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Washington Wizards 2022-23 schedule: Dates, NBA opponents

By Chase Hughes

Wizards release 2022-23 schedule originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

The Washington Wizards’ 2022-23 regular season schedule was released on Wednesday, featuring their season opener set for Oct. 19 at the Indiana Pacers. That will begin what the franchise hopes is a successful new era led by Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma.

After the opener on Oct. 19, the Wizards will play the Bulls at home on Oct. 21, then the Cavs in Cleveland on Oct. 23. Their first five games of the season are against the Pacers, Bulls, Cavs, Pistons and Pacers. Their first nine opponents are Eastern Conference Teams.

Other notable match-ups for the Wizards include Stephen Curry and the defending-champion Warriors (Jan. 16 at home, Feb. 13 away), LeBron James and the L.A. Lakers (Dec. 4 at home, Dec. 18 away) and Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets (Nov. 4 and Dec. 12 at home, Nov. 30 and Feb. 4 away). They will host the Clippers on Dec. 10, when former Wizards star John Wall will return to D.C. to play in front of fans for the first time.

The Wizards’ longest road trip is from Dec. 14 to Dec. 23. They will play at the Nuggets, Clippers, Lakers, Suns, Jazz and Kings. They also have a West Coast trip from Jan. 24 to Feb. 1 when they will see the Mavs, Rockets, Pelicans, Spurs and Pistons.

Their first game against No. 1 overall pick Paolo Banchero and the Magic is set for Dec. 30 in Orlando. They will also see No. 2 pick Chet Holmgren’s Thunder for the first time on Nov. 16 in D.C.. The Wizards selected Johnny Davis with the 10th overall pick.

As for the preseason schedule, the Wizards will face the Warriors twice in Japan (Sept. 30 at 6 a.m. ET and Oct. 1 at 1 a.m.), plus the Hornets (Oct. 10) and Knicks (Oct. 14) on the road.

Here is the Wizards’ full schedule:

Teams are shooting historically well on free throws against Wizards

By Chase Hughes
Teams are shooting historically well on FTs vs. Wizards originally appeared on NBC Sports WashingtonThere is a bit of an odd statistical trend maligning the Wizards at the moment and one they may not have a whole lot of control over.Through two months of the 2022-23 season, teams are shooting the best free throw percentage in NBA history against the Wizards. Washington opponents are knocking down 81.6% of their free throws, the highest clip of all-time against any team in a single season.Free throws, of course, are not plays that you can defend. That's why they are called free. The crowd can do their part by making noise, sometimes aided by free sandwich giveaways, but ultimately it's a controlled environment where an NBA player has 10 seconds to shoot from 15 feet.Now, here's where it gets really weird for the Wizards. Last season, they set an NBA record for opponent free throw percentage at 80.7. So, this is now two years in a row which, on one hand, would suggest it isn't a coincidence, that there are some reasons why.One of them would be simply that the NBA is getting better at shooting free throws. This season, the league average free throw percentage is 78.1, the highest in NBA history. The last four seasons have produced the four highest free throw percentages the league has ever seen.While the Wizards had the highest opponent free throw percentage ever last season, there are four teams seeing higher percentages this year, with Washington being one of them. The Pacers (81.2%), Kings (81.2%) and Raptors (80.8%) are all essentially in the same boat. The Hawks (80.7%) and Suns (80.5%) are not far behind.Basically, it is a yearslong trend in the NBA and the Wizards happen to be on the worst end of it. As for why that is the case, it's hard to tell.They don't foul a lot compared to other teams, which keeps the sample size smaller than their peers. The Wizards are 10th in the NBA in fouls per game (19.9) and 12th in limiting free throws (23.0/g). Maybe they are fouling the wrong players. Nets star Kevin Durant, for instance, is a perfect 22-of-22 from the line against the Wizards this season through three games. He shoots 92.2% on free throws, but then again the Wizards have not fouled him any more than he averages on the year (7.4/g).Jaylen Brown of the Celtics is 14-for-14 against the Wizards, while his teammate Malcolm Brogdon is 12-for-12. Anthony Davis of the Lakers is 9-for-9 and so is Tyrese Haliburton of the Pacers. There are also a bunch of players who have only missed a free throw or two across several games playing against Washington.The Wizards' home crowd is not to blame for it. Opponents against the Wizards shoot 79.5% on free throws at Capital One Arena, lower than their season average and the sixth-highest in the league for a team's home games. Conversely, the Wizards are seeing opponents shoot the highest free throw percentage in road arenas this season (83.9).The breakdown by quarters doesn't offer any conclusions, either. Teams shoot above 80% against the Wizards in each frame. There doesn't seem to be an obvious rhyme or reason to it, but the Wizards are being affected by the disparity. They have struggled to generate their own free throws this season, ranking in the bottom third of the NBA in free throws made (17.0/g, 25th), attempts (22.4/g, 21st) and percentage (75.9, 23rd).Perhaps the best thing the Wizards can do moving forward is not foul players who shoot high percentages from the line. Other than that, maybe a diversion of some sort would do the trick. Basketball Reference's Stathead was used for this research.
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