14, but they are showing there could be hope down the road after stunning Oklahoma City and suffering narrow losses to Denver and Boston in a five-day span. “We’ve gotten to the point where 10 days ago, we weren’t competing at a high level,” Wizards coach Flip Saunders said. “We’ve gotten to the point now where we’re competing at a high level. Now we’ve got to find a way to close out these games like we did close out against Oklahoma City.” A good barometer for Washington will be Monday's road game against the Philadelphia 76ers, who dominated the Wizards in a home-and home set last weekend. That included a 31-point drubbing in Philadelphia.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CS Washington, CS Philadelphia
ABOUT THE WIZARDS: (2-14): One reason for the improved play of Washington is second-year point guard John Wall, who’s starting to show the consistency of a No. 1 overall draft pick. Wall had a season-high 10 rebounds to go with 27 points Sunday, and is averaging 24.5 points, 8.4 assists and 8.2 rebounds in the past five games. Backcourt mate Nick Young has also picked up his offensive game, averaging 21.5 points in the last five.
ABOUT THE 76ERS (11-5): Philadelphia was riding high before getting slapped around in Miami on Saturday. Still, the 76ers hold a 4½-game lead atop the Atlantic Division and kick off a seven-game homestand Monday that features four straight games against opponents with a combined 14-53 record. Philadelphia has some injury concerns at center. Spencer Hawes has missed three straight games with a strained Achilles and his backup, rookie Nikola Vucevic, is doubtful for Monday with a knee/quad strain.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The 76ers have won the last four meetings with the smallest margin of victory 12 points.
2. Washington is 0-6 on the road and has reach 90 points only once - 92 in a loss at Boston.