Game Preview: Suns face Wizards in the nation’s capital

New addition Nick Richards could potentially make his debut tonight with the Suns.

Who: Phoenix Suns (19-20) @ Washington Wizards (6-32)

When: 5:00 pm Arizona Time

Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C.

Watch: AZFamily, Suns Live

Listen: KMVP 98.7

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The Suns look to have an easy win tonight, maybe one of their easiest of the year. That said, you never know what type of performance Phoenix will bring out on a game-to-game basis. You don’t need to look any further than last week’s loss to the Charlotte Hornets to see why.

Playing against the 6-32 Washington Wizards, Phoenix has a chance to bring their record back to .500 after an embarrassing performance against the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday, where the team was out-rebounded 54-37 and 20-6 on the offensive glass.

Oh yeah, and that game was so bad, the first day they were able to trade away Josh Okogie (yesterday), they got a new center to help with the rebounding problem. Everyone welcome Nick Richards to the Valley, who the Suns got for Okogie and three second-round picks.

The Kentucky product averaged 9 points and 8 rebounds this year with Charlotte; in 9 games as a starter, his points per game increased to 11 and rebounds up to 10. According to Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro, he’s slated to start once he is acclimated to the team. While he doesn’t solve all the team’s problems, let alone their rebounding issues, his addition has the potential to be a huge help to not only point guard Tyus Jones, but also to Devin Booker and Kevin Durant.

Being an experienced pick and roll player playing alongside the crafty LaMelo Ball, Richards is a capable roller and is athletic and agile enough to be a lob threat that teams have to respect on a possession-by-possession basis.

Probable Starters

Injury Report

Suns

Bradley Beal — DOUBTFUL (Ankle)

Jusuf Nurkić — OUT (Illness)

Wizards

Marvin Bagley III — OUT (Knee)

Saddiq Bey — OUT (Knee)

Malcolm Brogdon — OUT (Foot)

Uniform Matchup

What to Watch For

Does the new guy in town play tonight?

While he’s not on the injury report, it can be tough for players to play for their new team just a day after being traded; there’s a lot that needs to be done in a short period of time including all players involved passing a physical. While many Suns fans are eager to watch the new big play for the team, they may have to wait until Saturday when the team heads up to Michigan to play the Detroit Pistons.

If Bradley Beal plays, does he go off again against his former team?

Beal had his best scoring output of his Suns tenure last season when he returned to DC to play his former team, going for 43 points on just 21 shots. If he is good to go and his ankle injury isn’t bothering him too much to play, is another Beal eruption pending?

Can the Suns take care of business in a non-stressful manner?

This would truly be rock bottom if they lost today. In the heat of a contested playoff race midway through the year, it seems unlikely that the Valley will drop this one. Not only are the Wizards 6-32, they went the entire month of November without a win. Outside of their 27-point thrashing of the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix doesn’t have another victory of more than 12 points this season. With two tough games against the Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers coming up, this would be an ideal time for the team to swiftly take care of business, giving their starters and main rotation players a break.

Key to a Suns Win

Just play with effort and consistency for long stretches, take care of the ball

The Suns won’t be solving any of their issues tonight, no matter the outcome of this game. If they can just take care of the basketball, get up early, not give this young Wizards team any hope, and execute on both ends of the ball, they should be fine. A game like this one is the type you see on the schedule that you expect to be a light task to get the victory; That being said, you never know with the Suns. As long as they try not to get too cute and do what they’re supposed to, it should be smooth sailing to win 20 of the year today.

Prediction

While the Suns are prone to drop a stinker, the Wizards are the worst team in the NBA. And unlike other bad teams like the New Orleans Pelicans and Charlotte Hornets, both teams Phoenix has lost to this season, the Wizards do not have the top-end talent to exploit many of the Valley’s issues. Give me the desert team going away.

Suns 131, Wizards 109