The Washington Wizards have revealed their preseason schedule, which is set to begin in October. The Wizards will play three games in five days, featuring some intriguing matchups. While it’s only the preseason, it’s still an important time for Washington. For the rookies, it will give them their first real taste of NBA action, as the Summer League mostly only features rookies, sophomores, and G League players, and not the veterans and true stars of the league.
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Wizards Reveal Intriguing Preseason Schedule
The Wizards will be playing the Toronto Raptors, New York Knicks, and Detroit Pistons as their warmup before the season. All Eastern Conference opponents, this will give the Wizards a first look at some dynamic squads featuring both decent offensive options and strong defensive units. Let’s dive into these matchups and how these teams competed against each other last season.
Toronto Raptors
Washington will play their sole home preseason game on October 12 against the Raptors. Washington and Toronto played four games against each other last season, with the Raptors winning the series 3-1. This matchup features two top-ten picks who should both be on the court a decent amount throughout the game. Tre Johnson and Collin Murray-Boyles headline a game filled with young talent on both teams. The frontcourt battle between Alex Sarr and Jakob Poeltl should be intriguing. Sarr struggled against the Raptors all season long and will have his hands full with the league’s tenth-best rebounding unit last season.
For the first game, look for Washington to clear the bench early, trying out a multitude of different lineups with so many new faces on the roster. Look for guys like Cam Whitmore and Dillon Jones to get ample minutes with the main core from last season.
New York Knicks
The Wizards will play in Madison Square Garden on October 13 against the Knicks. Last season, the Knicks swept the season series against Washington 4-0. The Knicks will provide Washington with an extremely tough offensive matchup. Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns are an extremely talented pair, with the outside scoring bonus of Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby.
It will be exciting to see how Johnson can handle a defensive unit like New York’s as well. While their bench isn’t lockdown, their starting lineup is solid. Heading into the season, Johnson may be relied on for a substantial amount of Washington’s scoring, but his playmaking will need to improve. This game should help show signs of that improvement.
Detroit Pistons
Rounding out the Wizards’ preseason, they will head to Detroit to play the Pistons on October 16. The Pistons took the three-game series last season, finishing 2-1 against the Wizards. Washington will have its hands full with a new, physical style of ball the Pistons play. Washington struggled much of last season, and a lot of that was due to the lack of physicality. While it’s only the preseason, the Wizards need to show that this was a last season problem, as physicality is such a big part of the game.
This game should provide a good look at Washington’s defense as well. While Cade Cunningham is certainly one of the top guards in the league, his main weakness is turnovers. Washington should game-plan to attack him and send multiple bodies his way to give everyone a chance at guarding an excellent offensive player.
The Last Word
This preseason carries a slightly different weight for the Wizards. It’s the first chance at the second phase of Washington’s rebuild, and fans should be excited to see the entire team together. This season will usher in what could be one of the last few rebuilding years for the Wizards. With that being said, the preseason is a perfect opportunity for the Wizards’ young core to get meshed together before the start of the season. There are a lot of new faces, but they all have the same goal: bring some hype back to the nation’s capital.
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