The 25-8 Boston Celtics face the 11-24 Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena at 7pm ET as Boston tries to maintain its three-game winning streak.
The Wizards, losers of seven of their last ten games, will try to remain in the win column after beating the 24-11 Denver Nuggets on Jan. 4.
Boston has won eight of its last ten games and currently holds not only the No. 2 spot in the East, but the league’s second-best record overall; Washington is in sole possession of twelfth place in the East.
The second meeting of the two teams this season (Boston winning the first, a 140-133 win at TD Garden on Nov. 13), the Celtics will be without All-NBA point guard Kemba Walker (illness) and centers Robert Williams III (left hip bone edema) and Vincent Poirier (broken finger).
Rookie wing Romeo Langford (illness) is questionable.
The Wizards will not have center Thomas Bryant (foot) or forwards Davis Bertans (quad), Moritz Wagner (ankle) or Rui Hachimura (groin) available against Boston, and starting point guard John Wall (Achilles) and C.J. Miles (wrist) remain out for the season.
Starting shooting guard Bradley Beal (leg) and center Ian Mahinmi (finger) are questionable for a banged-up Wizards roster.
The Celtics should have little trouble winning the game so long as they play defense against a thin Washington franchise struggling to put healthy bodies on the floor, especially at the wing, where Boston is deepest.
Most online bookmakers strongly agree, with an average spread of -8.5.
However, the Nuggets loom as a fresh example of what this Wizards team can do to a franchise that doesn’t treat them with respect defensively.
