The Washington Wizards are coming off a frustrating loss to the Brooklyn Nets, but one that essentially will guarantee them a top 4 pick in this year’s Draft Lottery.
They now play a double-header at home against the Chicago Bulls.
That’s right, two games against the same team in the same place.
When: Tuesday, April 7 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Capital One Arena, Washington D.C.
How to watch: Monumental Sports Network
Wizards: Justin Champagnie, Tristan Vukcevic, Tre Johnson, Bilal Coulibaly, Trae Young, Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George, Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell, Cam Whitmore (Out)
Bulls: Nick Richards, Matas Buzelis, Josh Giddey, Anfernee Simons, Jalen Smith, Zach Collins, Noa Essengue (Out)
Minutes for the youngsters — This is long the time of year where winning is secondary, and roster management and player development are primary. The Wizards have been on a historic losing run, with only a couple of wins in the stretch since the All-Star Break. Understandably, as they executed a number of trades that netted them injured players.
The Direction-Less Bulls — It’s almost comforting to play the Bulls, even twice in a row this week, as this is one of those teams that makes the Wizards not look too bad. The Bulls have been in that 30-40 win bracket for forever, and seem to never be able to properly rebuild or reposition. Let’s hope the Wizards soon start looking with a direction and a purpose after several years of a rebuild.
Draft Lottery — So the Wizards are 2 games back of the Nets. In the remaining 4 games the Wizards face Chicago (twice), Miami, and Cleveland. The Nets play Milwaukee (twice), Indiana, and Toronto. But that important loss to the Nets, means that the Nets also won the season series against the Wizards 3-1. Be it as it may, it is unlikely the Wizards will surpass the Nets in the standings.
Flashback: The Wizards beat the Bulls on a Beal game-winner (but not buzzer beater)
Just a few years back, Beal hit a rare game-winning shot (with about 8 seconds left in regulation) to give the Wizards the W against the Bulls. Since Beal did not do that too often I like to be reminded of it. Oh, and Kuzma was a Wizard not long ago too!
