The set-up: The Washington Wizards won their first five games after losing PG John Wall (19.4 & 9.3 APG) to knee surgery in late January. Washington would continue to play well without Wall going on an 11-3 run but the now slumping Wizards have lost eight of 12 after with losses in three straight. All of a sudden, Washington is excited to get their PG back on the court. Wall underwent knee surgery on Jan. 31 but participated in his second full-contact practice on Monday, but there is still no firm timetable for his return. "It's getting close," Wizards head coach Scott Brooks told reporters of Wall's return. "He's had two really, really good days. His energy level is high. He's anxious. You can tell. He wants to get out there. We still want to be patient." The Wizards will welcome the the Spurs to D.C. on Tuesday night. The 43-31 Spurs swept a six-game homestand (before losing Sunday at Milwaukee) to put a little space between themselves and ninth-place Denver in the Western Conference (Nuggets are 40-34, giving the Spurs a three-game lead).

San Antino: While the Wizards are close to getting their star PG back, the Spurs can't say the same about their star player. Kawhi Leonard (quad) reportedly has yet to return to practice and the reports (rumors?) are not encouraging. San Antonio is instead leaning on All-Star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge (23.2 & 8.4) as it has closed to within a half-game behind the Oklahoma City Thunder for the No. 4 spot in the West. Aldridge was named the Western Conference Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 34.8 points and 9.3 rebounds in four games last week, including 34 points on 12-of-21 shooting in Sunday's 106-103 loss. The only time in the last five games that Aldridge failed to score at least 33 points came against Washington at home on Wednesday, when he was held to 27 points on 12-of-23 shooting and nine boards in a 98-90 San Antonio win. Considering that Leonard may be "done for the season," veteran Pau Gasol, will need more efforts like Sunday's. He collected 22 points and 13 rebounds off the bench, after scoring in single digits in each of the previous three games (he's averaging a modest 10.5 PPG on the season).

Washington: The Wizards lost 101-97 at home to the lowly New York Knicks on Sunday (unacceptable) and are now 2-6 in their last eight home games. They 40-33 Wizards are now 6th in the East, just 1 1/2 games up on the 8th-place Heat but also only 2 1/2 games back of the 4th-place 76ers. "We thought that we could just show up and play because they don't have anything to play for," All-Star shooting guard Bradley Beal told reporters after the latest setback. "We just thought it was going to be a cake walk and they just smacked us in the mouth." Beal leads the team in scoring at an average of 23.1 points (also adds 4.4 RPG and 4.6 APG) but was held to 14 on 5-of-17 shooting in the loss, including 1-of-6 from three-point range.

The pick: The Spurs were tied with the Bucks at halftime but then were outscored 41-28 in the third quarter. The 41 points matched the most San Antonio has given up in a quarter this season. The defeat means San Antonio will be trying to snap a four-game road losing streak tonight in Washington (note: Spurs are on a 1-8 run away from AT&T Center). However, the Wizards are a poor 2-6 over their last eight at home, so I want no part of "the side" in this one. These teams just recently played in San Antonio (Spurs won 98-90), and considering the fact that 23 of the Spurs' 37 road games this year have gone "under the total," I'll make the Under an 8* play in this quick rematch.