Familiar issues strike again in the Washington Wizards loss to the Pelicans

The Washington Wizards once again find themselves on a nasty losing skid after trying to reassure their fans that they are indeed still a title contender. Naturally nobody believed them because the team is not good.

One of the many reasons the team has not been very good in recent years, and probably by far the most prominent, is the ridiculous numbers that opposing teams put up in the paint. Last night was no different as the Pelicans scored 74 points in the paint without Zion Williamson.

To add insult to injury, the Pelicans also shot 31 free throws compared to the Wizards measly 18. Thats a potential 13-point difference. This has lost the Wiz games before, and it will continue to lose them games going forward.

At least this issue will help maximize the teams’ odds at landing Victor Wembanyama or Scoot Henderson, the two generational prospects headlining this upcoming draft.

That still doesn’t solve the issues with the roster as apparently the Wizards are trying to compete for a championship this season. To do that, they need to stop the bleeding in the painted area.

The Pelicans are just the latest teams to light up the stat sheet from the painted area as the Wizards have set the record for most points allowed in the lane numerous times in the last few seasons. This is embarrassing not only to the franchise, but also to the fans who love this team.

Even Kyle Kuzma stormed out of the arena in shame after fouling out as the Wizards were gettng blown up by a team even more battered up and injured than they are.

https://twitter.com/_Talkin_NBA/status/1612632274318548993?s=20&t=okzMpkQTnU1fyR745Ehmdg

This team needs to do better. This team can do better. The coaching staff needs to have some shame and get their players to get their hands up and play defense.

If the Washington Wizards want to win, now or in the future, they need to find a way to play defense at the rim and they need to stop other teams from dropping what feels like Wilt Chamberlain type stats in the lane.