The Washington Wizards are coming off two straight victories and will look to get their second road win of the season tonight at Madison Square Garden. They’ll meet the New York Knicks at 7:30pm EST.

Key Match Up:

Paul Pierce didn’t even play an entire half in his home debut with the Washington Wizards before getting ejected against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night. Luckily for the Wizards, Otto Porter would go on to have a career-game, leading the team to their first home win of the season with 21 points off the bench.

Porter showed that he’s capable of contributing this season, and arguably the most impressive performance of his young NBA career came against Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks during preseason. Porter scored 22 points at Madison Square Garden, but the Washington Wizards weren’t able to stop Carmelo Anthony late in the fourth quarter.

For the Washington Wizards to win tonight, they’re going to need to contain Carmelo Anthony.

The Knicks are still trying to figure out the triangle system under Derek Fisher and their offense has struggled at times. The Washington Wizards no longer have Trevor Ariza to rely on and both Pierce/Porter will be called upon to defend the Knicks’ star. Although Anthony will get his points, it’s important to limit the number of easy looks he gets in the contest. Forcing him to take tough perimeter shots will be key for the Wizards’ victory.

Pierce and Anthony have had some good match ups in the past, and it will be interesting to see how Porter plays after Saturday’s game.

Prediction:

The Knicks aren’t a very good defensive team. With Jose Calderon out, New York has one of the worst point guard rotations in the league and John Wall has torched them virtually every time the two teams have met. Wall scored 29 points and dished out 7 assists in their preseason meeting and should be able to dominate against Pablo Prigioni and Shane Larkin.

The same goes for the Washington Wizards’ bigs, who’ve played spectacular basketball over the past few games. Nene and Marcin Gortat have dominated inside and the Knicks’ interior defense has left much to be desired. Samuel Dalembert has given them some shot blocking inside, but the Knicks still lack a cohesive defensive unit. Between Wall’s drive and kicks, pick and rolls, and scoring inside, the Washington Wizards should get a lot of easy baskets at Madison Square Garden.

I think the Washington Wizards will get a relatively easy win at New York. The Knicks are still trying to find an identity, and even though they do have some players that are capable of turning games around, the Washington Wizards have looked in-sync since their first loss in Miami. John Wall and Co. should get the win tonight.