The Washington Wizards get their 2024-25 NBA regular season campaign underway when they go head-to-head with champions Boston Celtics at the Capital One Arena on Friday.
Both sides have come into the new season off the back of contrasting outings last term, with Boston raising Banner 18 and the Wizards breaking their franchise record defeat tally.
Match preview
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The goal for the Washington Wizards heading into the new season remains to continue their rebuild process as they look to improve on what was a forgettable and mediocre 2023-24 campaign.
Trading away two key starters in Bradley Beal and 29-year-old Kristaps Porzingis, who went on to win the NBA Championship with the Boston Celtics, was a huge gamble, to say the least, and one which blew up in their faces.
Washington brought in Jordan Poole from the Golden State Warriors for big money and snapped up French lottery ticket Bilal Coulibaly, but they never really got going as they finished with a franchise record 67-loss campaign.
One-time NBA Champion Kyle Kuzma, who won the championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, put up solid numbers, finishing with 22.2 points, 4.2 assists and 6.6 rebounds per game, but could only lead the Wizards to just 15 wins as they missed the playoff for a third consecutive year.
Despite his 8-31 record as interim coach last season, Washington have opted to hand Brian Keefe the permanent role as they aim to end up right back in the lottery and continue their rebuild process with acquisition of top talent.
While the Wizards finished with an unconvincing 3-2 record in pre-season, they picked up a morale-boosting 118-117 victory over the New York Knicks in their final exhibition game last weekend and will look to build on that result.
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Having stormed to the 2023-24 NBA championship, the Boston Celtics enter the new season looking to become the first side to win back-to-back titles since the Golden State Warriors in 2018 — a feat that they last achieved back in 1969.
Boston assembled one of the league's best two-way squads, led by the deadly tag team of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and finished with an impressive 82-21 record en route to their first Larry O'Brien Championship trophy since 2008.
Tatum tallied 25.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game in the playoffs, leading Joe Mazzulla's men in all three departments, while Brown knocked down an average 23.9 points per game in an MVP-winning run as the Celtics brushed aside the Dallas Mavericks 4-1 in the finals.
The Boston Celtics have kept their core roster intact as they aim for a 19th title and will kick off their championship defence with a mouth-watering clash with the New York Knicks on Wednesday before visiting the Capital One Arena to face the Wizards.
Mazzulla's men are currently on a 4-0 run against the Washington Wizards, winning each of their most recent four clashes while averaging 130.25 points across each game, a run stretching back to their 103-98 loss in the 2023 Summer League.
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Team News
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Off the back of a mediocre 2023-24 campaign, the Washington Wizards have made moves in the offseason in terms of trades, bringing in Jonas Valanciunas from the New Orleans Pelicans as they look to strengthen their core.
Washington have also acquired veteran guard Malcolm Brogdon, who won the Sixth Man of the Year award with the Celtics in 2023, and the Z will offer the Wizards the much-needed experience on the court.
Alex Sarr was selected with the second overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and is expected to be one of the stars off the board while 19-year-old Carlton Carrington, selected with the No. 14 pick in the Draft, has shown promise, following an impressive display across five games in Summer League.
The Boston Celtics, meanwhile, have stood pat in terms of trades in the offseason, only bringing in former Los Angeles Lakers guard Lonnie Walker IV and snapping up Baylor Scheierman with the 30th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Mazzulla will be unable to call upon the services of experienced center Porzingis, who continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines after sustaining a foot injury back in June.
Washington Wizards possible starting 5:
Carrington, Poole, Valanciunas, George, Kuzma
Boston Celtics possible starting 5:
Holiday, White, Brown, Tatum, Al Horford
We say: Boston Celtics to win by 10+ points
While it is going to be another year of rebuilding for the Washington Wizards, the Boston Celtics are poised to make another deep run as they eye their 19th championship.
The Celtics are firm favourites on paper, and while we expect the Wizards to put up a fight on their opening night in front of their home supporters, we are backing Mazzulla's men to come away with the desired result.
Joshua Ojele
