The Washington Wizards comfortably own the league's worst record ahead of the first game in the back to back
Washington Wizards (17-59) (6-32 away) vs. Miami Heat (40-37) (24-15 home)
When: Saturday, April 4, 3:00 PM
Where: Kaseya Center, South Beach, FL
TV: Monumental Sports Network, League Pass
Coming off of quite the April fools joke on Wednesday, a game where the Washington Wizards lost to the Philadelphia 76ers at home 153-131, regroup to play the Miami Heat. In this mid-day matchup, Washington can only hope but to turn the joke around.
Last time these two teams met, it ended in a historic finish, just not for the Wizards. Heat star Bam Adebayo scored 83 points, the most in a single game since Kobe Bryant. After giving up 150 points in their loss to the Heat last go around and 153 last game, defense should be the focal point of their game plan.
The Wizards are on a four game losing streak, and 1-9 in their last 10 games. Since they have been out of contention for a while now, they have the chance to mess with the play-in seeding. The Heat currently stand at the 10-seed in the Eastern Conference, one game behind the Orlando Magic. If the Wizards pull this win off, they can dig the Heat in a deeper hole than they already are, just three full games away from the sixth seed.
If they have any chance to do just that, they'll have to turn to their youth in Bub Carrington, who has had a solid past 10 games. Carrington over that stretch is averaging 10.2 points and 4.6 assists per game. Another Wizard who has provided scoring production has been Will Riley, who has averaged 17.0 points per game in his last 10 as well.
This is a winnable game for the Wizards. Miami is 2-8 in their last 10 games on a severe cold-spell, during a time where they need to start looking their best. Teams like the 76ers, Hornets, and the Hawks have all started to find their stride come the end of the regular season, and Washington can continue to put a dent on Miami's season with an upset win on Saturday.
Wizards injury report: Anthony Davis OUT (finger), Cam Whitmore OUT (shoulder), Alex Sarr DTD (toe), Kyshawn George OUT (elbow), D'Angelo Russell OUT (non-injury related), Trae Young OUT (quad)
Meanwhile, Norman Powell is inactive for the Heat today as the Wizards look to pick up the divisional win in game one of the back to back.