Schedule: Tuesday, November 10, 4:00 p.m ET (Fox Sports Oklahoma, 98.1 WWLS)

Location: Verizon Center, Washington, DC

Line: Washington (+4.5)

This is the first meeting between the Washington Wizards and Oklahoma City Thunder so far this year, and we should expect nothing less than an up-and-down battle from start to finish. Rumors have been circling that Washington is the strongest possible destination for Kevin Durant if he chooses to leave home once the 2015-16 season comes to an end, so it should be interesting to see exactly how DC welcomes superstar KD and the Thunder.

Both teams love to get easy baskets, so we should see plenty of open court action. Both spread the court well and both rebound at a high rate, so expect a tough, physical game for 60 minutes. The deciding factor then, no matter how many points are scored on Tuesday, will be the energy on the defensive side of the ball. In the end, whoever wins the the 50-50 balls will come out victorious.

Key Matchup(s)

Russell Westbrook vs. John Wall

This is the first key matchup of the day, but by far it’s the most important. Both superstar points will lead their respective teams in battle, but the player who commits the fewest mistakes will give that particular team a much higher probability of coming out on top once the final buzzer sounds. Both will score, but it’s the mental errors that will decide the outcome.

Andre Roberson vs. Bradley Beal

The defensive importance of this Roberson-Beal matchup will be extremely important, especially for OKC. If Roberson can limit Beal’s point production, the Thunder should have a much easier time cutting through the Wizards.

Dion Waiters vs. Gary Neal

Both teams have great starting-fives, but it will be the bench that have the final say. Waiters and Neal are by far the most accomplished scorers on either side when resorting to the second team, but it just so happens that they will most likely guard each other come game time. The player who applies the most pressure scoring the basketball should give their team the upper hand.

Projected Starters

Thunder: PG – Westbrook, SG – Roberson, SF – Durant, PF – Serge Ibaka, C – Steven Adams

Wizards: PG – Wall, SG – Beal, SF – Otto Porter, PF – Kris Humphries, C – Marcin Gortat

Prediction

After running over the Phoenix Suns with a 21-point victory, OKC will do the same in Washington. Due to the magnitude of the game, it won’t be as high scoring, nor that wide of a margin, but the Thunder will come out on top in the end. Oklahoma City should win this nail-biter by no more than six points. Enjoy the playoff atmosphere.

Samuel Martell is Oklahoma City’s beat writer at www.RantSports.com. To stay connected, ‘follow’ him on Twitter, ‘like’ him on Facebook, or ‘add’ him to your network on Google.