Washington Wizards: 3 takeaways from the Wizards’ collapse against the Magic

Takeaway #1: Free Throw Discrepancy

When looking back at the stat sheet, the casual viewer would wonder how in the world the Washington Wizards lost against the Orlando Magic after shooting 48.5 percent from the field to Orlando’s 43.5 percent, and almost doubling the Magic in points in the paint. The Wizards scored 66 points down low.

While the Wizards dominated in these categories, it was the massive discrepancy in free throws attempted and free throws made that ultimately led to the Wizards’ downfall. The Magic managed to get to the line a total of 38 times and made 37 of their free-throw attempts. The Wizards, on the other hand, only attempted 13 free throws and made 11 of them. This means that the Magic outscored the Wizards by 26 points at the charity stripe, which is absolutely devastating in close contests. Of Washington’s 11 free throw makes, Bradley Beal accounted for nine of them. Davis Bertans and Robin Lopez were the only other players to shoot foul shots for the entire game.

The combination of fouling jump-shooters on the defensive end and the inability to draw contact on the offensive end doomed the Wizards in both contests against the Magic. While they got to the line in the first matchup of the back-to-back, they ended up missing 13 of their 28 attempts. This will certainly be a point that the team needs to address if they still plan on making a postseason run in 2021.