The Washington Wizards, losers of 14 straight, will be looking to snap their streak at home versus the Atlanta Hawks. Atlanta has played inspired basketball as of late, winning seven of their last 10 contests, propelling them to a respectable 11-7 record. This will be the first of four meetings between the two teams this season. 

No. 1: Contain Jalen Johnson

Both teams have found bright spots early into their 2025-26 campaigns. For Atlanta, 5th year forward Jalen Johnson has taken a superstar leap, averaging 22.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, 7.0 assists on 56.2/41.5/80.1 shooting splits. Johnson has stepped up notably during the absence of Trae Young, who has been sidelined since October 29th with a knee injury.  Over his last seven games, Johnson is averaging 25.5 points, 11.2 rebounds, 9.5 assists and 2.3 steals on 52.9% shooting from the field and 55.6% from three. On Sunday, Johnson led the Hawks to a 113-110 victory over the Charlotte Hornets with 28 points. 

If Washington wants a chance to win tonight, they need to find an answer for Johnson. Luckily for Washington, they may already have that answer in sophomore forward Kyshawn George. George has taken a tremendous leap this season, averaging 16.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.9 assists on 48.4/44.0/73.3 shooting splits. George has been given the task early in his career of guarding the opposing teams' best player, so don't be surprised if you see George matched up with Johnson for a majority of the game. 

No. 2: Force Turnovers & Capitalize on Them

The Atlanta Hawks have been playing some excellent basketball in the month of November, but an instrumental part to their success has been their lack of turnovers. This season, Atlanta ranks 25th in total turnovers per game at 13.7. The only other teams that are more responsible with the basketball are the Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors —— all playoff teams. Washington, on the other hand, turns the ball over at the 2nd highest rate in the NBA with 16.6 turnovers a game. In Washington's single victory this season over the Dallas Mavericks, they won the turnover battle. If Washington wants any sort of chance at victory tonight, they need to be careful with the ball and force Atlanta to play a sloppy brand of basketball. 

No. 3: Finish the Game Strong 

Charlotte, Philadelphia, Dallas, Detroit and Chicago were all games where Washington could've escaped with a victory, but due to the lack of coaching and experience, this team has struggled to close games out, even after building commanding leads.  If Washington wants to win tonight, Head Coach Brian Keefe has got to put his best lineup on the court to close the game (given it is a close game down the stretch).  I expect to see a lot of Kyshawn George, Alex Sarr and Bilal Coulibaly tonight due to their defensive versatility and upside. Veteran leaders CJ McCollum and Khris Middleton are likely to play down the stretch if the game is tight due to their experience. That leaves role players Corey Kispert, Justin Champagnie, Cam Whitmore and Bub Carrington on the bench in a close game. However, with the recent injury of Tre Johnson and good performances from Whitmore and Kispert in Chicago the other night, these role players will have increased opportunities down the stretch versus Atlanta. 

Washington is desperate for a win, and so are their fans. This game is likely to be more packed than usual due to the Bub Carrington pajama pants giveaway, so picking up a win versus a good Atlanta team would make the fans in attendance feel much better about this teams future.