An out-of-sorts Washington Wizards outfit will set out to avoid a 17th consecutive defeat in Sunday's meeting against the Denver Nuggets at the Capital One Arena.
Like their hosts, the visitors also came away empty-handed from their most recent outing and will be looking to get back to winning ways this weekend.
Match preview
Facing arguably their toughest test of the campaign to date, the Denver Nuggets were powerless to stop a 126-114 defeat against early frontrunners Cleveland Cavaliers in Friday's meeting at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
In a game that saw Nikola Jokic eclipse Magic Johnson for the third-most triple-doubles in NBA history (139), Michael Malone's men were punished for their slow starts to the first and third quarters as they went into the final 12 minutes with a near-unassailable 15-point deficit to make up.
With four wins and four defeats apiece from their last eight encounters, the Nuggets have blown hot and cold in recent weeks and currently sit eighth in the Western Conference heading into Sunday's encounter.
Off the back of six straight victories against their upcoming opponents, the Nuggets are huge favourites to emerge victorious here and avoid suffering back-to-back losses for the first time since November 18.
Averaging a league-low 31 three-point attempts per game, Sunday's hosts have had issues with their shooting from deep so far but have made up for it quite well with their excellent work from the foul line, ranking top for free throws made per game.
Following a shambolic campaign last time out, which saw them finish bottom but one in the East, ahead of only the Detroit Pistons, the Washington Wizards are well on course for another underwhelming regular season.
After kicking off the season with consecutive defeats against the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers, Brian Keefe's men responded with back-to-back wins over the Atlanta Hawks but are without a victory since then.
A 137-101 defeat to the Dallas Mavericks on Friday marked the Wizards' heaviest loss of the season so far, extending their longest losing streak in franchise history to 16 games.
Unsurprisingly, the Wizards are at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings at the moment, with just two wins to their name all-season long, at least three fewer than any other team after 20 outings so far.
Having given up the most points per game in the league (123.6) and recorded the third-fewest points per game (106.7) so far, Sunday's visitors have large room for improvement at both ends of the court to spark a turnaround.
Washington Wizards NBA form:
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- L
- L
- L
- L
- L
Denver Nuggets NBA form:
- W
- L
- W
- L
- W
- L
Team News
Aaron Gordon is nearing a return for the Nuggets from a calf problem and is unavailable for Sunday's game alongside DaRon Holmes II, who is still battling with an Achilles tendon injury.
Vlatko Cancar is also unavailable for the away side with a knee sprain, but Peyton Watson is back in contention, having recently made his comeback from a right adductor strain.
Patrick Baldwin Jr, Corey Kispert and Kyshawn George are all nursing ankle injuries and are expected to miss out for the Washington Wizards this weekend.
Saddiq Bey and Tristan Vukcevic are yet to fully recuperate from respective knee problems, while Malcolm Brogdon's involvement is doubtful due to a tight left hamstring.
Kyle Kuzma had to come off with a rib problem against the Los Angeles Clippers last month, but the forward is drawing increasingly closer to a return to action.
Washington Wizards possible starting five:
Poole, Carrington; Coulibaly, Sarr; Valanciunas
Denver Nuggets possible starting five:
Murray, Braun; Watson, Porter Jr.; Jokic
We say: Nuggets to win by 9+ points
The Wizards have been abysmal this term, so anything less than a win for the Nuggets here would be less than ideal.
The away side have dominated this fixture to a large extent of late, and we can see them coming out on top once again at the sound of the final buzzer.
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