Without any doubts, very little went according to plan for the Wizards thus far, as they find themselves out of the playoff picture two months into the season. About to face another tough challenge, Washington will take on Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic at Verizon Center on Saturday at midnight GMT. 

Where as Gilbert Arenas and company have been struggling thus far, the Magic are very content with the way Stan van Gundy’s team performed so far. More specifically, Orlando is just one game behind the leading Boston Celtics despite battling with injury issues in the first two months of play. Like in 2008-09, the Magic played excellent team defense and efficiently executed their inside-out offense featuring All-Star Dwight Howard surrounded by capable perimeter shooters. Moreover, Vince Carter turned out to be an excellent fit as the former New Jersey Net leads all scores putting up 18.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists per contest. 

Unlike Orlando, the Wizards did not play up to their potential and experienced various problems on and off the court. While franchise cornerstone Gilbert Arenas appears to be fully recovered from his knee injury, he is about to be suspended by the NBA for bringing firearms into an NBA arena. In 31 appearances, the 6-4 combo guard averaged 22.7 points, 6.9 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game, yet it was not enough to push the struggling team from D.C. over the top. Especially on the defensive end of the floor Flip Saunders’ team showcased significant shortcomings and allowed their opponents to score a whopping 103 points per contest. Therefore, it is no surprise that the Magic will enter their encounter with the Wizards as everyone’s favorites to steal one on the road. Even though Washington has very talented players like Arenas, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison on board, they failed to show up as a homogenous unit and demonstrated no defensive energy whatsoever. Thus, it remains to be seen whether they will be able to give the team around Dwight Howard and Vince Carter a run for their money on Saturday night. 

You can watch all games of the Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards right here on www.watchlivenba.com, the home of NBA live streaming.