The Washington Wizards (34-26) will play the Chicago Bulls (37-23) Tuesday night for the fourth and final time during the regular season. After the Bulls grabbed their opening meeting back in the December the Wizards have won two straight including a 105-99 victory here in the United Center back in January.

The circumstances have changed dramatically as the Bulls have been hit with the injury bug once again as the former MVP Derrick Rose is out 3-4 weeks with a meniscus tear in his right knee, Taj Gibson is out with an ankle injury with no timetable, and the Bulls leading scorer Jimmy Butler just suffered a sprained elbow that will sideline him at least 3-4 weeks.

Washington very recently dealt with some injuries to key players who have since returned. Bradley Beal just returned Saturday against the Detroit Pistons from a stress reaction in his right leg, while Paul Pierce returned the same night from a bruised right knee. Kris Humphries has missed the last couple games with a hamstring injury, he’s still day-to-day but he shouldn’t miss too much more time.

Every team has stretches of time during the season with injuries but these two contending Eastern Conference teams have suffered more than most. Luckily, Washington has these guys on the way into form but the play of the team suffered in their absence as the Wizards recently snapped a six-game losing streak. As for Chicago, they still have plenty of talent to keep above water, but as for their championship aspirations they look dim.

Right now the Chicago Bulls sit in the third seed in the Eastern Conference, three games ahead of the Washington Wizards who sit in the fifth seed. This is not only a big game for Washington to gain ground on the Bulls, but they have lost seven games in a row on the road dating back to late-January. The Wizards look to gain confidence playing on the road because as it sits at the moment they will be playing their first round series away from the Verizon Center where they are 13-16.

During this seven-game road slide the Wizards have averaged 88.7 PPG and an abysmal 40.9 percent from the field. In their last two road games against the Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers the Wizards averaged 79 PPG, 35.1 percent from the field, and 22.9 percent from behind the arc.

The Bulls have lost five straight home games to the Wizards, including the postseason. In those games the Bulls have struggled to score the basketball averaging 89.6 PPG and below average percentage of 41 percent.