Washington Wizards
Washington Wizards Projected Starting Five:
- Ish Smith
- Bradley Beal
- Troy Brown Jr.
- Davis Bertans
- Thomas Bryant
- Other Notable Players — C.J. Miles, Ian Mahinmi, Rui Hachimura, Moritz Wagner
The Wizards will rely once again on the broad shoulders of Bradley Beal, as they are expected to be without John Wall for the entire 2019-2020 season after tearing his achilles. Beal should welcome the workload as he tries to earn himself a supermax eligibility by making an All-NBA team this season.
After losing Tomas Satoransky to the Bulls, former processor Ish Smith will take over the Wizards point guard duties, with sharpshooting newcomer Davis Bertans and the frenetic incumbent Thomas Bryant manning the front court. Troy Brown Jr. and Rui Hachimura will also see the court often as the Wizards try to rebuild on the fly by developing the young prospects.
Beal will be the Sixers’ first, second, and third concern on defense. Josh Richardson will likely start out on the two-time All-star, with Ben Simmons getting his fair share of the matchup. Embiid should have no trouble with Thomas Bryant, but Bertans can rain hellfire from beyond the arc, and Horford could be in an uncomfortable position playing defense 27 feet away from the basket. The Beal-Bertans pick and pop will likely be a go-to play for these Wizards, and the onus will be on Richardson, Simmons, and whoever else is guarding to Beal to fight over those screens, and not allow an easy midrange jumper or a switch.
Offensively, the Sixers should look to Embiid as usual. Thomas Bryant and Ian Mahinmi will only provide middling resistance, and they both have a tendency to foul quite a bit. Simmons will be guarded by either Brown Jr. or Beal, and he will have a size advantage against either. Even Josh Richardson could get looks in the post or off the dribble with the diminutive Ish Smith guarding him.
The Sixers took two out of three from the Wizards last season, and I would predict a similar pattern here. Bradley Beal can single-handedly keep a team in a game, and Davis Bertans is liable to can eight threes any given night. A Sixers sweep is as plausible, but I think it’s more likely the Wizards eke one out.