November 26, 2012; Washington, DC, USA; San Antonio Spurs power forward Tim Duncan (21) holds the ball as Washington Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal (3) reaches in the second half at Verizon Center. The Spurs won 118-92. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Washington’s brutal road trip is finally coming to an end against the San Antonio Spurs tonight. The game will tip off from the AT&T Center at 8:30 PM.

Key Match Up:

Before John Wall gained notably recognition for his speed, Tony Parker was always known as one of the quickest point guards in the league. At 31-years old, Parker hasn’t lost a step and is coming off what was arguably the best season of his 13 year NBA career. Parker is undefeated against John Wall in their four meetings, and is averaging 22 points and over 10 assists in their match ups. Needless to say, Parker’s experience has really gave him an edge over Wall and unless something unexpected happens, I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the case tonight as well. Even though Parker isn’t the most athletic point guard in the world, his ability to run the team has certainly made up for any of his weaknesses.

On the other hand, I’d like to see John Wall really stay competitive with Parker tonight. Throughout the past few games, Wall hasn’t been as aggressive as he usually is especially when attacking the basket. He’s been dealing with some lingering back spasms, so that could potentially be the case, but nevertheless Wall should definitely try and increase his point production. I realize that he’s looking to get his teammates involved, but he has to know when it’s time for him to step up and increase his aggressiveness. Tonight would be a good time to start, especially against a point guards such as Tony Parker.

Notes:

Washington’s bench was absolutely terrible last night, and Randy Wittman went out of his way to mention their poor play. Bradley Beal is third in the NBA in minutes per game, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Wittman decides to give Glen Rice Jr. an extended amount of minutes, especially if Beal is struggling to find his offensive. Kevin Seraphin was also benched after a few atrocious plays last night. Hopefully that means Wittman will look towards some of the other bigs on Washington’s bench.

Gregg Popovich is notorious for resting some of his veteran players against sub par competition and he might decide to do so tonight.

According to NBA.COM, the Spurs have the seventh highest defensive rating in the NBA. They’re also second defensively, behind the undefeated Indiana Pacers. This could get really ugly tonight.

Prediction:

A lot has to go right for the Wizards to win tonight. Tonight will be their second game of a back-to-back, and the Spurs are simply the better team. Washington hasn’t beaten the Spurs on the road in years, and I don’t expect that to change tonight.

Wizards will probably lose by double digits before returning home to face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday.