Golden State Warriors vs. Washington Wizards: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 1/16/2023

Time: 3 p.m. ET

Venue: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC

Where to watch: NBCSWA, NBCSBA

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FanDuel: Check back later

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Caesars: Check back later

Warriors: 21-22

Wizards: 18-25

Warriors: lost 132-118 at Bulls

Wizards: lost 112-108 at Knicks

A “fun” battle between two teams that have lost four of five, the Golden State Warriors will be traveling to the nation’s capital to take on the Washington Wizards on Monday.

The Warriors are coming off a 132-118 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Sunday and now have to travel on the second leg of a back-to-back. Steph Curry continues to work his way back to full strength with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Klay Thompson chipped in with 26 points. The Golden State defense was the letdown with the Bulls making 51 percent of their shots and allowing Nikola Vucevic to go nuclear with 43 points and 13 rebounds.

Nevertheless, even if Vucevic proved they don’t have an interior defense, the Warriors just haven’t gotten things together at the right time.

“It's got to be a team effort to slow (Vucevic) down and connect the game,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “It seemed like they had seven or eight stampede fast breaks that ended up in layups or dunks. And that's because of poor offensive possessions, either on difficult shot attempts or turnovers.”

The Warriors have fallen to .500 ball over the last 10 games with this four-losses-in-five-game stretch. Golden State also hasn’t covered in four of the last five, the only time being as 9-point favorites in that 144-113 win over the Spurs in the Alamodome on Friday. Other than that, not much has been working as of late. The only hope for the Warriors is that Curry’s return will slowly, gradually work into the Dubs going back to juggernaut mode.

The Wizards are also on a bit of a losing skid after a long winning streak. Apparently the Wizards and Warriors haven’t been seen in the same room until now. The Wizards are coming off a 112-108 loss to the New York Knicks on Friday and also fell a half-point short of covering as 3.5-point underdogs. Kyle Kuzma did all he could with 40 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in the game of his life, and Kristaps Porzingis had 21 points on 6 of 19 shooting against his former team.

“Jalen Brunson. He just took over the game,” Kuzma said of the Knicks guard for scoring 34 in the New York win. “He's an All-Star this year. He's been playing phenomenal basketball. ... You can just tell from the team last year to this year, they have more poise and patience, and they look for him, and he delivered tonight.”

Washington is currently 1.5 games out of a playoff spot and are a game behind the Toronto Raptors for the 11th spot, so any win they can get at this point. The Wizards have failed to cover in four of the last five so it’s not like there’s much for them to go off of right now.

In order for the Warriors to get back on track, they’re going to need to take care of business against those teams that they should beat. This is one of them. The Warriors should be able to dictate tha pace with the Splash Brothers and should do well enough on the defensive end to start getting back on track. Warriors 124, Wizards 110

Warriors are 41-66 ATS on the road the past three years.

Warriors are 8-12 ATS in non-conference games this season.

Wizards are 11-20 ATS in January the last 3 seasons.

PG: Steph Curry

SG: Jordan Poole

SF: Andrew Wiggins

PF: Draymond Green

C: Kevon Looney

PG: Monte Morris

SG: Corey Kispert

SF: Kyle Kuzma

PF: Kristaps Porzingis

C: Daniel Gafford

Warriors: Klay Thompson (out)

Wizards: Bradley Beal (hamstring, questionable)

Points: Steph Curry – 29.2

Rebounds: Kevon Looney – 8.5

Assists: Draymond Green – 6.6

Points: Bradley Beal – 22.9

Rebounds: Kristaps Porzingis – 8.9

Assists: Monte Morris – 5.3