Nets vs. Wizards NBA Odds, Preview and Pick
Brooklyn Nets vs. Washington Wizards
Wednesday, January 19, 2022 at 7 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C.
Missing Joe Harris
The Nets are missing multiple important players, one of whom is sharpshooter Joe Harris.
Harris is regularly one of the most efficient three-point shooters in the NBA if he's not the most efficient.
Kevin Durant is thus absolutely justified in saying that Harris is in the same league as Steph Curry, the latter just unfortunately hogs the media's attention.
Converting over 46-percent of his three-point opportunities this season, Harris is easily Brooklyn's most efficient three-point shooter despite the high volume at which he attempts shots.
Last year, when the Nets had Harris available, they ranked third in the NBA in three-point efficiency.
This year, now that Harris has mostly been absent, they've dropped 11 spots in the category.
Consequently, Harris' absence creates a strong depreciation in the scoring potential and general quality of Brooklyn's offense.
Missing Kevin Durant
Arguably more important than Harris' absence is that of perennial MVP candidate Kevin Durant.
An ample sample of games shows us the deleterious effect that Durant's absence has on his team's ability to win games.
The Nets did beat the Lakers and Clippers without Durant's help. However, the Lakers were missing Anthony Davis and the Clippers were missing both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.
In the other games that Durant missed, the Nets lost by 21 at home to the Thunder, by seven at home to Orlando, by 10 at Houston, and they beat the lowly Magic by two at home.
Those are really bad performances -- all of those teams that beat or nearly beat the Durant-less Nets are bottom-feeders in the entire NBA. Conversely, Washington is a playoff contender as it currently holds the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Brooklyn struggles without Durant because he's one of the NBA's best players. Durant is a complete scorer who, as he showed numerous times in last year's NBA playoffs, for example, is always able to take over a game by himself.
Plus, as evident in his defensive field goal percentage and other stats, he brings quality rim protection. His defensive ability is underrated because it is overshadowed by his MVP-level offense.
Missing Nicolas Claxton
In addition to missing two supremely important offensive players, the Nets also miss a crucial defensive piece in center Nic Claxton.
Claxton is extremely underrated as a defender. He is great when switched onto smaller players. His nice lateral movement and his good footwork allow him to take on smaller offensive threats.
He is also an excellent rim-protector.His defensive field-goal percentage within six feet of the basket is 45.7. None of his teammates' defensive field goal percentage within six feet is even less than 50.Moreover, he ranks among the NBA's best in the category.
Wizard Offense
Claxton's presence would have been tremendous for Brooklyn tonight because, with his defensive skill set, he would have been the antidote to Washington's offense.
Offensively, the Wizards love to live in the space where Claxton is so excellent at defending.
They attempt field goals within five feet of the basket with the 10th-highest frequency.
When they do well on offense, it's typically because they're flourishing next to the basket. They do not really have many other options. For example, they attempt three-pointers with rarity.
Their top scorers spearhead the Wizard offense in its attempt to dominate at the basket.
Bradley Beal, for example, leads the Wizards with 23.7 points per game. He is by far the team's top scorer, so his success is crucial to the Wizards' overall scoring output.
Beal averages 17.4 drives per game. If Golden State's three-point attack relies primarily on Steph Curry, Washington's rim-attacking revolves primarily around Beal.
I expect Beal to bounce back from a rare low-scoring output in his team's last game. He will score a lot tonight especially because Claxton is absent.
It is impressive that Beal had this off-night, yet Washington still beat a hot 76er team by 19 points.
Whereas Brooklyn is top-heavy, the Wizards boast a nice and even collection of scorers.
More specifically, they have a host of power forwards and centers whom they like to employ near the basket.
Expect this group -- including Montrezl Harrell, Thomas Bryant, and Daniel Gafford -- to spend a lot of time taking advantage of Claxton's absence.
Best Bet: Wizards -1.5 at -110 with BetOnline
Brooklyn Nets vs. Washington Wizards
Wednesday, January 19, 2022 at 7 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C.
Missing Joe Harris
The Nets are missing multiple important players, one of whom is sharpshooter Joe Harris.
Harris is regularly one of the most efficient three-point shooters in the NBA if he's not the most efficient.
Kevin Durant is thus absolutely justified in saying that Harris is in the same league as Steph Curry, the latter just unfortunately hogs the media's attention.
Converting over 46-percent of his three-point opportunities this season, Harris is easily Brooklyn's most efficient three-point shooter despite the high volume at which he attempts shots.
Last year, when the Nets had Harris available, they ranked third in the NBA in three-point efficiency.
This year, now that Harris has mostly been absent, they've dropped 11 spots in the category.
Consequently, Harris' absence creates a strong depreciation in the scoring potential and general quality of Brooklyn's offense.
Missing Kevin Durant
Arguably more important than Harris' absence is that of perennial MVP candidate Kevin Durant.
An ample sample of games shows us the deleterious effect that Durant's absence has on his team's ability to win games.
The Nets did beat the Lakers and Clippers without Durant's help. However, the Lakers were missing Anthony Davis and the Clippers were missing both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.
In the other games that Durant missed, the Nets lost by 21 at home to the Thunder, by seven at home to Orlando, by 10 at Houston, and they beat the lowly Magic by two at home.
Those are really bad performances -- all of those teams that beat or nearly beat the Durant-less Nets are bottom-feeders in the entire NBA. Conversely, Washington is a playoff contender as it currently holds the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Brooklyn struggles without Durant because he's one of the NBA's best players. Durant is a complete scorer who, as he showed numerous times in last year's NBA playoffs, for example, is always able to take over a game by himself.
Plus, as evident in his defensive field goal percentage and other stats, he brings quality rim protection. His defensive ability is underrated because it is overshadowed by his MVP-level offense.
Missing Nicolas Claxton
In addition to missing two supremely important offensive players, the Nets also miss a crucial defensive piece in center Nic Claxton.
Claxton is extremely underrated as a defender. He is great when switched onto smaller players. His nice lateral movement and his good footwork allow him to take on smaller offensive threats.
He is also an excellent rim-protector.His defensive field-goal percentage within six feet of the basket is 45.7. None of his teammates' defensive field goal percentage within six feet is even less than 50.Moreover, he ranks among the NBA's best in the category.
Wizard Offense
Claxton's presence would have been tremendous for Brooklyn tonight because, with his defensive skill set, he would have been the antidote to Washington's offense.
Offensively, the Wizards love to live in the space where Claxton is so excellent at defending.
They attempt field goals within five feet of the basket with the 10th-highest frequency.
When they do well on offense, it's typically because they're flourishing next to the basket. They do not really have many other options. For example, they attempt three-pointers with rarity.
Their top scorers spearhead the Wizard offense in its attempt to dominate at the basket.
Bradley Beal, for example, leads the Wizards with 23.7 points per game. He is by far the team's top scorer, so his success is crucial to the Wizards' overall scoring output.
Beal averages 17.4 drives per game. If Golden State's three-point attack relies primarily on Steph Curry, Washington's rim-attacking revolves primarily around Beal.
I expect Beal to bounce back from a rare low-scoring output in his team's last game. He will score a lot tonight especially because Claxton is absent.
It is impressive that Beal had this off-night, yet Washington still beat a hot 76er team by 19 points.
Whereas Brooklyn is top-heavy, the Wizards boast a nice and even collection of scorers.
More specifically, they have a host of power forwards and centers whom they like to employ near the basket.
Expect this group -- including Montrezl Harrell, Thomas Bryant, and Daniel Gafford -- to spend a lot of time taking advantage of Claxton's absence.
Best Bet: Wizards -1.5 at -110 with BetOnline
