W2W4: Brooklyn Nets vs Washington Wizards March 15th, 2014

barclayscenter.com

 By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

March 15^th, 2014

W2W4: Brooklyn Nets vs Washington Wizards

The Brooklyn Nets will be heading to Washington to face the Wizards on Saturday night, as the Nets are riding a hot streak after beating the Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat this week so far. The Nets are now (34-30) on the season, which is 3.5 games behind the Raptors in the Atlantic Division.

Match-Up of the Game: John Wall vs Deron Williams

Easily the most fun match-up to watch in this game will be the Point Guard one, as it will feature two very good ones in John Wall and Deron Williams. Wall is having a great season for the Wizards, as with his great play he was well deserving of his All-Star Game selection this season. In the two Wizards victories over the Nets this season, Wall has averaged a double-double with 19 points and 10 assists per game to go along with five rebounds and 2.5 steals, as he has been great. Williams is coming off a down game against the Heat, but did hit a clutch shot late, so he will look to carry that big moments momentum into a solid game against the Wizards. This season Wall has outplayed Williams by a considerable amount, as Williams is just averaging 14 points and 6.4 assists per game.

- Defense, Love It!

The main reason for the Nets winning seven of their last eight games has been their great defense, which has held opponents to under 100 points in each of those eight games. While the Nets are playing great defense now, in their two losses to Washington have given up 112.5 points per game. The last game against the Wizards was in December however when the Nets were not playing good basketball and are a completely different team from then.

- Still Banged Up

For what will be the eighth straight game the Nets will be without Center Kevin Garnett, who is still being bothered by back spasms, so yet again it will be Mason Plumlee in the starting lineup. Andrei Kirilenko seems a lot closer to coming back than Garnett, as he is listed as a game-time decision, and practiced in Miami on Friday.

- No Rest

Washington will be playing the second half of a back to back on Saturday night, as on Friday the Wizards played an overtime game against the Magic in Orlando that they won 105-101. Lots of teams struggle on zero days rest, but the Wizards have actually been pretty good with a 8-7 record, as their youth certainly helps them bounce back quickly.