The Washington Wizards (20-23) will have their chance to bring down the league’s top team when they take on the Golden State Warriors (41-4) at the Verizon Center. Action starts at 8:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Feb. 3 and will air on ESP, GS2 and WA2.
The Wizards lost to the Raptors 106-89 the last time they played. Otto Porter played well for Washington, contributing 15 points, eight rebounds, and four steals. The Warriors, meanwhile, are coming off a 120-90 win against the Spurs in their last game. Stephen Curry was the game’s top scorer, accounting for 37 points on 12-for-20 shooting.
Over the last five games, Curry has upped his play for the Warriors. During that stretch, he has averaged 34.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 2.6 steals, and 6.2 three-pointers.
When considering effective field goal percentage, the Warriors figure to have a substantial advantage on the offensive end. They rank first in the NBA in that category at 56.1%, whereas Washington’s poor effective field goal percentage defense ranks 28th with opponents connecting at a clip of 52.2%.
The Over/Under (O/U) for this game is set at 223 points and the Wizards are a big 10-point underdog. The Wizards enter the game with records of 21-25 Straight Up (SU) and 23-22-1 Against The Spread (ATS). They have a record of 6-11 SU and 7-10 ATS versus the Western Conference. The Wizards are the fifth-best team in the league at taking the ball away from their opponents, averaging 8.8 steals per game.
As for their opponent, the Warriors head into the game with records of 27-19-2 ATS and 44-4 SU. In Eastern Conference games, Golden State has gone 18-2 SU and 8-11-1 ATS. Offensively, they average 115.0 points per game, which is first in the league. The Warriors are an excellent long-range shooting team with an NBA-best 575 three-point shots made (12.0 per game). Golden State is one of the better rebounding teams in the NBA. The Warriors average 46.8 rebounds per game, making them the fourth-best team in the league for that category. The Warriors are the better of the two teams when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio, leading the NBA at 1.92.
These two will be squaring off for the first time this season. In their previous head-to-head meeting, Golden State came out on top, bumping its SU record over the last 10 meetings to 8-2. Additionally, with a 6-4 record, the Warriors have the advantage ATS.
Predictions: SU Winner – GS, ATS Winner – GS, O/U – Over
Notes
Washington is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington’s last 7 games.
Washington is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games.
Washington is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games at home.
Washington is 1-5-1 ATS in its last 7 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Washington’s last 13 games at home.
Washington is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Golden State.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Washington’s last 5 games when playing at home against Golden State.
Washington puts up an average of 102.2 points per game (ranked 11th). Golden State ranks 19th in points allowed per game with 102.3.
Washington allows 105.0 points at home this season. Topping the league in road scoring, Golden State puts up 115.7 points in away games.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Washington Wizards are an outstanding 12-4. In games where they fail to hit triple digits, the Golden State Warriors have a losing record of 1-3.
When allowing 100 or more points in a game, the Wizards are just 8-19 this season. Golden State is a superb 40-1 when it reaches the century mark.
The Wizards have an offensive rating of 102.7 (ranked 16th). The Warriors rank third for their defensive rating of 99.4.
Golden State beats Washington in both possessions per game and points per possession. The Warriors average 101.6 possessions and 1.131 points per possession, while the Wizards average 98.9 possessions with 1.027 points per possession.
The Washington Wizards have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking ninth in the league with an EFF% of 50.6%. The Golden State Warriors have a fantastic 10-2 record in games where opponents have a similar or higher EFF%.
The Golden State Warriors top the league in assists, earning 29.0 per game this season. The Washington Wizards are also among the best in the NBA, earning 23.9 per game (ranked sixth).
Golden State, the third-ranked team in terms of blocking, makes an average of 6.4 blocks per game. Washington ranks lower at 29th with 3.7.
The Washington Wizards are among the worst offensive rebounding teams (ranked 28th), while the Golden State Warriors are one of the NBA’s top defensive rebounding teams (ranked second).
The Washington Wizards rank fifth in steals, with an average of 8.8 per game. When the Golden State Warriors allow at least 8 steals, they have an exceptional 28-2 record.
