The “Battle of Futility” will be played this week as the Detroit “Misfiring” Pistons head into D.C. to face off against the Washington “Blanks” Bullets, I mean Wizards.  This battle actually does have major ramifications, as whoever loses will have the inside track for the best percentage to get the top pick in the 2015 NLL Draft.  Only 4 teams still have only 1 win.  Small surprise that 3 of these teams reside in the Eastern Conference, a loaded conference that has 8 teams with a .600 record or better.  Let’s take a look at these two teams:

Detroit

GM Mavs4life just can’t seem to catch a break in the NLL, after captaining a middling team in Boston for a few seasons, Mavs decided to head to Detroit to show it wasn’t Kobe that made him a playoff GM.  I wonder if Mavs would like to turn back the clock?  Boston has become a top 4 team out East, while Detroit seems to be a conference punching bag.  The Pistons have been trading away older, higher contract players, so I guess you could say they are in rebuild mode.  They definitely could use some more team chemistry.  A NLL reporter recently commented on the dissention in the locker room, as Jonas Valanciunas seems to be frustrated with his teammates not feeding him the rock.  Trey Burke and Dion Waiters seem more like they want to outdo each other in shot attempts. 

Washington

Washington was a team with lots of promise.  An anonymous GM mentioned that Washington would have been a force in the NLL had he stuck with the team he had in preseason.  The numbers don’t lie, as Washington was winning at a solid rate…….until the regular season started, I mean RE-started.  What’s odd is that this team has talent, they should be winning more games.  For some reason, be it chemistry or poor coaching, they just can’t win this year.  5 players average double figures for the Wiz, yet they only average about 94 points per game.  What’s wrong here?

Matchups

PG:

Trey Burke vs Isaiah Thomas

Burke is shooting an abysmal 35% from the floor while IT is on fire, scoring 27 a game.

EDGE: WASHINGTON

SG:

Dion Waiters vs Brandon Jennings

Waiters scoring 22 per and Jennings is scoring 26.  Jennings passes too, with a 9.4 assist per game average.  Waiters likes to shoot.

EDGE: WASHINGTON

SF:

Chase Budinger vs Gordon Hayward

Budinger is finally seeing meaningful playing time after being injured for much of last few seasons.  He’s rusty and it shows.  Gordon Hayward is killing from downtown at a 48% clip.  He’s also pouring in 19 per.

EDGE: WASHINGTON

PF:

Tyler Hansbrough vs JJ Hickson

Hansbrough is a hustle guy.  He’s made a career of diving after loose balls, getting dirty in the trenches and being willing to forego offensive touches.  However, JJ Hickson is a player in the same vein, only Hickson does it better AND has offensive output to boot.

EDGE: WASHINGTON

C:

Jonas Valanciunas vs Nick Collison

JV is the best center on either roster.  Why doesn’t Detroit just force feed him the ball in the post? Collison is undersized for a center, but who else is really gonna play that position for the Wiz? 

BENCH:

Washington has the edge with a better bench.

PREDICTION

Neither team seems to want to win, as they are worst and 2^nd to worst in the league in points allowed.  Also, both teams are in the bottom third in scoring.  This won’t be a game everyone is watching.  Hell, this game could possibly get pre-empted for the New York-Milwaukee game if the camera men start falling asleep.  At the end of the day, Washington just seems to have much more firepower than Detroit.  They may both be 1-8, but we think the Wiz will win by double figures!

Our Prediction:  Detroit 87  Washington 101

Vegas line:  Wash -5.5