Wiz of Awes
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Washington Wizards Have Not Yet Turned the Corner

By Jen Julie Smith

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Washington Wizards have made some progress over the past month, but they’ve yet to legitimately turn the corner before the playoffs begin.

After winning 10 of their 15 games in December – a month in which John Wall received recognition for being the most impressive player in the Eastern Conference – some began to believe that the Washington Wizards turned the corner.

But after letting an undermanned Chicago Bulls team compete with them until the final seconds of the game, it’s clear that the Wizards have a long way to go before reaching their full potential.

Wall didn’t attempt a single shot in the first quarter of the Bulls game, but exploded in the second half, giving the Wizards their 19th victory of the season following a game-winning shot.

Markieff Morris helped carry the team early on, scoring 19 points in just over 20 minutes of action. But, as he’s been prone to do, Morris got into foul trouble.

The win counts just as much as a blowout victory would, but it was unimpressive, to say the least.

Washington allowed Chicago to shoot 80 percent from three in the first half, even though they are one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the league.

The Wizards did not attack the paint to start the game, resulting in zero free throws in the first quarter.

Chicago led throughout the game until the final quarter and it looked again like Washington was going to lose another winnable game.

“A win is a win” – but a sloppy win like this won’t help the team in the NBA Playoffs.

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The team’s bench, in particular, has been struggling all season long.

Currently, the Washington Wizards’ second unit is last in scoring and field goal percentage.

Scott Brooks has been forced to rely on the likes of Jason Smith, who’s played well as of late, but hasn’t produced on a consistent basis.

The same is true for Trey Burke, who’s occasionally been the missing scoring spark, but doesn’t show up more often than not.

Since Chicago was depleted, it would be expected that Wall, who’s in top-10 for minutes played this season, would be able to get some rest, especially since Washington had to play the Boston Celtics the following night.

But there was no rest for the weary, as both the Wizards’ bench and its starters let a depleted Chicago Bulls run all over them.

Chicago’s rookie Daniel Valentine knocked down five 3-pointers and had a career-high 19 points.

For a moment, Rajon Rondo, who had received DNP-CDs in Chicago’s last five games, was looking like the former four-time All-Star against Washington.

Although Tuesday game was Washington’s 10th straight win at home, they have only won four games on the road.

On Wednesday, the Wizards traveled to Boston to meet up with the Celtics, who sit third in the Eastern Conference.

Isaiah Thomas, as he’s been for all of his career dating back to his days with the Sacramento Kings, was too much for the Washington Wizards to handle. Averaging close to 28 points per game, Thomas has blossomed into one of the league’s elite offensive players.

It was a close game throughout the first three quarters, but Thomas started lighting it up from deep in the final quarter.

Thomas now leads the league in most points scored during the fourth after knocking down 20 points in the final quarter against the Wizards, and 38 points total.

Bradley Beal scored 35 points, while Otto Porter had 20. However, Wall only scored 9 points, possibly due to his left wrist and right pinky being swollen.

The Washington Wizards still haven’t learned to defend the 3-point line or close out winnable games.

Next: Breaking Down the Wizards' Road Struggles

The bad habits are still clearly there for the Wizards. Until they can consistently defend the perimeter and learn how to execute down the stretch, they won’t be able to turn the corner before the playoffs begin.

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