Wizards at Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are beginning to look like they have another run to the NBA Finals in them. The Spurs will look for their sixth straight victory when they return home to host the Washington Wizards on Wednesday. San Antonio did not have any trouble with a back-to-back set on the East Coast, ripping through the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers by an average of 27.5 points.
The Wizards are coming to the end of a three-game road trip after losses at Oklahoma City and Dallas. Washington held a 10-point lead over the Thunder with under three minutes left before falling in overtime and is struggling at the defensive end, surrendering an average of 106.6 points. Wizards coach Randy Wittman is not happy about the lack of effort on that end. “We are not playing any defense,” Wittman said after a 105-95 loss to the Mavericks. “We are last in the league in points, last in the league in field goal percentage (defense)…There are some things that need to be done rotation-wise.”
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, CSN (Washington), FSN Southwest (San Antonio)
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (2-5): Washington is actually slightly better than Wittman suggested, sitting 29th in the league in scoring defense ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers, but is letting good work on the other end be overshadowed by the defense. John Wall is averaging 9.6 assists and is getting some scoring help from second-year guard Bradley Beal, who had put up career highs in two straight games before slumping to nine points on 2-of-10 shooting at Dallas. Marcin Gortat is proving to be a strong addition to the frontcourt alongside Nene and put up his fourth double-double in five games on Tuesday.
ABOUT THE SPURS (7-1): San Antonio is another year older than the team that fell just short in the NBA Finals last spring but is showing no signs of falling off. Danny Green overcame a slow start and is 11-for-16 from 3-point range over the last two games. The sharpshooter provides a nice compliment to the slashing game of Tony Parker, who is shooting 60.6 percent from the field during the five-game winning streak. The supporting cast is strong enough that the Spurs did not even have to suit up Tim Duncan in Monday’s win over Philadelphia.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Wizards have not won in San Antonio since Dec. 11, 1999.
2. Spurs F Kawhi Leonard is averaging 13.2 points on 56.6 percent shooting during the winning streak.
3. Washington is still waiting for first-round pick Otto Porter (hip) to make his season debut.