Washington on the road to battle Oklahoma City

Stevenson (left) has the size and strength to tackle many of 
the premier slashing forwards in the NBA.  Will he be asked to
stop Durant tonight? (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

The Washington Wizards will begin a two-game West Coast swing tonight as they battle Kevin Durant and the rising Oklahoma City Thunder.  OKC has bested some of the better teams in the league this season, including the Orlando Magic and the Miami Heat.  Can Washington defend the Southeast Division tonight?

Durant is averaging a career-high 27.1 points and 7.1 rebounds a game this season after 12 starts.  His three point shooting percentage is down from last year, which might be the only knock on Durant so far, but rookie guard James Harden has stepped up as a clutch shooter off the bench and can make it rain from downtown. 

In a loss against Orlando on Wednesday, Harden hit 6-for-7 from behind the three point arc and clocked a big 31 minutes on his way to 24 points.  Hey, I knew a long time ago that guy could play.  Then again, how about the Wizards' Mike Miller?  To pull a Rick Kamla, dude is shooting 57.1% from three point land this season.  Yeah, it's early, and the attempts are still low, but the guy can stroke.

With Earl Boykins on the Wizards roster Washington can rest easy knowing Miller and Antawn Jamison can score in bunches from the arc, even if Randy Foye, that other pre-draft addition, needs any more time to heal-up and rest his ankle.  Foye only played four minutes Wednesday when the Cavs came to town but he isn't listed on any injury list and should be fine to play tonight for the Wizards.

Of course, when you have a point guard like Gilbert Arenas, who averages 22.9 points per game (12th in the NBA), there's going to be a lot of flexibility in the rotations you can make.  DeShawn Stevenson proved he can still defend against the best last Wednesday as he shutdown the Cavs' King James, and if Washington needs a defensive stopper tonight to keep Durant in check, Stevenson might very well get the call again.

Other than Durant and Harden, former Georgetown Hoya Jeff Green is a staple of OKC's defense.  OKC has been winning big games because they are focused on defense and they maintain possession of the ball on offense, something Washington has struggled with from time to time this season but have improved upon with the addition of Boykins.

Tonight's game will air at 8:00 p.m. ET on Comcast SportsNet, nationally on NBA League Pass, and on 106.7 The Fan via radio or Internet stream.

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