Washington Wizards vs Brooklyn Nets Prediction: Brooklyn to win

Washington has beaten Brooklyn in their last two head-to-head encounters, and the Wizards are considered the favorites in the upcoming matchup. Will the capital club manage to beat the Nets for the 3rd time in a row?

Four wins in eight games is quite a good start to the season for Washington, who was hardly initially considered a top-8 Eastern Conference contender. The Wizards are now in seventh place and could climb into the top six as soon as they face Brooklyn. Bradley Beal is far from being a superstar for the second year in a row, but he's pretty effective offensively. Kristaps Porzingis is nearly as good as his club leader: the Latvian center is averaging 21 points, which is very encouraging. Truth be told, despite having a big-time shooter, Washington ranks only 21st in three-point percentage, and only one player on the team, Will Barton, shoots over 40 for his elite percentage. The good news is that the Wizards remain essentially injury-free, with only Delon Wright on the injured list.

Wes Unseld Jr.'s squad defeated Philadelphia on the road last match, 121-111. The Wizards shot poorly from beyond the arc, which had no impact on their scoring. Only 5 of their 21 long-range attempts were accurate, with Barton and Porzingis both hitting just 2-of-8 from beyond the arc. Bradley Beal had near his best game of the season with 29 points, while Porzingis was Washington's most productive player. The Latvian big man shot well from midrange and under the basket, while constantly fouling his opponent. Kristaps scored 30 points.

The Nets have lost 6 of their 8 starting games this season and are still just 13th in the Eastern Conference. The big scoop was the resignation of the club's head coach, Steve Nash. Now Brooklyn is in an atmosphere of uncertainty. The management is looking for a replacement for Nash, Ime Udoka was already considered, but for now Jacque Vaughn is acting as the head coach. As for the Nets' playmaking problems, they're still struggling with three-point shooting, even with Joe Harris, Patty Mills, Royce O'Neale and Seth Curry. Mills leads the team in field-goal percentage, but still plays sometimes less than 10 minutes. Curry is still reeling from his injury and his participation in the game against Washington is questionable. Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons are not expected to play. Kyrie was recently suspended for 5 games, adding another scandal to Brooklyn's roster.

The day before, the Nets faced the Bulls and lost by a score of 99-108. Kyrie Irving was out of sorts, scoring only 4 points, but Kevin Durant's effort was inadequate. Royce O'Neale was good, hitting 8 of 12 shots from the field, while Yuta Watanabe came off the bench well. Brooklyn had a respectable percentage from beyond the arc, but the team was blighted by a high number of turnovers (eight more than Chicago). Even without Ben Simmons, the Nets played good defense in the paint, although primary center Nicholas Claxton only made 1 blocked shot.

Brooklyn has a decent defense even without Ben Simmons and the team's effort is unquestionable. Kyrie Irving has been one of the weaker parts of the defense and Patty Mills will be more reliable in his own half as well. Offensively, of course, it will be tougher, especially against Washington, who was top of the defensive rankings until recently. The Wizards' main stars aren't very stable, and Porzingis, for example, could very well be stopped. The teams' recent head-to-head encounters have been physical, and we expect something similar to happen now. Our prediction is as follows:

• H2 (+3.5) for 1.85;
• TU (226.5) for 1.57;
• W2 (incl. OT) for 2.30.