The Washington Wizards entered Monday night’s matchup against the Houston Rockets looking to break a four-game losing streak.
In what was a more than winnable matchup for the Wizards, Washington couldn’t get the job done. The team put together one of their worst performances of the season, and with little to no contributions from the team’s key players, the task was too tall for the Wiz to overcome.
The Wizards 107-92 loss in Houston puts them at 2-7 on the season while their losing streak has expanded to five games.
That said, it’s time to evaluate why the Wizards' struggles have repeatedly prevented them from winning.
Lack of talent
Entering the season, there was no denying that the Wizards truly lack talent when comparing them to other teams around the nation. Still, it didn’t seem like the talent gap was enough for Washington’s season to fall apart as quickly as it has.
With Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma returning, mixed with the second-year leap of Bilal Coulibaly, the Wizards front office and their fans had thin hope that their team could at least be competitive throughout the season. And while they have shown signs of being able to do that, they haven’t done it on a consistent basis which lands them at the bottom half of the league.
Even their additions of Jonas Valanciunas and Malcolm Brogdon seemed to make it seem as if Washington could be a sneaky rebuilding team that could challenge teams consistently. However, that hasn’t happened. As a result, Washington will likely be sellers at the NBA trade deadline, and understandably so.
Inconsistencies in key places
Through the start of the season, the emergence of Coulibaly mixed with the growing confidence of Poole seemed like Washington could have found something with the versatile duo. However, the start of the season hasn’t translated to wins in large part because top players have yet to put together efficient nights at the same time.
With inconsistent play lining up from top to bottom, it’s hard to imagine a team finding any wins.
No veteran voice
The team brought back Kuzma and added Valanciunas and Brogdon in the offseason—all veterans who have been on winning teams and competed at the highest levels. However, none of these veterans or any outside of them have seemed to step up and take the role of leading the young team.
Considering the lack of experience and growing inconsistency, the Wizards very well could find themselves picking in the Top 3 of the NBA Draft in the offseason.