It’s hard to get a win in this league when only two players on a team are scoring in double figures, and the team only shoots 39.0% from the field. Luckily for the Wizards, they have already clinched a playoff spot and this game will not define their season. Now that the five game winning streak is over, the Wizards can officially move on from the regular season and look towards the postseason.
The biggest issue tonight was the ability for Washington to get stops throughout the whole game. Brooklyn shot 50.6% from the field and 60% from three-point range as they continuously has wide open shots. The effort needed to get stops was not there, and proper closeouts were not being made as quickly as they should have been.
Marcin Gortat continued his terrific stretch as he scored 21 points on 9/11 shooting, grabbed 16 rebounds, and even recorded a block. After dishing out a career high 6 assists last night, Gortat was unable to get the ball to any of his teammates for shots in this contest. If he is able to bring the intensity he brought during the past six game stretch to the playoffs, the Wizards should be able to compete with nearly any team they face.
Another bright spot for the Wizards came from their starting shooting guard Bradley Beal. Beal led the team in scoring with 24 points on 10/19 shooting. With John Wall out, Beal had to work more to create his own shot, and was successfully able to take on the scoring role for Washington.
John Wall taking the night off for rest obviously hurts on both sides of the ball, but role players have ben stepping up over the past few games in the absence of Washigton’s stars. Beal and Gortat were the only Wizards to score in double figures, which should be changing some time in the near future. Bench production can make or break a team’s ability to compete in the playoffs, and the Wizards bench should return to form as soon as possible.
After this loss and a Toronto victory, it is nearly impossible for the Wizards to improve on their current fifth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Maybe if no team can win at home like in the Indiana series last postseason the fifth seed could work in the favor of Washington. With at least the fifth seed locked up, it’s time for DC to get ready for the 2015 playoff run.
