Inside The Wizards

Wizards vs. Hawks Preview: Division Rivalry Renewed

The Washington Wizards play their first road game of the season against the Atlanta Hawks.

Jeremy Brener

Jan 13, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks center Clint Capela (15) fouls Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly (0) in the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Jan 13, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks center Clint Capela (15) fouls Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly (0) in the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images
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The Washington Wizards are back in action tonight as they travel down south to face off against the Southeast Division rival Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena.

It's the first of three meetings between the two teams over the next month, so these rivals will be getting very familiar with one another for the foreseeable future.

The Wizards are also searching for their first win of the season after losing their first two games at home to the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers, the only undefeated teams in the Eastern Conference.

The Hawks present a good challenge for the Wizards, and will feature the top two picks from this summer's draft: Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr.

Risacher has averaged 8.3 points through his first three games and is coming off a career-high 13 points in last night's 128-104 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Meanwhile, Sarr struggled in his season opener with just two points against the Celtics, but responded well with a 12-point performance against the Cavaliers.

The Wizards will also be relying on another young French player, Bilal Coulibaly, to make some strong contributions for the team. Coulibaly scored a team-high 23 points in the team's last game against the Cavs, so it will be interesting to see how he is able to respond from that.

The Wizards could have a bit of an advantage coming into the game as the Hawks are playing their first back-to-back of the season. The Hawks played the Thunder last night, and by traveling to the east coast, are losing an hour of their day and recovery time. If the Wizards can capitalize on this, they could very well come out of this game with their first victory of the season.

Tipoff between the Wizards and Hawks is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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