Washington Wizards Three Takeaways: Wizards Unable To Knock Off Nuggets
Hosting Denver on Friday, the Washington Wizards retired Phil Chenier’s jersey. Unfortunately, the Wizards were unable to knock off the Nuggets or bad habits, losing 108-100.
On a night where the Washington Wizards celebrated one of the greatest players in franchise history, they fell to the Denver Nuggets, 108-100.
This loss was the second in a row for Washington and four out of the last six, as the free fall down the standings of Eastern Conference continues.
The Wizards are now 1.5 games behind the Pacers for the sixth spot in the East, with 10 games left in the regular season.
The Nuggets who are fighting for their own playoff lives were paced by star big man Nikola Jokic and star second year guard Jamal Murray who each had 25 points on the evening.
Bradley Beal led the way for the Washington with 24 points on 6-for-9 shooting from three-point range.
Turnovers Rear Their Ugly Head
For most of the season when the Wizards have struggled offensively, it was mostly due to the fact that the’re unable to protect the ball. It has been well documented in this space that turnovers are a huge detriment to Washington’s offense.
Against Denver, Washington committed 17 turnovers. A fair number of them unforced and head-scratching.
Beal had four turnovers, and two of them he just dribbled the ball off his foot with little to no ball pressure. Ian Mahinmi also had four, as he was called for two moving screens on the night, both times negating three-point attempts that went in.
It’s too late in the season for this to still be an issue plaguing this team. They must value the basketball down the stretch. Possessions are so vital this late in the season and are magnified when the team is missing its best player.
Atrocious Three-Point Defense
The Wizards are normally a pretty good team defending behind the arc. However, in terms of giving up uncontested looks from deep, the Wizards have ranked favorably throughout this season. That was not the case against the Nuggets.
The Nuggets made a whopping 17 three-pointers, shooting 50 percent from deep. Jamal Murray was 5-for-12, while many of his shot attempts rimmed out or he could have shot even better.
Will Barton, who was on fire down the stretch, finished 5-for-7 from three on his way to a 23-point night.
The Nuggets play an exciting brand of basketball and lead the NBA in scoring since the first of February, averaging 119 per. The Wizards while holding the Nuggets below that average still gave up way too many good looks, something you cannot do against a hot shooting team.
#45 Raised To the Rafters
https://twitter.com/WashWizards/status/977344792911736834
The Wizards play on the court could not overshadow the great night it was seeing Bullets legend Phil Chenier having his jersey retired at halftime.
Mr. Chenier has been a mainstay for the City of Washington since his playing days when he was spraying that smooth jump shot from all over the court. He still holds a special place in many of the hearts of DC Family everywhere and basketball royalty has sent congratulatory messages this week leading up to the retirement.
It was a pretty emotional moment seeing the number 45 raised to the rafters of the arena. With the current Wizards looking on off the court, Mr. Chenier thanked everyone that helped him get this far—choking up as he talked about his mother and all that she means to him.
It was a special ceremony highlighted by a message from the great Wes Unseld.
Unfortunately, it was a shame the Wizards couldn’t pull out the win to cap off the celebration.
On Sunday, the Wizards host the New York Knicks. They will also hold a ceremony honoring the 1978 champions the Washington Bullets.