Wizards at Grizzlies
John Wall's first game of the season was a painful one - literally and figuratively - and the Washington Wizards star point guard will try to make amends when he leads his team into a matchup with the host Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday. In a game that saw him fall to the floor multiple times - once when he drew a flagrant foul going in for a breakaway dunk - Wall finished 3-of-15 from the floor in Thursday's 114-99 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
"I got shots that I wanted, I just missed them," Wall told reporters. "I just was frustrated, two to three layups that I missed, a floater I almost airballed. So those were shots I already had. Sometimes I think my adrenaline was rushing so much." Among the few positives in the setback, which spoiled the Washington debut of head coach Scott Brooks, was the play of Markieff Morris (22 points in 28 minutes), the lone starter to make a 3-pointer. The Grizzlies will have a quick turnaround after a 111-104 loss at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night in their first road game of the season. Defensive stopper Tony Allen missed his second straight game with a knee injury and is not expected to make his season debut in this one.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington), FSN Southeast (Memphis)
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (0-1): Wall should hit his stride in time and so too will fellow guard Bradley Beal, but the question with the latter is always his health. "This is probably the first time I came into the regular season with no soreness," Beal told the Washington Post after scoring 13 points and handing out four assists against Atlanta. "Even from camp, I was in better shape this year." He and Wall combined to miss all four of their 3-point tries in the opener.
ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (1-1): James Ennis finished strong in a nine-game stint with the New Orleans Pelicans last season before signing a two-year deal with Memphis and he is showing early on that the small sample size was not a fluke. Ennis had 16 points in the loss to the Knicks and he is shooting 66.7 percent - including 4-of-7 from 3-point distance - through the first two games. Center Marc Gasol is averaging a team-high 19 points and Zach Randolph is at 16 points and 10 rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Wall has recorded at least 10 assists in 14 consecutive games dating to last season.
2. Memphis is 16-4 at home against Washington.
3. The Wizards are the only team in the Eastern Conference to have played fewer than two games.