Washington Wizards: Wizards fall to Mavs, but it’s not time to hit the panic button

The Washington Wizards had another terrible performance and lost to the Dallas Mavericks. Is it time to hit the panic button?

The Dallas Mavericks ousted the Washington Wizards 119-100 Tuesday night. Dallas and Washington were tied heading into the game for the second worst record in the NBA, but now it’s just the Wizards and the Phoenix Suns.

The night was dominated by Luka Doncic as he had 23 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. The Wizards did have an answer for the rookie as it hit big shot after big shot. It’s fair to say that this kid is going to be a special player for years to come.

I’m not trying to down play the Mavs, but this was a game that Washington shouldn’t have had any trouble winning. Fortunately for Dallas, the Wizards laid an egg and handed them this game.

This loss was probably the most difficult to watch. Doncic and the Mavs had established a 21 point lead at half-time. How do the Wizards let this sub-par roster obtain that large of a margin?

Shooting 31.4% from 3-point land doesn’t help, but the Wizards need to find another solution on offense besides jacking up 3’s. Dallas, on the other hand, shot 44.1% from deep. I’d go into the defensive problems, but it’s already known that the Wizards are the worst defensive team in the league, which won’t help them win.

Wesley Matthews went 5-8 from beyond the arc and added 22 points. In addition, Dennis Smith Jr. shot 2-3 from three-land and ended the game with 19 points, 7 assists, and 4 rebounds. Great overall point guard play by Smith Jr. last night.

John Wall was the only individual that played well for the Wizards. He had a team high 24 points and had 10 assists to go along with it. While these numbers look pretty, in reality Wall didn’t perform that well. He attempted 20 shots and only made 8.

In the fourth quarter, the Wizards had a moment where they cut the lead down to get within six. Wall had his chances were he could have sliced more into the deficit, but forced to many ill-advised shots. There were a couple of times were he should have given the ball to Bradley Beal since he’s proven that he can close games better, but Wall was to selfish.

On the bright side, Wall only had two turnovers, but it doesn’t matter if they don’t get the win. It still baffles me that over the span of his entire NBA career Wall’s shot has only improved slightly. It just shows how dedicated he is to his game.

Enough about Wall. Let’s talk about the rest of the team.

Otto Porter Jr. had a productive night with 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. He shot the ball well as he only missed 5 shots all night, but it seems like the team works better without him. Washington’s last win was when Porter sat out due to injury. It just seems like his play is irrelevant to the box score.

Other than these two, the rest of the team played absolutely awful. Therefore, leaving no reason to talk about them.

Most Wizards fans feel as though the season is over and that management should blow it all up. While I want to agree with them, it’s not the time just yet. However, that moment is right around the corner.

The Orlando Magic game will determine the Wizards’ season. I’d say the Magic are worse than the Mavericks, simply because Dallas is in a tough Western Conference. If Washington can’t be Orlando, then that’s the nail in the coffin. Losing to a team that hasn’t been good in decades would indicate that the Wizards should have a Black Friday fire sale.

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