• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Wizards-Heat Preview

Dec 7, 2015 - 7:09 AM Struggling to string together victories with a short-handed roster, the Washington Wizards appear to have caught a major break.

After John Wall had to be carried off the court, the Wizards are hopeful that their star point guard might actually be able to play Monday night when they visit the defensive-minded Miami Heat.

Sitting at the bottom of the Southeast Division, Washington (8-10) has been one of the league's biggest disappointments, and injuries have played a major role during the team's current 2-6 stretch.

The Wizards have dressed 10 players three times in the past eight days. Marcin Gortat is doubtful to return from a family emergency in Poland, while Nene (calf), Kris Humphries (ankle) and Drew Gooden (calf) are injured.

They feared the worst late in Sunday's 116-104 home loss to Dallas when Wall injured his right knee in a collision with the Mavericks' Jeremy Evans. X-rays were reportedly negative and he's day-to-day as Washington opens a tough stretch with five of its next six coming on the road.

"If it's something (where) I have to sit out, I will. If it's something that's fine and I can play through it, I will," Wall said. "We're only (18) games in and there's a lot more basketball to play this season and in my career, so I won't jeopardize nothing just to play one game."

Since averaging 13.9 points on 36.9 percent shooting over an eight-game span, Wall has been on a roll with 28.5 per game and a 53.8 field-goal percentage in his last four.

The All-Star averaged 18.0 and shot 54.5 percent in the first three against Miami last season before finishing with six points and 12 assists in a 99-97 home win March 6 when Washington nearly blew a 35-point lead.

Goran Dragic had 18 points and seven assists with Dwyane Wade, Luol Deng and Chris Bosh sidelined in the Heat's third straight loss in the series. Wade and Bosh are expected to play in this meeting, but Deng is likely to miss his sixth consecutive contest with a hamstring injury.

Wade averaged 23.0 points in his three games against the Wizards and has put up 25.7 over his last three overall. Dragic has totaled 31 and hit 5 of 7 from 3-point range in the past two after averaging 9.5 while missing 21 of 24 from deep over his previous 10.

"We're not going to overanalyze it. It was all about just sticking with it," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "I love his approach... He just kept coming in early and working every single day to try to get better."

Wade and Tyler Johnson had 19 points apiece Saturday and Dragic added 17 in a 99-84 home win over Cleveland, which played without LeBron James.

Still, the first-place Heat (12-6) held the Cavaliers to 36.5 percent shooting, including 6 for 28 from 3-point range. They lead the Eastern Conference in both defensive scoring (92.2) and field-goal percentage (40.7).

Dragic has keyed the effort out on the perimeter, while Hassan Whiteside has been the top rim protector with 4.6 blocks per game.

Washington has averaged 105.7 points and shot 47.6 percent over its last three games, but also has allowed 104.3 points and a 42.7 3-point percentage with a minus-6.8 rebounding margin in its past eight.