Washington Wizards lose third straight game at home

Ten games into the 2017-18 season, the Washington Wizards are better on the road than they are at home. Here’s a look at the numbers after their ugly loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

The Washington Wizards are 5-5 after a 113-99 loss to the Dallas Mavericks at home. It is the Wizards’ third straight loss at home, a feat they never achieved all of last season. Almost a month into the season, it’s still their defense and bench play that seem to be the issues.

The Wizards are 3-2 on the road in 2017-18, averaging 108.4 points per game while opponents are scoring just 101.0 points per game. At home, Washington is 2-3, averaging 114.4 points a night while surrendering 118.2 points per game. It’s been an odd time for this team as it’s still adjusting to some new faces on the roster.

On Sunday night, the Wizards were without point guard John Wall, but it didn’t seem to matter as Bradley Beal paced the offense with 38 points. Wall played well on Tuesday night against Dallas despite his shoulder injury, finishing with 23 points and 14 assists on 5-of-10 shooting.

Defensively, the Washington Wizards allowed Harrison Barnes to go off for a season-high 31 points and nine rebounds. Behind Barnes, there was Mavericks rookie Dennis Smith Jr., who put up a career-high 22 points, eight assists and eight rebounds. Smith didn’t shoot it particularly well from the floor (9-of-22) but he did enough to give Dallas its second victory in 12 games.

Big man Salah Mejri also had 10 points and 12 rebounds off the bench.

Bench struggles continue

The Wizards’ bench hit a rough patch in the second quarter, producing a season-low 19 points and it ultimately hurt them in the end. The team shot 7-of-19 (36.8 percent) from the field and was 0-for-5 behind the 3-point arc. They had five turnovers as a team while Jodie Meeks and Tim Frazier both picked up two fouls in roughly four minutes of action.

Meeks was 0-for-4 from the floor while Frazier didn’t even attempt a shot. Frazier had four points, eight assists and two rebounds in the Wizards’ most recent victory over the Toronto Raptors Sunday night, but against Dallas, Frazier didn’t play with quite the same energy off the bench. He played just 13 minutes after playing 31 against Toronto.

The Washington Wizards’ bench was outscored 32-24 when things were all said and done. Kelly Oubre Jr. was 3-of-11 from the field while Mike Scott, Ian Mahinmi and Meeks combined for just one field goal.

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Taking their opponent for granted

Washington is a better team than the Mavericks, but the game is a classic example of taking an opponent for granted. After all, Harrison Barnes was 6-for-8 with 16 points in the first half. The Wizards were unable to slow him down and he made them pay as he should have, but their defense has to improve.

Their defensive rating is much better on the road than it is at home in 2017-18. On the road, they boast a 97.1 defensive rating, while it’s 115.2 at home. Their net rating on the road right now is +6.5. At home, it’s -4.4.

The Washington Wizards rank 24th in the NBA in points allowed per game (109.6) this season. Tuesday night’s game was supposed to be an easy victory but once again, the Wizards gave up more than 100 points for the eighth time in 10 games. If they want to improve their results, they’re going to need to buckle down, especially at home.

Next: 2017-18 Week 4 NBA Power Rankings

The Wizards were 30-11 at home during the 2016-17 regular season. On the road, they were 19-22. This season, they’ve flipped things around a bit, but they’re not far off from a breakthrough. Their next few home games should tell the tale. Up next for them is a rematch against Lonzo Ball and the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.