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Wizards vs. Grizzlies: TV, live stream and radio info, things to watch

Wizards vs. Grizzlies: TV, live stream and radio info, things to watch

By Chase Hughes January 18, 2017 11:55 AM

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John Wall, Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards host Marc Gasol and the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night as they aim to continue rising the ranks of the NBA's Eastern Conference.

Here is all you need to know: TV, live stream and radio info, tip-off time, plus three things to watch…

WASHINGTON WIZARDS vs. MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES

Where: Verizon Center
Tip-off: 7 p.m.
TV: CSN (coverage begins at 6:30 p.m.)
Live stream: CSNmidatlantic.com
Radio: 1500 AM

Three things to watch...

Wizards get another shot

The Wizards and Grizzlies will close their season series on Wednesday night as the Wizards get their turn to host the matchup. The Grizzlies beat the Wizards in Memphis on Oct. 30 and it was one the Wizards felt got away from them. They had a chance to win before center Marc Gasol hit a game-tying three at the end of regulation. The Wizards then got blown away in overtime where the Grizzlies outscored them 12-3.

Gasol's three-pointers - he also hit a big one in overtime - took the Wizards by surprise. Now they know that is a part of his game, as he's hitting 39.1% of them this season, a respectable clip for a 7-footer.

Bradley Beal will also look for a better game this time around. He was limited to just 14 points on 5-of-17 shooting in October.

[RELATED: Next 15 games set table for Wizards' season]

Allen is back

The Wizards went to Memphis for the second game of the season and at that time Grizzlies guard Tony Allen was sidelined with a knee injury. Allen is still getting it done defensively with 1.8 steals per game at the age of 35. That should provide a good challenge for Beal, who will probably see plenty of him on Wednesday night. Allen and Mike Conley, Jr. form a dynamic defensive tandem as a backcourt. 

Beal, in fact, says he's never played against Allen and is looking forward to the matchup:

"This is actually my first time playing against Tony...It was either I was hurt or he was hurt," he said. "It will be a little new and different for me. I know how he is just watching him in previous years on TV, just seeing how physical he is. He's a really great defender who takes pride in it. For me, it's just moving without the ball to make him tired and not being afraid to be physical back. Give him some bumps, hit him back and on top of that just make sure I take care of the ball and be strong with it."

Shooting percentage

The Wizards have won 12 straight at home in large part due to the fact they shoot an impressively high percentage at home. Only the Warriors shoot better than the Wizards (48.7%) at home this season.

That will be put to the test on Wednesday night, though, against a Grizzlies team that is exeptional at making their opponents take tough shots. They are third in basketball in opponents field goal percentage, limiting teams to just 43.5% from the field. They allow a league-low 34.2 field goal makes per game. The Grizzlies are also pretty good on the road with a winning record at 11-10.

[RELATED: Wall gives his Eastern Conference All-Star starters]

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Bradley Beal's phantom foul and the Wizards' most important rally of the season

Bradley Beal's phantom foul and the Wizards' most important rally of the season

By Chase Hughes April 22, 2018 11:31 PM

After calling an inconsistent game throughout the night, the referees made a decision with five minutes to go in Game 4 that nearly altered the entire series between the Wizards and Raptors.

DeMar DeRozan was chasing a rebound on the baseline and ran into Bradley Beal. Beal, who had a team-high 31 points, was levied a sixth and final foul with the score tied. 

Beal had unloaded for 20 points in 12 minutes in the second half, but now the Wizards would have to close it out without their All-Star shooting guard. Somehow, they were able to seal the win and tie the series.

Beal heard the whistle as he laid on the ground. He immediately hopped up and unleashed a tantrum that nobody could blame him for.

He jumped up and down, screaming at the referees, who had just called by all accounts a questionable foul and in a key moment of a playoff game.

Both Beal and head coach Scott Brooks were incensed and with good reason.

“I was beyond emotional, beyond mad, frustrated," Beal said. "I honestly thought they were going to kick me out of the game I was so mad, but I was happy they didn’t do that."

Beal is probably lucky the referees didn't take offense to his reaction because it continued when he was on the bench. He walked past his teammates and leaned over with his hands on his knees, still furious. Then he returned to the sideline to yell at the refs. Center Ian Mahinmi helped convince him to step back and cool off.

