Wizards at Bobcats
THE STORY: Washington travels to Charlotte on Saturday in a matchup of the two worst teams in the league. The Wizards and Bobcats are a combined 6-33. Life, at least in the context of professional basketball, returned to normal in the nation's capital on Friday. Two nights after rolling to a 17-point win over the Bobcats in their first game under interim coach Randy Wittman, the Wizards were blown out, 103-76 in Houston. Washington scored 14 points in the fourth quarter and shot 36.4 percent from the field for the game. "That’s tough, but in the NBA, when you miss a lot of shots, it gets very ugly," point guard John Wall said. The Wizards at least will pick on someone their own size in their second game in four days against the Bobcats. Charlotte fell 89-72 at Philadelphia on Friday for its seventh straight loss. Coach Paul Silas picked up two technicals and was ejected in the second quarter. "I just kind of lost it out there," he said. "I said something I shouldn’t have said and then kicked the ball. That won’t happen anymore. I can’t afford to let that happen."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Comcast Sports Net Washington (Washington), Sports South Charlotte (Charlotte).
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (3-16): Wittman, who took over when Flip Saunders was fired Tuesday, faces a big job in making the Wizards competitive. His most important assignment will be to get the best from Wall, who has had plenty of rocky moments in his second NBA season. Wall is scoring 16.1 points a game, which is close to last season's 16.4 average, but is shooting 39.2 percent from the field. He's attempted eight 3-point shots and missed all of them. Wall also needs to take better care of the basketball. He's averaging 4.2 turnovers a game, including five in Friday's loss.
ABOUT THE BOBCATS (3-17): At least Silas spared himself from watching another blowout Friday. Charlotte's last three losses have been by an average of 22.2 points. The Bobcats have lost 13 of 14 with the only win coming against Golden State on Jan. 14. Charlotte has the worst point differential in the NBA at minus 12.1. The Bobcats are averaging a meager 88.4 points a game. Friday's loss showed how poor Charlotte's offense is. The Bobcats made 27-of-70 shots, scoring 10 points in the first quarter and 14 in the third period.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Charlotte point guard D.J. Augustin has missed the last three games with a toe injury. He's not expected to play against Washington.
2. Washington committed 24 turnovers Friday, including 10 in the final 18 minutes when it was outscored 46-21.
3. One trend will change Saturday. The Wizards are 0-8 on the road while the Bobcats have lost all seven games against Southeast Division teams.