Washington Wizards Three Takeaways: Wizards suffer their first loss against the Lakers
The Washington Wizards suffered their first lost of the season Wednesday night, falling to the Los Angeles Lakers in OT, 102-99.
The Washington Wizards suffered their first loss of the season against the Los Angeles Lakers. After starting the season with a perfect 3-0 record, the Wizards fell to the Lakers in overtime, 102-99.
The Wizards came out flat in the opening quarter, missing their first 7 shots en route to 18 total points. John Wall had just two points in the frame, and failed to generate a good offense for himself and his teammates.
Washington went into the half with a narrow 49-45 lead, in what had been a sloppy overall game on both sides. Wall and the Wizards came alive in the third quarter, extending the lead to double digits. The advantage held true until the final stretch of the game, when the Lakers came back and forced overtime.
In the final seconds of overtime, the Wizards had two chances to tie the ballgame. The first, Wall’s layup attempt was blocked by Julius Randle. The Lakers retained possession because the ball was last touched by Wall. With time expiring, Wall missed an off-balance three pointer.
For the Lakers, Brandon Ingram led the way with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Randle and Kyle Kuzma combined for 26 points off the bench
Bradley Beal led all scorers with 28 points, including two from 3-point range. As a team, the Wizards shot just 39-95 (41.1%) from the field and 6-26 (23.1%) from three.
Here are the three major takeaways:
Wall vs. Ball Didn’t Live up to the Hype
It’s no secret that Wall is a significantly better basketball player than Lonzo Ball. However, great hype and anticipation had built up prior to the matchup between the two point guards.
Lavar Ball’s comments earlier in the week, apparently rubbed Wall the wrong way, who claimed he would show “no mercy” against Lonzo.
Wall failed to back up his words for the majority of the first half, struggling with his shot and turning the ball over three times. Ball actually did a solid job defending Wall, stripping him twice on two separate drives to the basket, and forcing a missed layup on another.
However, Wall came alive in the 3rd quarter. He had 10 points and 4 assists in the frame, including a thunderous left-handed dunk after blowing by Ball with ease. Wall had a subpar game overall, by his standards. But he limited Ball to just 6 points on 2-11 shooting from the field, and was clearly the more dominant player.
Jodie Meeks was a solid acquisition
The Wizards signed veteran shooting guard Jodie Meeks to a 2 year, $7 million dollar contract this offseason. This move was overlooked by many because Meeks, now 30 years old, has struggled with injuries in recent years.
However, when healthy he remains one of the best shooters in the league. The Wizards signed him with the hope that he’d be a much-needed scoring threat off the bench. Through four games, that’s exactly what he’s done.
On the season, Meeks is averaging 9.8 points per game, on 40 percent shooting from the three. He’s been the most consistent player off the bench. Against the Lakers, Meeks scored 11 points and helped fuel a 9-0 run at the beginning of the second quarter.
If he can largely avoid injury, Meeks should be a consistent contributor for Washington.
4th quarter struggles rear their ugly head
Last season, the Wizards had trouble putting teams away in the 4th quarter. It often seemed like no lead was safe, because the Wizards allowed teams to crawl back into the game.
Such was the case on Wednesday night, when the Wizards had a 10 point lead with just over five minutes left in the 4th quarter. The Lakers, led by Brandon Ingram, quickly went on a 10-0 run to tie the game at 85 a piece. Ingram hit the tip-in to tie the game with just under a second left, sending the game into overtime.
The Lakers had no business being in this game, but the Wizards failed to create an efficient offense, and was unable to get defensive stops down the stretch. When you allow a young team to hang around and build momentum, the game can get away from you in a hurry.
The Wizards seem to always make things interesting, which can lead to collapses like we saw against the Lakers.
On a positive note Jason Smith returned to action, and came off the bench for 8 minutes of play.
Wall ended the game with 18 points and 9 assists. Marcin Gortat had 11 points and 14 rebounds. Otto Porter, Jr.,12 points, and Kelly Oubre, Jr. finished with 9.
On Friday, the Wizards continue their road trip against the Golden State Warriors.