Nuggets at Wizards
Washington shooting guard Bradley Beal is expected to miss his second
consecutive game when the Wizards host the Denver Nuggets on Thursday.
Beal broke his nose and suffered a concussion Monday and must be
cleared through the NBA concussion protocol before he can return to
action.
Beal has missed 20 games with a variety of ailments, and that has been a factor in Washington's inability to hit its stride. The Wizards fell 106-89 to the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday and have lost four of their last five games to fall to 11th place in the Eastern Conference. Denver also has dropped four of five, and the defense has been an issue as the team has allowed an average of 111.5 points in the last six contests. The Nuggets committed 20 turnovers while opening a three-game road trip with a 111-103 loss to the Boston Celtics on Wednesday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Altitude (Denver), CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington)
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (17-29): Denver has experienced turnover issues on many occasions this season and it is something that leading scorer Danilo Gallinari finds frustrating. "This is such a mental thing where we have to figure out a way to do it together," Gallinari said after the loss to the Celtics. "We can't keep playing like this for good stretches, bad stretches, especially when we're on the road." Gallinari scored 23 points against Boston had has 20 or more points in 10 of 13 games this month.
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (20-23): Point guard John Wall had 18 points and 14 assists for his 24th double-double in the loss to Toronto but suffered through his second consecutive subpar shooting night. Wall is 9-of-28 from the field during the stretch and also suffered through a 4-of-17 shooting outing in a loss to Portland on Jan. 18 — the nine-point outing against the Trail Blazers is one of two single-digit performances in the last four games. The absence of Beal once again makes Wall have to take on more of a scoring role, and that sometimes compromises his talents as a floor leader.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Wizards swept last season's two meetings and have won four of the past six matchups.
2. Denver backup SF Will Barton is averaging 22 points in the last two games after being just 18-of-51 shooting during the previous five games.
3. Washington SG Garrett Temple is 3-of-15 shooting in the last two games.