After their loss in Boston, the Wizards travel back home to take on the Pacers in a game that will decide who plays the Sixers in the first round of the playoffs. If Washington is going to advance, they’ll need to get more out of their supporting cast and Candace Buckner of The Washington Post believes getting better play from Davis Bertans could make all the difference.
Bertans went 0-for-7 from three-point land, scoring just four points in 33 minutes of action. After the game, Scott Brooks expressed confidence that Bertans will bounce back.
“He’s a great three-point shooter who had a bad game shooting-wise,” Brooks told FortyEightMinutes and other media via zoom.
Bertans’ season has been up-and-down to put in kindly. At times, he made GM Tommy Sheppard look shrewd for the five-year, $80 million contract he handed Bertans; at other times, it’s looked like one of those regrettable deals.
Regardless, Bertans is currently part of the supporting cast that’s going to define how far Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook go this postseason. If they can’t advance past Indiana—a team they’ve beaten three times already—it’s easy to envision some changes in Washington next season and Bertans’ role on the team could be one of them.
More From Washington
- Beal and Raul Neto are both dealing with hamstring injuries but Brooks indicated (via zoom with FortyEightMinutes and other reporters on Wednesday) that each player is expected to play on Thursday night. The coach described the two guards as having “normal soreness.”
- Brooks indicated that guarding Pacers big man Domantas Sabonis will be a major point of emphasis. “We’ve got 18 fouls,” the coach said referring to Alex Len, Robin Lopez, and Daniel Gafford. “And we’re going to need them.”
- Tuesday night’s Wizard-Celtics game was the most-watched game on TNT since opening night. Roughly 2.5 million viewers tuned in for the contest.
- Jason Logan of Covers.com takes a look at some trends ahead of the Pacers-Wizards contests and finds that Indiana’s total has gone over in 13 of the last 16 games for the team when the Pacers are road underdogs. Indiana just scored 144 points against Charlotte on Tuesday and while the Wizards’ defense has been better lately, it’s far from consistent.
Pacers-Wizards Odds
- Spread: Wizards -3.5
- Total: 237.5
- Moneyline: Pacers +140
Odds via PointsBet
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