The Washington Wizards travel to Oakland to play the defending champions Golden State Warriors on 10/24/18 at the Oracle Arena.
The Wizards are 1-2 on the season and are coming off their first win of the season against the Portland Trail Blazers. Meanwhile, the Dubs are 3-1 on the young season and have not looked like the dominant team there were this past two seasons.
The Warriors bounced back from a 100-98 loss to the Denver Nuggets with an emphatic win over the lowly Suns the last time out. This has not been the kind of start that Steve Kerr wanted from his guys but despite the Warriors not playing their best basketball.
Steph Curry barely missed another 30 point game with 29 against the Suns. Curry is averaging 30.5 points per game this season, good for 4th in the NBA’s early scoring list. Kevin Durant is likewise off to an excellent start , averaging 26.8 points. 8.0 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game.
The Washington Wizards had one of the toughest opening week assignments in the league. They played Miami, Toronto and then Portland. The Wizards suffered two tough losses to start their 2018-19 NBA campaign. They also had to sweat it out before beating the Blazers in their last game.
John Wall is averaging 22.3 points, 8 rebounds and 2 steals per game while his back court partner Bradley Beal is scoring 25.7 points per game. Wall and Beal lead seven Wizards averaging in double digit scoring. But the Wizards needed another big night from Markieff Morris, who scored 28 points and nailed six three pointers against the Blazers.
The Warriors lead the all-time series between these teams at 110-82. The Warriors are 8-2 SU in their last 10 games against the Wizards, including 7-1 SU since 2015 when the Warriors started to dominate the NBA behind their current core.
The Wizards are 1-4 SU in their last five games and are 1-9 SU in their last 10 games on the road. On the other hand, the Warriors are 9-1 SU in their last 10 games played and 5-0 SU in their last five games at home. Head to head, The Warriors have the edge here as they have won six out of the last seven meetings between these teams.
The moneyline odds aren’t in yet and that’s probably because the bookies are waiting for the status of Klay Thompson. Steph’s splash brother tweaked his ankle during the fourth quarter of the Warriors win over the Phoenix Suns. The injury isn’t considered serious and Thompson is listed as probable for Wednesday.
Even then, the Warriors still have plenty of firepower left. Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant are off to a great start for the Dubs and they have combined to average 56 points per game so far. Andre Iguodala should get more minutes should Thompson be unavailable and that’s not too much of a downgrade really.
Washington is without Dwight Howard and Ian Mahinmi who played only four minutes against the Blazers with back pains. That means the Wizards will have to resort to small ball again and that’s falling into the trap of the Warriors who mastered and popularized small ball in the last four seasons. Washington barely got past a middling playoff team in Portland. I do not trust them against the champs. We’re picking the Golden State Warriors to beat the Washington Wizards on 10/14/18.
Washington is 1-4 ATS in their last five games and 2-10 ATS in their last dozen games on the road. The Wizards are 1-9 ATS in their last 10 games following an ATS win and 0-4 ATS in their last four games played on a Wednesday. The Warriors are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games against teams with losing records and 5-2 ATS in their last seven games against opponents who gave up more than 100 points in their previous game.
The trends seem to favor the Warriors but there’s one other trend worth noting here. The Wizards are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games versus the Warriors.
Golden State swept Washington 2-0 last season but they won the first meeting by three points and the second one by just eight points. John Wall missed a potential game tying three pointer in their first meeting and then sat out the second encounter with a knee injury. Golden State is 3-1 but you can feel they are not playing at their best. The Dubs are 1-3 ATS this season. They may be without Klay Thompson or he may play but not be 100%. I think the Warriors still win but I’ll take my chances with the plus points here. Prediction: Wizards +9
The Over is 6-3 in Washington’s last 9 games and also 6-2 in their last 8 games on the road. But the total has gone under in five out of the last six games of the Warriors and under in six out of the Dubs’ last eight games at home. Head to head, the under is 5-2 in their last seven meetings at the Oracle Arena.
Although they are known for their offensive prowess, the Golden State Warriors have the 4th best Defensive Efficiency in the league this season, thus the over is just 1-3 in their first four games of the current season. The possible absence or the restriction to Klay Thompson should also factor in here, making the under the best choice here. Prediction: Under 235.5
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