Sixers Look to Remain Undefeated Against Wizards

By Sean Kennedy

The unstoppable juggernaut that is the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team takes its show on the road Friday night to take on the Wizards in Washington. Unlike the Sixers who opted to go into tank mode this offseason (or did they?), the Wizards are all-in on making the playoffs this season. The team agreed to a 5 year, $80 million extension with former first overall pick John Wall, pushing all their chips into the middle that he and second-year man Bradley Beal can form the foundation of any eventual title contender. Then, when starting center Emeka Okafor went down with a herniated disk in his neck, the Wizards traded the former Husky along with a top-12 protected first round pick to Phoenix in exchange for Marcin Gortat and salary cap fodder. Gortat is in the last year of his deal and the Wizards potentially gave up a solid pick in the stacked 2014 draft, so the pressure is on to pile up some victories this season.

Philadelphia may be catching Washington at a good time as Nene is a game-time decision with a calf injury and Gortat is still in the process of acclimating himself within the team. However, John Wall will be a much bigger test for Sixers rookie/world-beater Michael Carter-Williams. Against Miami, MCW had the freedom to roam around and hunt for those steals that we were all gushing about Tuesday night. With an assignment against Wall, though, he will have to do his best to remain glued to his man and keep him out of the lane where the former Kentucky Wildcat does much of his damage.

Although the Wizards do not have the plethora of options from beyond the arc that the Heat can throw at you, the Sixers will have to pay attention to a few guys on the perimeter. Bradley Beal shot 38.6% on threes in his rookie season and went 2-6 on opening night. Trevor Ariza was especially hot from downtown in the opener, hitting 6-11, and Martell Webster is also a threat off the bench (38.4% career on threes). The Sixers will appear to struggle with their perimeter defense all season, as they opt for the hectic, attacking defense we saw against Miami. If the Wizards run away with this contest, I expect that to be the major area of Philadelphia’s demise.

Vegas clearly doesn’t buy in to the Sixers’ opening night success, marking the Wizards as 9.5-point favorites for this game. It wouldn’t surprise me to see the Philadelphia keep things closer than that, but I do expect MCW to come down to earth a bit and struggle with the speed of John Wall in the open floor. For me, it’s a Washington victory in a close contest. What are your thoughts on tonight’s game? Let us know in the comments section or on twitter @PhillyFastBreak. Still undefeated, boys.