76ers-Wizards Preview
With their margin for error lessening with each mounting loss, the Washington Wizards need to take advantage of every remaining opportunity to extend their postseason streak.
They should have one when the NBA-worst Philadelphia 76ers visit Friday night.
Losses in seven of nine has Washington (21-26) near the bottom of a logjam of teams with a reasonable chance of earning the Eastern Conference's five playoff spots for non-division winners. The Wizards fell five games below .500 for the first time this season following Wednesday's matchup with league-leading Golden State, which received 51 points from Stephen Curry and went 20 of 42 from beyond the arc against the NBA's worst 3-point defense en route to a 134-121 win.
Washington can still take some positives from its eighth defeat in 10 home games, as it trailed the Warriors by just two when John Wall picked up his fourth foul midway through the third quarter, sparking a 22-13 Golden State run over the remainder of the period. Wall finished with a season-high 41 points and 10 assists and the Wizards scored 24 points off 18 takeaways while shooting 50.5 percent.
"I think we've just got to take the way we competed (Wednesday) and do that the rest of the season, whoever we play, (and) we'll give ourselves a lot of chances to win games," Wall said.
The Wizards have allowed 118.2 points per game over a 1-5 stretch, though their season-long defensive problems should be less of an issue against Philadelphia (7-42), the league's lowest-scoring team at 94.8 points per game. Washington is 17-5 when permitting 104 points or less, a mark the 76ers haven't reached in regulation in their last five road outings.
Philadelphia averaged 87.0 points and shot 35.7 percent in losing three of four to the Wizards last season. It owns the league's worst road record at 3-23 and is riding a three-game skid following Wednesday's 124-86 home loss to Atlanta.
After taking Golden State to the wire in a 108-105 defeat Saturday, the 76ers were never competitive in a game the Hawks led by as many as 43. Philadelphia committed 24 turnovers that led to 29 points and permitted 62 points in the paint as Atlanta scored at will.
''I just feel like we didn't come out with much energy on both sides of the ball ... I don't think anyone played that well," coach Brett Brown said. "As a group, we did not have much."
The 76ers' weakness in guarding the interior could provide a favorable matchup for Marcin Gortat, who's shooting 65.6 percent from the field over his last four. The center averaged a team-leading 17.3 points and 10.8 rebounds in the 2014-15 season series, highlighted by shooting 10 of 11 for 23 points to go with 14 boards in a 106-93 home win April 1.
Philadelphia has lost three straight in Washington and six of seven overall meetings.
Wizards coach Randy Wittman is expected to return to the bench after missing two games due to the death of his brother.