Beal has made a major difference in this series. He averaged 14.0 points in the first two games, both losses. He has averaged 29.5 points in Games 3 and 4, two Wizards wins.

Getting him out of the game was a major break for the Raptors, but they couldn't take advantage. The Wizards closed the final five minutes on a 14-6 tear. John Wall stepped up to lead the charge with eight of those points.

The Wizards still had one star on the court and he played like one.

“Just go in attack mode," Wall said. "When Brad went out, I knew I had to do whatever it took... I just wanted to do whatever, so that we could advance to Game 5, tied 2-2.”

Once Beal composed himself, his confidence grew in his teammates. He and Wall feel comfortable playing without each other because they have done so often throughout their careers.

This year, Wall missed 41 games due to a left knee injury. Two years ago, Beal missed 27 games. Early on in his career, he had trouble staying healthy. Now he is an iron man who played in all 82 games during the 2017-18 regular season.

Beal has grown accustomed to being on the floor a lot, but he realized he can still affect the game from the sidelines.

"I just gathered my emotions, gathered my thoughts and told my team we were going to win, regardless. I knew if we still had John [Wall] in the game I loved our chances," Beal said. "Face the adversity that I had to overcome, just gather myself and be a leader, being vocal and keeping everyone encouraged in the game.”

Wall and others did the heavy lifting in the end. The Wizards used Kelly Oubre, Jr. as the shooting guard with Beal out and he made key plays down the stretch, including a steal on Kyle Lowry in the closing seconds.

The Wizards were thrown a significant curveball and they overcame it to put themselves in good position now having won two straight.

“You have to have resolve to win in this league," Brooks said. "You win playoff games and you win playoff series with having that. We have that, and we have to continue to have that because we have to win two more games and one of them has to be on the road."

When it comes to the officiating, the Wizards deserve credit for their resilience and restraint early in Game 4. The Raptors had 16 free throws in the first quarter compared to the Wizards' four. Washington perservered and ended up with more free throws (31) than the Raptors (30) did for the game.

In Game 1, the Wizards appeared to be affected by a lack of foul calls. That came was called loosely by the referees, while this one was officiated tightly. Though Beal went off, the Wizards for the most part stayed the course and were rewarded for it.

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The Wizards supplied all the highlights and fireworks; 5 must-see moments from Game 4

The Wizards supplied all the highlights and fireworks; 5 must-see moments from Game 4

By Tyler Byrum April 22, 2018 10:12 PM

WASHINGTON -- As the home team in a dire situation you have to take advantage, and that is exactly what the Washington Wizards did in their 106-98 win over the Toronto Raptors.

Highlight reel play after highlight reel play, the Wizards ignited the crowd with some of their best plays from the entire season to make it 2-2 in the series. Here are just a few of them:

1. John Wall collects posters in the first half

The first one was perhaps the best. Everything was going wrong for the Wizards, poor turnovers, bad shots, a three from Toronto. Then John Wall had enough. Not only did he fly past his defender Kyle Lowry, but he went up and slammed one home past the 7-foot Jonas Valanciunas. Up until that point, the Wizards were shooting 1-for-7.

Rinse and repeat, except this time Jakob Poeltl was Wall’s victim.

2. Wall to Beal alley-oop in transition

With the Wizards’ offense faltering, the Raptors remained on the verge of blowing the game open throughout the second quarter. But with a steal from Otto Porter Jr., Wall hung up the ball for Bradley Beal to slam home. The alley-oop kept the Wizards within single digits in the second with an uninspiring offensive effort.

3. Otto Porter breaks out of the half

A subdued offensive start to the game was due in part to the production from Porter. In the first half he went 0-for-4 with one point in nearly 17 minutes of action.

Throw that away in the second half. He broke out of halftime with back-to-back threes and 10 of the Wizards’ 26 in a monster 26-14 run to take the lead back in the third.

He finished the quarter with 10 points, an assist, and two blocks.

4. The Polish Hammer throwing it home

Are you convinced yet that Marcin Gortat’s new haircut is doing him some good? Gortat squeezed through two Raptors’ defenders, threw it down, gave a Goliath-type roar to the crowd before officially bringing the hammer down. 

5. Beal being called for his sixth foul of the game

Agree with the call or not, there is no denying that Beal’s removal from the game lit a fire underneath the Wizards. From that point Washington went on a 14-6 scoring run to end the game, closing out for the win.

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