76ers at Wizards
The Washington Wizards desperately need some positive momentum heading into the playoffs, and they have a chance to begin the turnaround when they host lowly Philadelphia on Wednesday. The Wizards likely are locked into the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference, but they've lost five of their last six. The 76ers also have dropped five of six and have the third-worst record in the NBA.
The Wizards seemed to have things turned around when they reeled off five straight wins in mid-March, but they've hit an offensive lull since, averaging 93 points on 41 percent shooting over the past seven games. "We show a sense of urgency one game and then another game we take it off," Wizards point guard John Wall told reporters. "So to be where we want to be and go as far as we went last year, we have to turn it around or we'll be done quick." The Sixers have lost 17 of their past 18 on the road, where they are 6-31 this season.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington)
ABOUT THE 76ERS (18-57): Philadelphia is one win shy of matching last season's total but is headed for another high draft pick. The Sixers are amassing some young talent to build around, most notably center Nerlens Noel (10 points, 8.2 rebounds), who has recorded four double-doubles in his last five games. Point guard Ish Smith has also provided a spark lately, averaging 13.4 points and 6.8 assists in eight games since taking over the starting role.
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (41-33): Washington is an impressive 26-12 at home but has lost two of three to open its current five-game homestand. Wall has almost single-handedly kept the Wizards afloat at times, but his 30.3 points, eight assists and seven rebounds over the past three contests have not been enough. Washington has been a bit short-handed with forward Kris Humphries and guard Garrett Temple out with hamstring injuries and big man DeJuan Blair away from the team for personal reasons.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Philadelphia has averaged 82.5 points on 33.9 percent shooting in the first two meetings this season.
2. The Wizards are 16-1 overall and 11-0 at home when holding opponents under 90 points.
3. The Sixers are 1-46 when they shoot for a lower percentage than the opposition.