Washington Wizards: Previewing their 5-game road trip

Dallas Mavericks, Jan. 22

The Washington Wizards are the Eastern Conference’s fifth-best team, at least based on their 25-19 record. On the flip side, the Dallas Mavericks are the Western Conference’ 13th-best team with a 15-30 record. Yet somehow, the Mavericks are 1-0 against the Wizards in 2017-18.

The Wizards fell to the Dallas Mavericks 113-99 back on Nov. 7 in another one of those head-scratching manners. Washington trailed 64-53 at halftime of this game and never fully recovered, giving Dallas just its second victory of the season back in November.

Washington had everybody available for this game, which makes the result even more confusing. Harrison Barnes finished with a game-high 31 points and Dennis Smith Jr. finished with 22 points in the rout of Washington at home.

The Washington Wizards will need to hold Barnes and Smith at bay when the teams face off next  Monday night. The Mavericks went 8-8 in the month of December and despite being 2-5 in January, they’re not a team to be taken lightly. This is another one of those must-win games for the Wizards as they look to have a positive outcome on this road trip.