West coast meets east coast when the Warriors travel to D.C. to take on the Wizards. The Warriors lead the all time series 111-82, and the Warriors have won 8 of the last 10 matchups head to head.
The Warriors won their last outing 130-111 in L.A. against the Lakers on Monday. Last Wednesday (1/16) they defeated the Pelicans at home 147-140, and last Friday (1/18) they beat the Clippers 112-94 in L.A.
The Wizards beat the Pistons at home their last time out 101-87 at home. Last Sunday (1/13) they lost to the Raptors 140-138 at home, and last Thursday (1/17) they beat the Knicks 101-100 in London.
Golden State is 21-25-1 ATS this season, 11-12 ATS on the road, and 6-3-1 ATS in their last 10. The Wizards are 20-26 ATS this season, 14-9 ATS at home, and 8-2 ATS in their last 10.
BetOnline has the Warriors as 9 point favourites on the road with an O/U total of 235.
The Wizards score 112.5 PPG, ranking 9th in the league, while shooting 46.5% from the field, 33.8% from 3, and 76% from the free throw line. They average 41.2 RPG, 9.2 ORPG, 25.4 APG, 14.2 TPG, 9.0 SPG, and 5 SPG. They allow 115.8 PPG, 47.8 RPG, 47.1% shooting from the field, and 36.9% shooting from 3 point range.
The Wizards season hasn’t gone according to plan, and they are dealing with key injuries all over. Bradley Beal leads them in scoring at 24.7 PPG, and also averages 5.0 RPG, 5.0 APG, 1.3 SPG, and 0.9 BPG while shooting 46.7/35.3/79.1.
Trevor Ariza averages 14.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 4.5 APG, and 1.6 SPG while shooting 37.2/31.0/81.0. Otto Porter Jr. averages 13 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.9 APG, and 1.5 SPG while shooting 48.2/40.3/77.4. Kelly Oubre (12.9 PPG/4.4 RPG/0.9 SPG), Jeff Green (11.4 PPG/4.7 RPG/1.7 APG), and Thomas Bryant (9.1 PPG/5.6 RPG/0.8 BPG) are featured as well.
Key Injuries
C Dwight Howard (back) – out
G John Wall (heel ) – out
F Markieff Morris (neck) – out
The Warriors rank 1st in the league in scoring at 118.7 PPG, and shoot 48.9% from the field, 39% from 3, and 81.8% from the free throw line. They average 46.5 RPG, 10.1 ORPG, 29.1 APG, 14.2 TPG, 7.4 SPG, and 6.3 BPG.
Defensively, they allow 111.9 PPG, 43.4 RPG, 44.9% shooting from the field, and 34.8% shooting from 3 point range.
The 3 headed monster of Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson is still very potent, averaging 79.4 PPG combined. Curry averages 29.3 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 5.6 APG, and 1.2 SPG while shooting 48.8/44.8/92.7 from the field/3/FT. Durant is averaging 28 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 6 APG, and 1.1 BPG while shooting 51.1/38.5/90.4. Thompson averages 22.1 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 2 APG, and 1.2 SPG while shooting 46.4/38.2/80.7.
DeMarcus Cousins continues to be eased in, as Draymond Green (7.1 PPG/7.7 RPG/7.3 APG), Quinn Cook (7.6 PPG/2.2 RPG/1.3 APG), Jonas Jerebko (7.1 PPG/4.9 RPG/ 1.6 APG), and Andre Iguodala (5.6 PPG/3.8 RPG/3.0 APG) provide supporting production.
Key Injuries
C Damian Jones (chest) – out
The Warriors are playing great ball right now, and Cousins gives them a true deep post threat as well as a big body to alter shots on the other end. We also know the potency of the Warriors triumvirate, where any given player can go off on any given night. The Wizards do have some good on ball defenders on the wing in Ariza, Porter, and Oubre to slow down Durant and Thompson, but Steph Curry will be able to take advantage of Beal who needs to carry his team on the other end. Beal has really picked up his play since Wall went down, but they were expecting Dwight Howard and Wall to help shoulder the load offensively. The Wizards just don’t have enough around him to keep pace with the high flying Golden State offense. The Warriors should keep their great run going and walk out of D.C. with a comfortable win.
Final Pick: Warriors (-9)
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