The Washington Wizards and Golden State Warriors enter the second half of the NBA with high expectations. However, both teams have some humps to get over before they can get to the postseason as the Warriors are dealing with key injuries and the Wizards have hit a mid-season slump. Both in need of a big win, the two contending teams meet up on Tuesday in the nation's capital.
The Warriors will face the Washington Wizards without Stephen Curry who is currently dealing with a right foot injury that makes him day-to-day with the team. The shooting guard missed his first game of the season when the Warriors fell to the Indiana Pacers in a 104-98 defeat. The loss came has a shock considering the Pacers are not in playoff contention, but it showed just how crucial Curry is as the Warriors made just one field goal in the final five minutes, getting outscored 15-8.
Golden State is currently in the beginning of a long road stretch where their next 10 of 11 games are all on the road. With Curry out, pressure sits on Klay Thompson who put up 39 points in the loss. Thompson had 26 points against the Wizards back last January, but the Warriors will need more of that as they face a Wizards team that will push their slumping roster against the best team in the league.
The Wizards have not looked great as of late. The team has lost eight of their last 10 games. They recently fell to the Detroit Pistons who outscored the team 59-37 in the second half. Now the Wizards are desperate to break a three-game losing streak as they have only averaged 94.0 points in their last eight games. The last time these two teams, the Wizards managed to hold the Warriors to just 37.5 percent shooting while getting a road win. Bradley Beal put up 20 points in that win, but will not be active in this matchup due to a right leg injury. John Wall will take on the scoring pressure instead.
