Washington Wizards: Current Skid Shows Wizards Have Work To Do
The Washington Wizards are still third in the Eastern Conference at 42-28. With just 12 games left, there’s still work to do, especially if they want to achieve a 50-win season.
The Washington Wizards‘ quest for their first 50-win season since the 1978-79 season is close to not happening. The Wizards have lost two games in a row and four of their last five. Washington lost to the Boston Celtics 110-102 on March 20.
Boston outrebounded the Wizards 54-39. Boston had 20 offensive rebounds in the game as well. They took advantage of center Marcin Gortat, who played just 12 minutes in the game. Gortat went without a double-double for his fifth straight game.
Since winning five games in a row, dating back to their March 11 overtime victory over the Portland Trail Blazers 125-124, the Wizards have struggled to get back to their winning ways.
They’ve lost their last three road games, giving them a record of 15-18 away from home. They are still 27-10 at home. But the loss puts the Wizards 4.5 games back of first place in the East and 2.5 games behind the Celtics for second in the conference.
Related Story: Washington Wizards--25 Best Players
With eight road games left on the schedule, the Wizards will need to put together another near-perfect road trip to finish strong.
https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/844004687108067329
It was the second game in a row Bradley Beal failed to record at least 20 points. Beal scored 19 points on 6-of-15 shooting in the loss.
The loss also marked the second game in a row Wall didn’t record double figures in assists. He’s recorded a combined 16 assists in two games since setting a new career-high with 20 assists against the Chicago Bulls back on March 17. The Wizards won the game 112-107.
Shooting Woes Slowing Wizards’ Progress
The Wizards have had a difficult time shooting of late. Against the Boston Celtics, they shot 8-for-35 from three. While it is the most three-point shots attempted all-season, they shot just 22.9 percent from the three-point arc.
Washington Wizards
Shooting guard Bradley Beal shot 3-for-7 from three, but John Wall, Markieff Morris and Otto Porter went a combined 1-for-12 from three-point land.
Porter and Wall both went 0-for-3, while Morris was 1-for-6. Not good shooting numbers for a team ranked seventh in the NBA in three-point shooting percentage.
The Wizards have had a difficult go of things, going 7-5 so far in the month of March. In their last five games, the Wizards are shooting 43.5 percent from the floor and 32.0 percent from three.
The team is shooting well below their season-average of 47.3 percent from the field and 37.3 percent from three during their current slump.
On the other hand, Wizards opponents are shooting 47.6 percent from the floor and 36.5 percent from three. Opponents are scoring 109.2 points per game while the Wizards are scoring just 103.6 points per game.
They’ll need to become a more efficient from the three-point line and get back to their defensive ways to close out the season strong.
Turnovers Continue To Plague The Wizards
The Washington Wizards are averaging 32.0 assists and 11.0 turnovers at home. But on the road, they are averaging 20.0 assists and 15.3 turnovers.
More from Hoops Habit
- 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
- Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
- Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
- Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
- NBA Trades: The Lakers bolster their frontcourt in this deal with the Pacers
They turned the ball over 18 times against the Boston Celtics on March 20. Boston scored 24 points off the Wizards’ turnovers. Bojan Bogdanovic, Bradley Beal and John Wall combined for 13 of those turnovers.
Against the Charlotte Hornets, they turned the ball over 13 times, allowing 13 points off turnovers. Bogdanovic, Beal and Wall combined for eight turnovers in the game, in which the Wizards lost 98-93.
It is Washington’s first loss in which they allowed less than 100 points since Nov. 5, when they lost 88-86 to the Orlando Magic.
The Wizards have gotten a lot of production out of Bogdanovic, Beal and Wall as of late. But their ability to hold on to the ball and make plays in recent games has come in to question.
The team ranked sixth in assists per game (24.0) has looked like the team that started 6-11 back in November. With eight more road games and four more home games left, the Wizards still have a chance to right the ship.
Next: The Greatest Player In Every Franchise's History
They’ll just need to put together a similar road trip to the 4-1 record they posted March 7-13 to have a legitimate shot at a 50-win season.