Wizards Will Embrace Funeral Theme with All-Black Attire Before Facing Celtics

Bad blood permeates a simmering feud between the Washington Wizards and Boston Celtics. While teams usually downplay rivalry games, the Wizards aren't hiding their desire to bury their foes.

On Jan. 11, Washington's John Wall and Boston's Jae Crowder chirped at one another during a late-game confrontation:

According to the Boston Globe's Adam Himmelsbach, they had another altercation in the TD Garden hallway between the locker rooms. Police officers were called to contain the situation.

"I remember going back to last year, we had problems with that team about talking and trying to be tough,” Crowder told Himmelsbach.

Before Tuesday night's rematch, Washington plans to wear black clothing. According to Candace Buckner of the Washington Post, Bradley Beal formulated the idea:

Last year, Beal suffered a broken nose after Boston guard Marcus Smart elbowed him.

Wall confirmed the team's plan to implement a funeral theme leading up to Tuesday's home game:

The Celtics didn't sound intimidated by the Wizards' fashion choice:

UPDATE: Tuesday, Jan. 24, at 4:20 p.m. ET

CSN Mid-Atlantic's Chase Hughes provided an early look at some of the players' all-black attire:

"

Jae Crowder was asked of his reaction to the Wizards wearing all black tonight. He laughed and said with a shoulder shrug, "OK."

— Marc D'Amico (@Marc_DAmico) January 24, 2017"

[Twitter]