(Photo: Washington Wizards)
Lakers 102
Wizards 99
October 25, 2017, Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
The Washington Wizards entered Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers as one of four NBA teams to be undefeated. They had won five straight against the Lakers in L.A. and were looking for their first 4-0 start since 1978. Poor execution in the fourth quarter and overtime led to a blown double-digit lead resulting in a heart breaking 102-99 loss.
Here are five important takes from the game.
In Rare Fashion, The Offense Is To Blame
Scott Brooks, John Wall, Bradley Beal, and others have said multiple times over the past year that the offense is never the problem for Washington. Tonight, it was not the sole problem, but a big reason for their eventual demise. The Wizards missed their first seven shots of the night, were 5 of 22 (22.7 percent) in the fourth quarter, and a miserable 6 of 26 (23.1 percent) from beyond the arc.
The inefficient three-point shooting is surprising and unsurprising at the same time. Washington is shooting 27 of 95 (28.4 percent) from three in four games this season after shooting 37.2 percent throughout last regular season. However, the Wizards also had a slow start in shooting the three-ball last season. 9 of their 17 games with six or fewer three-pointers last season came in the first 15 games. Sure, that may have mainly been a result of Brooks implementing his offense, but it is not time to panic yet.
With Brook Lopez playing under 23 minutes, most of which coming early in the game, Los Angeles frequently had five athletic guard and wings on the court. Washington seemingly could not crack the code when Julius Randle, Kyle Kuzma, or Larry Nance Jr. were playing center. The Lakers were willing to switch into unfavorable matchups, but the Wizards could not consistently win the one-on-one battles. Some of that can be attributed to a lack of whistles from the referees as the road team shot over 10 free throws fewer than their 33.7 FTA per game average. If Washington hopes to at least be competitive against the Warriors, they will need to have their best offensive game of the young year.
There Were Also Several Defensive Miscues
During the first 47 minutes of the game, the Lakers were a miserable 4 of 23 (17.4 percent) from beyond the arc. Then in the final 5:20 of the game, including overtime, Los Angeles made Washington pay for allowing them open looks from deep as they made 3 of their last 7 from three. There were other mistakes made, including not securing a defensive rebound off of Brandon Ingram’s initial miss at the end of regulation, which will be discussed more in depth in an end of game film review.
The John Wall, Lonzo Ball Matchup Underwhelmed
Between remarks from LaVar Ball, Marcin Gortat, and Wall himself, there was a lot of hype going into Wednesday’s game despite it just being the fourth contest in an 82-game season. Although there were some exciting moments including Wall crossing over Ball to blow by the rookie on his way for a lay-in around Lopez, there was not too much shown by the duo.
Ball picked up two fouls in the first seven minutes of the game and then spent much of the rest of the game guarding the likes of Kelly Oubre Jr. or Jodie Meeks instead of Wall. Ball finished with a mediocre 13 points on 2 of 11 shooting, but did contribute with 10 rebounds and 8 assists during his near 40 minutes of play. Wall began the game 1 of 6 shooting from the field and finished with 18 points on 7 of 22 shooting with 9 assists and 4 turnovers.
Bradley Beal Did His Part, End Of Story
Yes, the smooth shooter missed two crucial free throws, one towards the end of regulation and one in overtime, but he did not lose the game for the Wizards. Beal is his own biggest critic and is probably beating himself up about his inability to convert from the charity stripe. That does not change the fact that the Wizards would have lost in regulation were it not for Beal's 28 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists, and 1 block in a hefty 44 minutes of play.
Exhale, It Is Not A Season-Ending Loss
Sure, Washington will have to wait at least another year to try and begin a season 4-0 for the first time since 1978, but at the end of the day they are still tied for first in the Eastern Conference. Games on the road, especially on the other coast, are hard to win. Look at Cleveland in their loss to the lottery bound Brooklyn Nets without D’Angelo Russell. The nature of the loss, blowing a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter, makes it tougher to swallow, but everything they hope to accomplish this season is still well within reach. To try and cheer you up, here are a couple of the best moments from Wednesday.
What's Next?
The Wizards continue their first of two West Coast trips by visiting the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors on Friday. Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and company are 3-2 so far and squeaked out a win against the Raptors on Wednesday at home.