Wizards at 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers were one of the more active teams in front of Thursday's trade deadline as they continue to put together the pieces they hope will soon lead them back to the playoffs. The Washington Wizards, who visit the 76ers on Friday, did some dealing of their own and appear well-positioned to challenge for a spot in the Eastern Conference finals.
Philadelphia center Jahlil Okafor seemed to be rumored to be going to a different team every day over the last few weeks but in the end remained in a 76ers uniform while fellow center Nerlens Noel was sent to Dallas in exchange for center Andrew Bogut, who is expected to be waived. The 76ers made a move prior to the deadline sending power forward Ersan Ilyasova to Atlanta in an effort to open up minutes for promising rookie Dario Saric, who will likely move into the starting lineup in the spot vacated by Ilyasova. The Wizards on Wednesday added the one thing they needed most when they acquired veteran shooting guard Bojan Bogdanovic from the Brooklyn Nets to spread the floor and give the bench a proven scorer. "Bojan is a very good shooter and a talented overall scorer whose versatility gives us an added dimension as we gear up for the stretch run," Washington president Ernie Grunfeld said in a statement. "He is a proven starter that will provide us an added boost off the bench and allow us to be creative with our lineups."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington), CSN Philadelphia
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (34-21): Washington got off to a bit of a slow start but spent the six weeks before the All-Star break ripping through the schedule with an 18-3 record over the last 21 games that vaulted the team all the way into third place in the East. Point guard John Wall and backcourt mate Bradley Beal are making a legitimate claim to the title of best backcourt in the East and Wall punctuated his strong play with 13 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals in Sunday's All-Star Game. Beal, who was miffed at not being invited to the All-Star Game, is averaging 24 points on 52.1 percent shooting while shooting 49.2 percent from beyond the arc in seven games this month.
ABOUT THE 76ERS (21-35): One thing that became clear prior to the break was that Philadelphia's plans to build around rookie center Joel Embiid were solid despite the Kansas product sitting out the last 11 games with a knee injury. Embiid made it through a full practice on Wednesday but has yet to be cleared and likely will sit out the next two contests. Saric was already eating into Ilyasova's minutes prior to the break and averaged 20.6 points on 52.6 percent shooting in the last five games while recording a double-double in each of the last two.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. 76ers SF Robert Covington averaged 18 points in the last three games and went 12-of-22 from 3-point range in that span.
2. The Wizards sent SG Marcus Thornton, PF Andrew Nicholson and a first-round draft pick to the Nets in exchange for Bogdanovic and PF Chris McCullough.
3. Washington took seven of the last eight in the series but dropped a 109-102 decision at Philadelphia on Nov. 16.