Last week: Lost to Sacramento 100-79, lost at Portland 122-112, beat New Orleans 106-102
This week: Monday vs. Minnesota, Wednesday vs. Houston, Friday vs. Phoenix, Saturday vs. Dallas
The Golden State Warriors ended a five-game losing streak on Friday by beating the Pelicans, opening a five-game homestand on a positive note. Then again, the Warriors are only 3-10 in their palatial new arena in San Francisco and — as inconceivable as it sounds — have the worst effective field goal percentage in the NBA in competitive minutes, per Cleaning the Glass.
D’Angelo Russell bounced back a bit from a clunker last Sunday against the Kings with a pair of 25-plus-points performances against the Blazers and Pelicans. For the week, he averaged 19.7 points, 7.3 assists and 1.0 steals in 30.8 minutes per game, even as the shooting was a fairly dismal 38.5 percent overall and 37.0 percent on 9.0 3-point attempts a night.
Last week: Won at Detroit 133-119, lost to Chicago 110-109 (OT), lost at Toronto 122-118, lost at Philadelphia 125-108
This week: Monday at New York, Thursday at Detroit, Saturday vs. New York
The Washington Wizards are severely short-handed right now, with starters Thomas Bryant and Rui Hachimura sidelined, and it’s beginning to show more in their play. The Wizards have lost three in a row and seven of their last eight, with the only win coming at Detroit — a team that is also in a free fall.
Bradley Beal is definitely doing what he can to keep Washington afloat, averaging 32.5 points, 7.3 assists, 6.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 38.8 minutes per game over the four games last week, shooting 45.1 percent overall and hitting 31.6 percent on 9.5 3-point attempts a night. He had 36 points on 13-of-24 shooting in the loss at Philadelphia Saturday night.