Washington Wizards end skid against Raptors but still have much to learn

 The Washington Wizards got a victory after dropping four of their last five games. They made strides as a unit in their 107-96 victory over Toronto.

The Washington Wizards were without unsung leader John Wall in their game on Sunday night, but it didn’t matter as they got a victory over the Toronto Raptors. Last season, the Wizards were 1-3 without Wall in the lineup.

The Wizards got 38 points from sharpshooter Bradley Beal. It was Beal’s third straight game with 35 points or more, a career-first for the young star. Beal was 16-of-26 from the field with four made 3-pointers, five rebounds and four assists.

Washington held the Raptors below 100 points in the game, the first time all season the feat has been achieved. The Wizards led the whole way, although Toronto made some runs of its own late to keep things close. Every run Toronto went on, Washington responded though.

Otto Porter had 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting while going 3-for-4 from the 3-point arc. Kelly Oubre Jr. followed up his 21-point outing against Cleveland with a 10-point performance against Toronto.

It was a much better close to the game for Washington after losing their last two games at home. They fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers 130-122 for their fourth loss of the season on Friday night. Cleveland led virtually the whole way as LeBron James led all scorers with a season-high 57 points on 23-of-34 shooting. James also had 11 rebounds, seven assists, three steals and two blocks in the Cavaliers’ victory.

Offense hasn’t really the problem for the Washington Wizards this season. It’s the defense that’s been the glaring issue so far. The Wizards have allowed over 120 points in their last three losses. After allowing Phoenix Suns guard T.J. Warren to light them up for 40 points in a 122-116 loss on Wednesday night, the Wizards could do nothing to stop the best player in the NBA, LeBron James, on Friday night.

Trouble in the paint

The Washington Wizards have allowed a ton of points in the paint this season. Opponents are averaging 49.3 points in the paint against Washington so far in 2017-18, ranking 24th in the NBA. The Wizards were outscored 56-38 in their game on Sunday evening, but it didn’t matter as Bradley Beal put on an offensive clinic all game long.

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The return of Markieff Morris should change things in the frontcourt for Washington. Morris has showed a bit of rust in his return to on-court action from a sports hernia, averaging 6.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists on 3-of-14 shooting through two games.

The Wizards have allowed over 50 points in the paint in six games this season, posting a 2-4 record. Against the Suns on Wednesday night, they were outscored 58-46 in the paint. It’s a hard pill to swallow considering they’ve got Bradley Beal and John Wall on this team.

The bench is still working out a few kinks, finding ways to work Mike Scott and Ian Mahinmi into the rotation. Scott put up five points and three rebounds against Toronto but finished with five fouls. Mahinmi had seven points and six rebounds in roughly 10 minutes of work.

Surprisingly, Jason Smith didn’t play against the Raptors.

Finding their mojo with Porter and Oubre Jr.

The bright side for the Wizards is John Wall finished their game against Cleveland with a season-high 15 assists. He took just 13 shots in the contest, which is also a plus. Wall is much more efficient on offense when he takes less than 20 shot attempts.

The next step for Wall is relying on players other than Bradley Beal on the offensive end. Beal is averaging 18.1 shot attempts per game, a number almost identical to last year (17.2) but his 3-point percentage is down at 36.2 percent.

He is getting to the free throw line more, but with the likes of Otto Porter and Kelly Oubre Jr. on the floor, the Washington Wizards must find a way to get them involved in the offense more.

Oubre and Porter bring an added element to the table with their developed 3-point shooting ability. Oubre is shooting 48.8 percent from 3-point range this season while Porter is shooting 52.5 percent from 3. In a way, Porter and Oubre’s production has been a blessing disguise for Washington. Now, the team just needs to find a way to get them more shots with Beal and Wall on the floor.

Porter made a career-high seven 3-pointers against the Golden State Warriors despite a 120-117 loss back on Oct. 27. Oubre made four 3-pointers in the game as well.

Avoiding the fourth quarter collapses

There was no fourth quarter collapse against the Raptors, but in their three other losses this season, Washington held the lead entering the fourth quarter. There was no fourth quarter lead against LeBron James and the Cavaliers.

The Wizards led by as many as 22 points against the Phoenix Suns last Wednesday before falling in the fourth quarter. The Wizards were outscored 107-84 in the final three quarters of play after opening the first with a 32-15 lead.

They led by 10 points against the Golden State Warriors entering the fourth quarter back on Oct. 27 before they ran out of offense, losing by three points in the end. It didn’t help Bradley Beal was ejected against the Warriors, either.

The Wizards’ first loss of the season came back on Oct. 25 in overtime to the Los Angeles Lakers. Washington held a 10-point lead heading into the fourth quarter as well.

Next: 2017-18 Week 4 NBA Power Rankings

It goes back to the last point of getting all their weapons on offense involved. The Wizards rank third in the NBA in points per game (112.8) so far in 2017-18. On the flip side, they rank 27th in the NBA in fourth quarter points per game (24.2). It’s certainly something they need to improve upon if they want to hold the title for best team in the East.