After dropping a close game to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night, the Washington Wizards will look to win their fifth game at home against the most talked about team in the NBA–the Cleveland Cavaliers. The game will tip-off at 8:00pm from the Verizon Center. It will be broadcasted on ESPN.

Key Match Up:

After his rookie season, most NBA pundits thought Kyrie Irving was the best young point guard in the NBA. He dazzled fans with his dribbling, his ability to create his own shot, and went on to make the All-Star team in his first year, but the Cavaliers still struggled to win games. Fast-forward three years, and the Cavaliers still haven’t made the postseason since drafting Irving first overall.

Irving has since been criticized for playing selfish basketball, and the Cavaliers have struggled to mesh in Lebron James’ return to Cleveland. Of course, although this is James’ team, Irving will remain a key piece to their success.

John Wall has been torched multiple times this season by offensive minded point guards. Irving has had big games against the Wizards in the past, and the match up has always caused excitement for both fan bases. Wall and Irving are not really that comparable anymore. Simply put, they’re two different players. Irving is a score first point guard, while Wall is on his way to leading the NBA in assists for two consecutive seasons. Wall is capable of locking his opponent down defensively, while Irving still struggles on the defensive side of the floor.

Both players are exciting in their own right and the two have renewed the Wizards-Cavaliers rivalry.

Prediction:

The Cavaliers are not playing great basketball. Their roster has completely been revamped and Irving, James, Kevin Love haven’t meshed nearly as well as pundits thought they would. They’re coming off a disappointing loss to the San Antonio Spurs and haven’t been able to win all the games they’re supposed to win on paper.

With Irving, Love, and James at the helm, Cleveland will always be able to produce points, but their defensive abilities are still questioned. The Cavaliers’ lack of perimeter defense and rim protection are two of their biggest issues.

John Wall is a lot bigger than Kyrie Irving and should be able to get to the basket at will. He’s done a great job of getting to the free throw line this season and Cleveland’s bigs will have to defend without fouling, putting even more pressure on them defensively.

Paul Pierce has always competed against James, and that match up will arguably be more intriguing than the point guard battle. Washington’s a lot deeper than Cleveland and should have an edge in the front court. Nene, Marcin Gortat, Kris Humphries, and even Kevin Seraphin will put a lot pressure on the Cavaliers’ interior defense.

Tonight’s game will be the Wizards’ biggest test and I think they will come out with the win at home. For those who have followed the Wizards for a long time, you know how anticipated this game is for the fan base. It will definitely take a while for us to get used to seeing LeBron in a Cavaliers uniform at the Verizon Center once again.

Here’s a throwback video of the old Wizards-Cavaliers rivalry–via YouTube