Jazz 95
Wizards 88
March 31, 2017 - Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, UT
Thankfully the Washington Wizards will not see the Utah Jazz anymore this season (assuming they are not their conferences representatives in the NBA Finals). The Jazz had the Wizards number for the second game in a row as a usually potent Washington offense was stopped in its track. With Utah finishing the game 8 of 9 from the field, the Wizards lost 95-88 for their third two-game losing streak in the past three weeks after only having one, out of the All-Star Break, in the two months prior.
Quick Hits:
Questionable officiating rears its ugly head again.
I am the first to hate blaming a loss on the officials and Washington certainly could have come away with a victory regardless of the calls in the game, but their chances were severely hurt. John Wall, normally a strong finisher around the rim, was just 4 of 11 near the basket because of some potential fouls that were not called tonight. Wall who was sitting on 14 technical fouls coming into the game, was assessed his 15 for a “hostile” act when contacting Rudy Gobert’s groin coming around a screen. To me, it should have been called a flagrant one foul if anything because I like to think of technical fouls as unsportsmanlike acts such as vulgar language or dead ball altercations. Washington has six games left in the regular season, which John Wall needs to avoid picking up his 16th technical as it will be accompanied by a one game suspension. The count thankfully resets in the postseason.
Wall was also frustrated with the 31-16 free throw discrepancy, which after looking at the final box score is certainly eye popping. “We didn't lose this game. The refs made us lose this game,” Wall said to the media in Utah. Washington's point guard will almost certainly be receiving a hefty fine from the league office for criticism of officiating, but he will be happy to eat the loss if it gets his team some more respect.
The offense was not good.
Sure, the Wizards did not get many calls, but they also were not running their usual tempo offense with strong ball movement, especially in the first half. Washington had a mere three assists at intermission on 17 made baskets. For the second time against Utah, DC had just 39 first half points which is a season low. Too much isolation and too often were the Wizards allowing Rudy Gobert to dominate the game as a defender. Washington finished the game shooting just 35 of 87, 40.2 percent, with just 12 assists which are the fewest this season when John Wall plays. Moreover, the Wizards shot just 5 of 17 from beyond the arc.
What’s next? Is it time to worry?
In the month of March, Washington went 11-7. Washington has at least 10 wins in three different months (December, January, March), marking the first time the team has had 10+ wins in three months since 1974-75. Despite these marks, something feels off with this Wizards team compared to the weeks before the All-Star Break. The defense has been shaky to say the least and then when they have a decent showing like tonight, the usually high octane offense suddenly falls flat. Worries could quickly go away if Washington can, for the second time in a row, follow up a Utah loss with a Golden State win, but for right now concern of an early playoff exit creeps in.
The Wizards fell to the No. 4 spot today because of their lack of tiebreak with Toronto, which means a potential first round matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks instead of the slumping Atlanta Hawks who have fallen to the six seed. The Wizards still have six more games to work out the kinks before playoff basketball begins. John Wall has already admitted that if they continue to play poor defensively, an early playoff exit could be in their future. If the same bad habits continue for the next two weeks, fan morale will be at an all-time low.
Highlights:
Beal's footwork still on point.
An encapsulation of how bad the refs were last night: this obnoxious non-call on Rudy Gobert strong-arming Marcin Gortat.
Wall navigating a lot of traffic here.