The Washington Wizards ended their two game losing streak on Saturday night against the New Orleans Pelicans, and will continue their homestand tonight against the Miami HEAT. The game will tip off at 7:00pm from the Verizon Center.

Key Match Up:

With Nene out, Marcin Gortat has to accept a bigger role for the team on both sides of the floor, and we saw him play at a very high level in Nene’s absence on Saturday night. Gortat was outmatched by Anthony Davis athletically, but he used his size to get positioning in the post, looking much more comfortable with the ball in his hands than in previous games.

Gortat finished the game with 24 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 blocks, ultimately leading the Washington Wizards to a much needed win at home. Tonight, he’ll be matched up against one of the most versatile players in the league–Chris Bosh. After yesterday’s practice, Gortat talked about his match up with Bosh and the need to increase his production:

“This is how it is in this league. If you’re not going to attack this guy then you’re night is going to be long because he’s going to continue to attack you. He’s a force. He’s really aggressive. He’s shooting the ball well. He’s driving, posting. Obviously when LeBron [James] left the pressure is on him now…”

Averaging nearly 22 points and 9 rebounds per game, Bosh has become the leading man in Miami. Much like the Atlanta Hawks, Miami’s front court will present some match up problems for the Washington Wizards.

Washington has struggled to defend stretch fours, and with Shawne Williams/Chris Bosh, the Wizards will have to find a way to defend the perimeter without giving up offensive rebounds like they did on opening night against the HEAT. The Wizards have talked about wanting to secure wins over Southeast Division opponents, and they’ll have a chance to do so tonight. The front court match up could swing the result of the game.

Prediction:

John Wall and Bradley Beal haven’t been great in the past few contests and they’re bound to have bounce back performances. They’ll be matched up against Norris Cole and Dwyane Wade, so the Washington Wizards should have an edge in the back court, at least on paper. The HEAT are much deeper than they were last season, but they haven’t gotten consistent production from their back ups. Washington’s reserves have to play better than they did against New Orleans on Saturday.

With all that said, if the Washington Wizards contain Chris Bosh and Miami’s stretch bigs, they should be able to get another home win tonight. Again, Wall should be able to dominate his match up against Miami’s point guards and that might be enough to get the ‘W’.