Shorthanded Washington Wizards continue to disappoint losing their fifth straight game

The Washington Wizards headed to Indiana to take on the Pacers, while trying to avoid their fifth straight loss. In order to stop this skid, they would have to do so with only nine healthy players on the roster.

The Pacers were coming in with a surprising record of 13-12. The game went back and forth for majority of the night. It was extremely fast paced and high scoring, but in the end the Wizards fell 121-111 on the road.

Despite the loss, the Wizards displayed a lot of encouraging elements. The offense for the most part was on point, although, there was a stretch in the fourth quarter where they could not buy a basket, which eventually led to their 10-point defeat.

Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma led the way with 29 and 27 points, respectively. Porzingis was the man tonight, as he went 11 for 13 from the field, while pulling down nine rebounds. Porzingis was excellent at taking advantage of mismatches in the post. With his height, all he needed to do was turn around and shoot an easy jumper.

Kuzma struggled a little bit with his shot at times. He has a tendency to force long threes to get himself going. However, he did have an all-around performance with seven assists and seven rebounds to go along with his 27 points.

The defense was not great, but I believe that it was decent. The Pacers were simply hitting crazy shots from beginning to end. Buddy Hield was a man possessed with his 28 points. It just felt like he couldn’t miss. Then you have their star player, Tyrese Haliburton. He finished with 23 points and 11 assists, getting 10 of those points in the fourth quarter.

You can tell in the fourth quarter that the Wizards were simply out of gas. The loss does sting due to it being our fifth straight loss, but it is understandable with the team being so shorthanded.

The biggest takeaway from this game has to be the play of Jordan Goodwin.

Goodwin had19 points off the bench was a huge contribution, but his hustle and defense were what really stood out. He was everywhere on the defensive end, making play after play. The man had five steals. FIVE!!!!

He was easily the best guard on the floor for the Wizards. Monte Morris and Corey Kispert did not look good throughout this contest. The time to start Goodwin is now. Monte Morris is not the solution and Delon Wright is still on the mend. Goodwin has proven himself with every opportunity he has gotten. It is time to strike while he’s hot.

The Washington Wizards will try to stop the losing streak tomorrow evening at home, as they host the Los Angeles Clippers. This will be a special game with John Wall returning to D.C. with fans in the building for the first time since 2018. Don’t forget the tissues for tomorrow’s game.