The Washington Wizards hope to overcome their recent road woes and their latest bout with the injury bug when they travel to Detroit to face the Pistons on Sunday. The Wizards have lost four straight on the road and are likely to be without guard Bradley Beal for a fifth straight game because of a stress reaction in his right leg. The Pistons are trying to stay in the playoff picture — they're one game behind eighth-place Brooklyn and Charlotte in the East — despite losing star point guard Brandon Jennings (ruptured Achilles tendon) for the season.
The Wizards were waxed 127-89 by visiting Cleveland on Friday, their second straight loss spanning the All-Star break, and slipped to fifth in the East in the process. "They came to send a message, no question," Wizards coach Randy Wittman told reporters about the Cavaliers. "That's what good teams do. That's where we've got to get." Washington won the first meeting this season, 107-103 at home on Nov. 12, behind 27 points and 11 assists from John Wall, but the Pistons have won 11 of the past 13 matchups overall.
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington), FSN Detroit
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (33-22): In addition to Beal's absence, forward Nene is dealing with a leg injury but he is expected to play. Nene's presence is important against a Detroit team that boasts a pair of dominant post players in Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe, especially because reserve center Kevin Seraphin is questionable with flu-like symptoms. The Wizards might struggle to find scoring without Beal, their second-leading scorer, and with big men Nene (11.5 points) and Marcin Gortat (11.5 points, 8.1 rebounds) drawing tough matchups against Drummond and Monroe.
ABOUT THE PISTONS (22-33): Detroit came out of the All-Star break with an impressive 100-91 home win over Chicago on Friday despite playing with a thin bench following the trade of starters Kyle Singler and D.J. Augustin. The Pistons should be back at full strength Sunday with guard Reggie Jackson and forward Tayshaun Prince joining the team, though their roles might be limited at first. Regardless, the Pistons' strength remains in the paint, where Drummond (12.7 points, 13 rebounds) and Monroe (15.4 points, 10.3 rebounds) are the only pair of teammates in the league who average double-doubles.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Wall has seven double-doubles in his last 12 games and leads all NBA guards with 29 this season.
2. Drummond has recorded double-doubles in six of his past eight games, averaging 14.4 points and 13.9 rebounds over that span.
3. The Wizards are 27-4 when allowing fewer than 100 points and 12-0 when giving up fewer than 90.