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Washington Wizards Three Takeaways: Wizards Avenge Loss To Milwaukee Bucks
Washington Wizards buckled down defensively late in the fourth quarter and completed a comeback against the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday.
On Friday night, the Washington Wizards suffered their most embarrassing loss of the season – a 27-point defeat to the Milwaukee Bucks.
All of the momentum that Washington gained following wins over the Los Angeles Clippers and Chicago Bulls was flushed down the toilet.
But on Monday night, the Wizards had a unique chance to avenge their loss to the Bucks. It’s not often that a team meets an opponent twice in a row, but the opportunity was presented to Washington.
For some time in the fourth quarter – specifically when the Wizards were down by double-digits – it seemed like Washington would succumb to Milwaukee’s length and explosiveness.
Led by John Wall, the Wizards managed to complete a late comeback and secure another home win, 107-102. Wall scored 11 of his 18 points in the third quarter, lifting the Wizards’ offense single handedly before closing the deal.
Otto accepts the Giannis challenge
There’s no question that Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the best small-forwards in the league. After scoring a career-high 39 points against the Wizards on Friday, it seemed as if Otto Porter was ready to return the onslaught to The Greek Freak.
Porter made 13 of his 18 field goal tries, totaling 32 points to go alongside 13 rebounds.
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He knocked down a key 3-point shot late in the fourth quarter to cut Milwaukee’s lead to single digits.
Most importantly, he held Giannis to just 22 points.
Porter did a solid job of denying the ball inside, forcing Giannis to create his own look rather than bullying his way in the paint.
When Porter isn’t hesitating and the Washington Wizards actually look for him on offense, he elevates his game to an All-Star level.
Monday night wasn’t any different.
Brooks runs with no point guards
Washington’s backup point guard situation is a bit of a mess, as I wrote earlier.
Neither Trey Burke nor Tomas Satoransky have done enough to earn that role, making life that much more difficult for Scott Brooks.
Against the Bucks, Brooks opted to do something a bit extreme and ran without a point guard. Burke played just four minutes.
Instead, he stunted Bradley Beal‘s minutes and allowed him to run the offense with the second unit with Marcus Thornton at the two.
The change didn’t necessarily hurt the Wizards, but it didn’t help either. It took Beal some time to find his rhythm and the bench scored just 13 points.
Wizards actually play late-game defense
Washington allowed 123 points against the Bucks on Friday – in regulation.
Like, that total says a lot. The team didn’t even try defensively. The Bucks abused the Wizards inside and crashed the offensive glass, making it almost impossible to string together consecutive stops.
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On Monday, though, the Washington Wizards buckled down defensively late in the game and that ultimately made the difference.
As with everything else, the Wizards’ defense is predicated on how well Wall is performing on that end of the floor.
Late in the game, he harassed the Bucks’ guards and forced tough passes inside.
Then, the help defense swarmed the ball handler, causing the Bucks to take an ill-advised shot or a turnover.
That’s the sort of defense that Wall, and the rest of the roster, needs to play for 48 minutes.
It’s almost as if the Wizards are too stubborn to commit themselves for that period of time.
They showed they’re capable of getting stops against the Bulls on the road and they did the same on Monday against Milwaukee.
Washington will take on the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night.
