The Washington Wizards hosted the Miami Heat on Friday night in game 81 of the season, a late-stage matchup with little at stake for either side. Washington then headed to Miami for a Saturday matinee after finishing the second day of a back-to-back.
With neither team having much to play for, the night carried more of a holding pattern feel than a playoff push. had not published either team's injury report before tipoff, and that made it safe to assume a lot of players would sit out.
The setup mattered most for the Wizards, who were already in the middle of a back-to-back after playing the Nets in Brooklyn. That left little room for anything but survival and rotation management as the regular season moved into its final stretch.
The only real question left was how many regulars each team would choose to keep on the floor before the calendar turned to Saturday and Washington had to do it all again in Miami.
