Washington Wizards have to play defensive-minded basketball
The Washington Wizards are on a three-game losing streak with nine games left in the regular season. They need to get back to playing solid defense.
The Washington Wizards are one of five teams still left in the playoff hunt in the Eastern Conference. After their latest loss to the New York Knicks on Sunday, the team really needs John Wall back. Even then, they need to better more focused defensively, as the inability to close out games is once again becoming an issue.
The NBA Playoffs may be on the Wizards’ mind but the team still has a regular season to finish. They are 4-7 in the month of March after going 8-4 with their “everybody eats” mentality. Now, the mentality is in need of some adjustments. Part of the issue could easily be solved with the return of John Wall, but there’s no rush. Since the injury, Wall has dropped 10-15 pounds and is “feeling great.”
All-Star shooting guard Bradley Beal didn’t mince words in his post-game comments following the Wizards’ third straight loss to New York. The team didn’t look ready to play and got smacked in the mouth by a tanking team. The Knicks aren’t in the playoff hunt, but it hasn’t stopped them from playing playoff spoiler.
The Wizards have lost two consecutive games to teams currently out of the playoff picture. They face the San Antonio Spurs Tuesday night after losing on the road to them last Wednesday, 98-90.
With nine games left on the schedule, the Wizards are a combined 14-8 against their remaining opponents. While it’s favorable, their record against playoff opponents this season is anything but. The Washington Wizards are 19-20 against potential playoff teams this year.
After such a strong February, March has been a mixed bag of results for the Washington Wizards. During their current three-game losing streak, they’re averaging just 95.7 points per game. Opponents, on the flip side, are averaging 102.3 points per game against them.
Getting back to team defense
The Washington Wizards are playing great team offense. It’s hardly been an issue getting guys like Bradley Beal shots.
The issue has been playing sound team defense. In February, the Wizards were able to get away from that by outscoring teams. They averaged 108.8 points per game while opponents averaged just 106.6 points per contest.
On Sunday, former Wizard Trey Burke went off for 19 points, while the Knicks bench went off for a combined 44 points. In a game that looked like Washington had it won on paper, the opposing team once again reminded fans why everybody is considered a professional athlete at the end of the game.
As opponents have adjusted, so too must the Wizards adjust. They allowed eight out of 10 scorers on the New York Knicks roster to finish in double figures on Sunday. Allow that to happen against a team in the playoff hunt and you can just consider it a loss.
In the second quarter alone, the Wizards allowed 42 points to the New York Knicks. Allow that to happen against a potential playoff opponent like the Cleveland Cavaliers or Philadelphia 76ers and the Wizards will never recover.
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Defense has been the Achilles’ heel for the Wizards down the stretch, but it’s an easily fixable problem. Washington has to go into its final nine games with a much better focus on the task at hand. With a 40-33 record, it’s currently in sixth place in the East. The Wizards can change their positioning, but they need to be locked in more defensively to do so.