National Basketball Association

Washington Wizards Three Takeaways: Wizards Get Winded in Their Loss to the Chicago Bulls

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Washington Wizards, missing John Wall and Bradley Beal, were unable to get their third win of the season against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday.

The Washington Wizards came to Chicago on Saturday night with a 2-6 record. John Wall (rest) and Bradley Beal (hamstring injury) were both unavailable, making a win virtually unobtainable.

The night before, Wall almost single handedly led the Wizards to a victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

With both Wall and Beal out, rookies Tomas Satoransky and Sheldon McClellan had to lead the Wizards against a team with three former All-Stars.

The Bulls handed the Wizards their seventh loss of the season, beating them 106-95.

The second unit did their part, yet the Wizards collectively still haven’t learned to defend the 3-point line nor rebound.

Thematically, the Wizards have started games strong and then ran out of gas at the end. The same occurred against Chicago.

Backcourt steps up

Washington hasn’t had a rookie backcourt since John Wall’s rookie season.

Although Satoransky is technically a rookie, he’s played years of professional ball overseas.

McClellan, an undrafted rookie, was a lucky find for the Wizards. He made the first basket of the game, a 3-pointer. He put in a solid performance throughout the game.

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With a starting lineup of Satoransky, McClellan, Markieff Morris, Otto Porter and Marcin Gortat, the Wizards outplayed and thoroughly dominated the Bulls in the better part of the first quarter.

At one point, with less than 5 minutes left in the game, the Wizards led 21-9.

McClellan scored 15 points in his first NBA start, making 5 of his 9 field goal tries.

Marcus Thornton, who’s started in place of Beal in the past, scored 9 points on 14 shot attempts off the bench.

The rookie will likely get minutes ahead of the veteran going forward.

Satoransky added 12 points and 9 assists.

Getting to the line

Although the Wizards didn’t commit any turnovers in the second quarter, it appeared that the Bulls lived at the free throw line.

Jimmy Butler made all 14 of his free throw attempts.

Washington doesn’t have a player on their roster who’s consistently gotten to the free throw line. Without an elite scorer, the Wizards will inevitably become stagnant offensively at times. Getting to the line is one way to slow the offense and put points up on the boxscore.

Remember: the game is 48 minutes

The Wizards fell apart in the third quarter.

For some reason, the Washington Wizards have continued to forget that a game is 48 minutes long.

During the start of the second half, Washington started to run out of gas, making unnecessary fouls, terrible shot selection and nonexistent rebounding.

Washington has lacked consistency even when Wall and Beal have been in the lineup. Maintaining a high level of energy for the entire game is something the Wizards have struggled with mightily. They don’t have the talent to take plays off.

At 2-7, the Wizards have put themselves in a hole to start the season. If they don’t turn things around quickly, a possible run at the playoffs might be out of the picture.

Next, the Washington Wizards will take on the Philadelphia 76ers.

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