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Overview:

On Tuesday, December 5^th, the (12-10) Washington Wizards will be on the road to take on the (13-10) Portland Trailblazers.

The Crowd:  

“The Crowd” is projecting a final score of Trailblazers 106.0 – Wizards 98.0 with an over/under of 204.0.

Statistics (2017-18 season):

Point differential: Wizards +4.0 (5^th) > Trailblazers +3.2 (7^th)

Points per game: Wizards 107.8 (10^th) > Trailblazers 103.2 (21^st)

Points allowed per game: Trailblazers 100.0 (4^th) > Wizards 103.8 (12^th)

Field Goal Percentage Offense: Wizards 46.2% (11^th) > Trailblazers 44.0% (28^th)

Three Point Percentage: Trailblazers 37.2% (8^th) > Wizards 36.8% (12^th)

Field Goal Percentage Defense: Trailblazers 43.9% (4^th) > Wizards 45.2% (11^th)

Turnovers committed per game: Wizards 13.7 (7^th) > Trailblazers 14.3 (13^th)

Turnovers forced per game: Wizards 15.0 (10^th) > Trailblazers 12.9 (28^th)

Rebounds per game: Trailblazers 47.1 (2^nd) > Wizards 43.1 (16^th)

Assists per game: Wizards 22.4 (19^th) > Trailblazers 18.2 (30^th)

Summary:

The Wizards (5-5) in their last ten games.  John Wall (20.3 PPG and 9.2 APG) is having another terrific season though he has struggled to shoot the ball (43.4% FG and 31.7% from three).  Bradley Beal (22.6 PPG) has emerged as perhaps the best two guard in the Eastern Conference.  Bench scoring has been a problem for Washington as they have one of the most prolific starting units in the NBA.  Washington is (6-5) on the road this season.  The Wizards average 107.8 points per game (10^th) while allowing 103.8 (12^th).

Portland is (6-4) in their last ten games though they are riding a two-game losing streak.  The dynamic backcourt of Damian Lillard (25.5 PPG and 6.2 APG) and C.J. McCollum (21.o PPG) is a match-up nightmare for opposing defenses.  For as good as those two stars are, they rely too much on isolation basketball evidenced by their field goal percentage 44.0% (28^th) and the lowest assist total in the league (18.2 APG).  The Trailblazers are the second best rebounding team in the NBA (47.1 RPG).  Portland is (7-6) at home this season.  The Trailblazers average 103.2 points per game (21^st) and allow 100.0 PPG (4^th).

Bottom Line:

These teams play rather infrequently, but the Trailblazers are (3-2) in their last five head to head meetings with the Wizards.  Portland’s best opportunity to win this game is to dominate on the glass and exploit Washington’s lack of size on the interior.  The Trailblazers have a very inefficient offense which should lead to plenty of fast break opportunities for John Wall who is lethal in the open court.  The Wizards are also a top ten team in forcing turnovers (15.0) so that could play a key factor.  These teams are fairly evenly matched but I like the Wizards to pull off the road win.

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