Wiz of Awes
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Washington Wizards Three Takeaways: Wizards come crashing down against the Hawks

By Jen Julie Smith

ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 27: Marcin Gortat #13 of the Washington Wizards defends against John Collins #20 of the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena on December 27, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 27: Marcin Gortat #13 of the Washington Wizards defends against John Collins #20 of the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena on December 27, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GA – DECEMBER 27: Marcin Gortat #13 of the Washington Wizards defends against John Collins #20 of the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena on December 27, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA – DECEMBER 27: Marcin Gortat #13 of the Washington Wizards defends against John Collins #20 of the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena on December 27, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

After their spectacular Christmas Day victory over the Celtics, the Washington Wizards came crashing down, falling to the Atlanta Hawks, 113-99.

Coming off their Christmas Day victory against the Celtics, the Washington Wizards traveled to Atlanta. Although the Hawks sit dead last in the Eastern Conference with only 8 wins, they’re still an NBA team. As Wizards fans learned this season, nothing should be taken for granted.

Washington started off the game with a 10-point lead, but the Hawks would come back to knot up the first quarter, 29-29. Washington would then go into halftime only up 57-55, folks we have a ball game.

Off the bench, the Hawks’ Marco Belinelli provided a spark for Atlanta, knocking down 11 points in his first 11 minutes. Belinelli is also the best free throw shooter in the NBA at 95 percent. During the third quarter, he would be fouled by Bradley Beal on a three-point attempt.

In Coach Scott Brooks own words, “Belinelli lit us up.” He ended the game with 19 points.

Also in the third, both teams had lapses as three players stepped out-of-bounds. While Markieff Morris would be called for a technical foul, after complaining to a ref. That would be Keef’s seventh tech for the season.

After beating the best team in their conference on Monday, Washington wasn’t about to lose to the worst team on Wednesday. Or were they? With too many missteps, Wizards would fall to the Hawks, 113-99.

This loss doesn’t take away what they accomplished in Boston, but it shows that Washington has a problem with consistency. Are they a good team only when they play good teams? And then the converse—a bad team when they play bad teams?

The level of their opponents shouldn’t dictate how the Wizards play.

Washington has to find itself soon, because during the playoffs, this inconsistent pattern is going to cause a first round exit.

Have the Wizards turned the corner?

That was a great win against Boston on Monday. The best game for the Wizards this season hands down. But at the same time, fans are putting their hands up, when Washington continues to lose to losing teams.

The inconsistency, where the Wizards will win one today and then lose tomorrow, is not a good pattern. Definitely a pattern that won’t work in a playoff series.

This was another game, where Washington forgot that there were two ends of the court.

With 7:20 remaining in the fourth quarter, and the Wizards down 89-81, Brooks would go with the small lineup that worked for them in Boston—John Wall, Beal, Otto Porter, Kelly Oubre, and Morris.

But Washington allowed Dennis Schroder (21 points, 7 assists) and Ersan Illyasova (20 points, 9 rebounds) to get hot early, and they stayed hot.

Interior Defense was a problem

In the first half, the Hawks had 28 points in the paint. It wasn’t that Atlanta was shooting well, but whenever they missed a shot, there were at least thee of them to get a second and then a third rebound, to finally put it away.

Washington just gave them too many chances at the rim. The Hawks are 29th in the league in rebounding, yet they outrebounded Washington 53-40. The Wizards gave up 16 offensive rebounds, while Atlanta only gave up nine.

The Hawks ended the game with 50 points in the paint.

Wizards gave Atlanta life

When the Hawks saw that the Wizards didn’t have any rim protection, it gave them more confidence to take shots from anywhere on the court. Knowing that the ball would end up back in Hawks’ hands, if they missed.

After holding a slim lead to end the half, Washington took Atlanta for granted, and didn’t dial up the defensive intensity.

The Wizards were outscored in the fourth quarter, 35-23.

Wall recorded another double-double. Although it included 11 assists, he only had 10 points. Beal had a strong performance with 20 points and 6 rebounds. Morris had 18 points and 8 rebounds. While Porter had 15 points and 7 rebounds.

If you missed it, here’s Bradley Beal’s interview at the NBA TV studio in Atlanta on Tuesday:

On Friday, the Wizards return home to take on the Houston Rockets.

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