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Nets travel to D.C. to face Wizards ... and Bogdanovic

By Net Income
NBA: Washington Wizards at Phoenix Suns Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Streaking! For the first time all season and for nearly a year, the Nets are on a winning streak. Two games, one a buzzer beater, one a blowout. On to Washington.

For the Wizards, every game is critical to playoff positioning. Right now, Washington is three and a half games behind Cleveland, two games behind Boston and a half game ahead of Toronto, who’s won four straight. All four have had moments of struggle of late. Washington has a 6-4 record, as do Boston and Toronto. Cleveland is only 4-6 over the last 10, worse than the Nets who are 5-5.

Where to follow the game

YES Network on TV. WCBS 880 AM on radio. Tip off after 7:00. Early start.

Injuries

Jeremy Lin came back last night. Joe Harris (shoulder) and Sean Kilpatrick (hamstring) remain out.

For the Wizards, everyone is healthy. Chris McCullough is playing for the Northern Arizona Suns in the D-League.

The game

The Nets are 0-3 vs. the Wizards this year, the last an overtime thriller at Barclays Center on February 8. Bradley Beal dropped a game-high 31 points, while John Wall’s blistering speed killed the Nets all night. He finished with 23 points and 12 assists. Bojan Bogdanovic led all Nets scorers with 21 points.

Jeremy Lin didn’t play in any of the three previous games so this is Washington’s first look at the Nets key off-season acquisition. This is also Archie Goodwin’s last game of his 10-day contract, although it seems a no-brainer that he will get at least another deal that will take him up to Game 78. As Kenny Atkinson said before the Suns game, the chances of him being kept are “trending positive.”

The blowout vs. Phoenix permitted the Nets to rest a lot of key players for Friday’s contest. Jeremy Lin played only 21 minutes, Brook Lopez 24, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson 14. In fact, no Nets player toiled for more than 26 minutes.

Player to watch: Bojan Bogdanovic

Duh. Since arriving in Washington, the former Net has been a lifesaver for the Wizards whose bench was a hurting thing most of the season.

Bogdanovic is 34-of-81 from deep (.420) and averaging 14.6 points off the bench. He leads all reserves, that would be in the NBA, in total points (234) and is third in made 3-pointers (34) post All-Star Break.

He’s had three monster games off the bench. Bogdanovic's 29 points at Phoenix on March 7 is the most for any Wizards reserve in a game this season. The previous high for a reserve was 27, which Bogdanovic reached twice in his first six games with the Wizards March 1 and March 5.

In that Phoenix game he went 16-for-16 on free throws, becoming the first player in team history to attempt 16 without a miss. Against Orlando (3/5) he went for a career-high 8-for-10 on 3-pointers. The eight 3-pointers tied the most off the bench for a player in a game this season (Kyle Korver, Eric Gordon).

He has slowed down of late, averaging only 10.3 points over the last four games, shooting 41 percent overall and 25 percent from three, including an 0-of-5 outing on Monday vs. Boston, which Washington lost.

In case you forgot, the Nets traded Bogdanovic and McCullough for a first round pick in this year’s draft, which is right now No. 24; Andrew Nicholson; and Marcus Thornton who was waived so the Nets could acquire K.J. McDaniels.

The Vault

Time for some pain in the middle of this winning streak. We give you the 2010 NBA Draft Lottery where the Nets coming off their worst season (still) and hoping to grab the No. 1 pick, John Wall. It didn’t work out that way.

At least, we won’t have THAT anxiety this year!

More reading: Bullets Forever

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