Washington Wizards: 5 frightening stats from blowout loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves

Five

Total number of games before effort became a problem for the Washington Wizards

Last season, effort and accountability were lacking all season. It became a quick theme, with Austin Rivers, of all people, eventually becoming the frustrated voice of reason in a broken locker room.

This season, under Tommy Sheppard, things are supposed to be different. The Wizards are no longer supposed to have the “try-hard’ issue that coach Scott Brooks said plagued them last season.

No, this season features a team of hungry young guns looking to establish themselves on NBA rosters. This team has fight. This team has determination.

At least that’s what it seemed like. Then came a blowout loss to the Timberwolves, and the post-game pressers sounded just like everything we ever heard last season. ‘We just need to play harder,’ ‘They outworked us.’ ‘We weren’t focused,’ etc., etc., etc. Just like a broken record.

One poor performance isn’t enough to convince me that this is the fold-easy Wizards of old, but there didn’t see to be a lot of the fight we’ve heard about—and seen!—through the season’s first four games. For now, I’m still giving this team the benefit of the doubt, but that won’t last long if performances like this keep up.

“There’s going to be a lot of games where you’re going to have bad games, and how are you going to bounce back?” Brooks said after Saturday’s loss at home. We’ll see how this Wizards team bounces back Monday night when they take on the Detroit Pistons.