The Washington Wizards have played their hearts out so far in the 2014 NBA playoffs, and as a result they hold a 3-1 series lead over the Chicago Bulls. Tonight at 8 o'clock on TNT the Wizards will get their shot to punch their tickets to the second round. Chicago has had no answer for Washington in this series, it seems as thought every game a different player is stepping up and taking on a bigger role. Trevor Ariza dropped 30 points on the Bulls in game four and has quietly had a solid series for the Wizards in their efforts to advance.
The Wizards will come out focused on their goal to end the series in Chicago, but in their way stand the Chicago Bulls who are probably angry that they have given a young team life and confidence. Experienced veterans should be able to lock up a young team with no problem, but the Wizards have dominated in every category, ranging from point guard play to center play. John Wall has so far been too much for Chicago to handle and the Wizards seem to be finally clicking at the right time. While Washington has had stellar point guard execution, the Bulls have had a struggling D.J. Augustin manning the most important positon on the court. So far Augustin has shot under 50% each game against the Wiz and has had to take at least 10 shots in each game.
The fans tonight will be loud in their support for the Bulls, and Chicago could come out and go on a scoring run rather quickly. However, if the Wizards want to win this game and end the series they are going to have to weather the storm and keep their composure, something that can be very difficult for a young team. Noah will probably look to be extra agressive, but with Nene back in the lineup Noah might have his work cut out for him. If Chicago wants to extend this series, when they step out on the court tonight they must play without restrictions and they cannot let the Wizards affect them psychologically. It comes down to this game for the Bulls and they are going to need to give it their all in order to pull out the win against this Wizards team who now has some swagger.