(Photo: Brock Williams-Smith/Getty Images)
Hornets 133
Wizards 109
January 17, 2018 | Spectrum Center | Charlotte, NC
The frustrating and inconsistent season for the Washington Wizards continued as they began their longest road trip of the season. Often this season, we have said that their defense has been non-existent, but that was truly the case on Wednesday night against the Charlotte Hornets. Good offense allowed them to hand around in the first half, but the second half was full of garbage time as the Wizards lost their second straight game.
Start Foreshadows Poor Defense Throughout
The Hornets began the game by making all 10 of their field goal attempts. That is ridiculous. Such a streak is tied for the best shooting start by a team in the NBA this season with the Golden State Warriors. Besides the 42 points scored by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first quarter on November 3, the 38 points that the Wizards allowed in the first frame is tied for the second most they have given up this season.
Washington gave up 77 points in the first half, which is the most points they have allowed in a first half since 1997. It is just the ninth time in team history they have given up 77+ in the first half. Charlotte scored 133 points by the end of the game, in regulation, which is the most the Wizards have surrendered all season.
"You can control how you play on defense, you can control your effort, you can control your boxing out, you can control your running, sprinting the floor, getting back on defense, playing defense," Bradley Beal listed. "Those things are all controllable so until we do that, we are going to continue to get killed."
Offensive Scoring Was There
The Wizards put up 109 points, shot an efficient 13 of 23 (56.5 percent) from beyond the arc, and had 31 assists on their 40 field goals made. Offense was not the problem as it rarely is with this team. Bradley Beal had 14 first quarter points on 5 of 7 shooting to make sure that the Wizards were only down 2 after the first 12 minutes of play. In the first half, Washington shot 53.7 percent from the field including eight three-pointers for 61 points, but still found themselves down 16 points.
Wizards Frontcourt Struggles
Otto Porter Jr., Markieff Morris, and Marcin Gortat combined for 8 points on 2 of 14 shooting and 15 rebounds in 58 minutes. That is just not going to get it done. Washington was clearly running plays for Porter in the first quarter and he had 5 points on 2 of 4 shooting in less than eight minutes, but then he only took two other shots the rest of the game, both misses, which could be a result of him not getting open as well as him not getting plays run for him. Morris rolled his ankle on Monday against Milwaukee, but for much of the season, he has not been great either. Gortat had some bad misses on his three shot attempt on Wednesday and Dwight Howard got the better of him with 18 points and 15 rebounds, but he has to bring it more consistently as well.
Lone Hustle Coming from Benchwarmers
Scott Brooks got the most effort and hustle out of the last three players on his bench: Tim Frazier, Jason Smith, and Chris McCullough. The trio brought a little bit of bounce to the team and made sure the Wizards did not lose by more than 30. Smith, although he continues to struggle with his jump shot this season, had 10 points in 14 minutes on 4 of 8 shooting. McCullough showed some energy with a chase down block. Frazier showed some fight, literally, in defense of Smith against Michael Carter-Williams.
Is A Change Actually Coming?
Scott Brooks was about as heated as he has ever been this season and called out his team for not competing, which could hint at a decently significant change coming as soon as next game.
"Can’t win a game in this league and not compete,” Brooks said after the game. “You got to compete for each other, it has to be a brotherhood. They were making shots, but we were helping them make shots. It’s unacceptable the way we competed. We’re going to have to change some things and make sure we are all going to compete. If not, we’re going to have to find guys that are going to compete."
"You just have to find guys that are going to compete," Brooks continued. "It's not about nothing else. It's not about shots, it's not about how many minutes, it not about how many shots you get, it's about competing. We all get paid to compete, regardless. Things aren't going to go your way offensively, it's not about that. It's about competiting and we didn't do that tonight."
One change that Brooks could easily make is benching Markieff Morris or Marcin Gortat in favor of Kelly Oubre Jr. or Mike Scott. Oubre had 16 points on 5 of 9 shooting including 3 of 5 from deep and has been a lone bright spot in the new year. Maybe Jason Smith or Chris McCullough get some playing time over Ian Mahinmi. The problem is you cannot bench John Wall or Bradley Beal who have also been a contributing factor to the inconsistency.
"He’s pissed," Beal described Brooks. "That’s just plain and simple. He’s upset. He’s mad. We’re not giving him what he wants from a production standpoint. He’s going to make a change, for sure. That's pretty much all I can say. He was beyond furious after the game. Guys should be ready to, lot of guys should expect to play and not play. That was pretty much his message."
Next Game: Washington will head to Detroit to play on ESPN on Friday night so one would think they will play to their ability on national television.