Washington Wizards vs Denver Nuggets: Combined starting 5 featuring Bradley Beal and Nikola Jokic - February 25th, 2021
The rejuvenated Washington Wizards will continue their road trip in the West on February 25th when they visit the Denver Nuggets' Ball Arena. Both teams have shown some inconsistency in the 2020-21 NBA season, with the Wizards making a dismal start to the year and Denver continuing to play around .500 after 31 games (17-14 record).
Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook had ignited a five-game winning streak for the Washington Wizards, which ended against the LA Clippers on February 23rd. The team has won six of its last 10 games and still has a shot at making it to the play-in tournament at the end of the regular season.
Meanwhile, Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray have helped the Denver Nuggets to a 17-14 record, and are looking to get directly into the 2021 NBA Playoffs (seeds 1-6 get a direct spot into the postseason).
In this piece, we will create a combined starting five with the best players from the Washington Wizards and Denver Nuggets.
Washington Wizards vs Denver Nuggets: Combined starting 5
Though the Washington Wizards were on fire lately, with impressive road wins over Portland and the LA Lakers, they have an 11-18 record for the year. Still, they are two games behind 10th place in the East, which would be good enough for the play-in tournament.
On the other hand, the Denver Nuggets are coming off a 111-106 win over the Portland Trail Blazers thanks to 41 points from Jokic and 24 from Jamal Murray (19 of those 24 came in the fourth quarter).
Without further ado, let us take a look at a combined lineup from the Washington Wizards and Denver Nuggets.
Point Guard - Russell Westbrook (Washington Wizards)
Russell Westbrook did not make the 2021 All-Star teams, but he remains a solid player in the NBA. Even though he has not been as efficient as he was last year with the Houston Rockets, Westbrook fills the stat sheet in every game for the Washington Wizards.
The former MVP is leading the NBA in triple-doubles again (eight so far) and is close to averaging a triple-double for the full year (it would be the fourth time of his career and the fifth in NBA history).
'Russ' is putting up 19.9 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 9.7 assists per game, playing 34 minutes in each. Westbrook's issue in the current season has been his shot. He has made 43% of his field goals, but only 28% of his threes and a career-low 60% of his free throws.
Shooting Guard - Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards)
Bradley Beal has been the NBA's main scorer in the 2020-21 NBA season. Though he's not been able to lead the team to a winning record, Beal is the most important player on offense.
He is averaging a league-best 32.7 points per game with a 48/33/89 shooting split for the entire season. Beal has had 18 games of at least 30 points in the year, while he has three performances of at least 40 points and one 60-point outing.
Beal is also averaging five rebounds and five assists per game for the Washington Wizards.
Small Forward - Jamal Murray (Denver Nuggets)
Though Jamal Murray is listed as a point guard and he is built for that position (height of 6' 3''), he has spent 48% of his plays between the shooting guard position and the forward places. In this particular lineup, Murray makes the cut as an undersized small forward.
Murray is putting up the best numbers of his NBA career, as he is currently averaging 21 points (career high), four rebounds, and five assists per game. He's also made 47% of his field goals (career high), 39% of his threes (career high), and 82% of his free throws.
Power Forward - Michael Porter Jr. (Denver Nuggets)
Michael Porter Jr. has started in 14 of his 21 appearances for the Denver Nuggets in the 2020-21 NBA season. He had a great start to the season, averaging 20 points and seven rebounds in the first four games.
However, he missed 10 games in the first three weeks of January and has only now regained his place in the starting lineup. The 22-year-old is averaging 14 points and six rebounds in his second NBA season and has a solid 48/38/79 shooting split so far.
Center - Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets)
A big MVP candidate for the 2020-21 NBA season, Nikola Jokic continues to put up huge numbers on a nightly basis for the Denver Nuggets. He has been essential to the team's winning record so far and their hopes of reaching the deep stages of the 2021 NBA Playoffs.
Jokic is averaging 27 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for the Denver Nuggets in the current campaign and has been efficient at every level. He has 56/41/88 shooting splits for the year, and has recorded 27 double-doubles and seven triple-doubles so far.
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