At the gates of the “play-in” in the East, just ahead of the Pacers and the Magic, and still within reach of the Bulls (36v-39d), last qualified, the Wizards (34v-42d) do not yet want to admit defeated.
Despite seven defeats in their last ten games, and without three of their usual holders (Bradley Beal, Kyle Kuzma and Daniel Gafford), the teammates of a Kristaps Porzingis in great shape, author of 32 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists, have managed to beat down the Celtics who were aiming to get closer to first place (130-111)…
It was even because of Boston fans who were a little too noisy for their taste that the Wizards decided to raise their voices. A matter of pride then! “Boston travels well, but it’s hard to believe it felt like playing at home when we’re in DC”whispered Corey Kispert in The Athletic. “We wanted to silence these fans! »
With the eighth worst record in the League, Washington could easily let themselves sink by the next Draft, to try to strengthen their workforce.
Play the win no matter what
But this end of the season also serves the young shoots already in place, namely Deni Avdija and Johnny Davis (respectively at 25 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 7 points, 8 rebounds last night), to continue to develop. And to develop in the rules of the art, namely by winning matches.
“It is clearly very important for our young people,” adds Delon Wright. “When they play, it shouldn’t just be to grab minutes. They have to play to win, while developing and improving. As a veteran, we have to continue to play well and show them the way. »
By losing more games, the Wizards would logically increase their chances of moving up the order of choice for the next Draft. But this logic is diametrically opposed to the mentality of competitors that prevails in any NBA locker room.
“It’s something that makes sense on paper, but you can’t go into the locker room and tell the team that wants to win and fight to just lay down and drop games.”also supports Wes Unseld Jr. “This is the wrong message to send. All of our guys want to win games. We all understand our situation and we know that we can potentially miss the play-in. There is no guarantee. If some players can come back, we will take them. But above all we want to make sure that everyone who can play plays well and fights according to our standards. »
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | bp | Int | CT | party | Points |
| Bradley Beal | 50 | 33.5 | 50.6 | 36.5 | 84.2 | 0.8 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 5.4 | 2.9 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 2.1 | 23.2 |
| Kristaps Porzingis | 65 | 32.6 | 49.8 | 38.5 | 85.1 | 1.8 | 6.6 | 8.4 | 2.7 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 3.0 | 23.2 |
| Kyle Kuzma | 64 | 35.0 | 44.8 | 33.3 | 73.0 | 0.9 | 6.4 | 7.2 | 3.7 | 3.0 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 21.2 |
| Rui Hachimura | 30 | 24.3 | 48.8 | 33.7 | 75.9 | 0.6 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 13.0 |
| Monte Morris | 61 | 27.6 | 48.2 | 38.3 | 82.9 | 0.4 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 5.3 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 10.4 |
| Corey Kispert | 68 | 28.1 | 49.5 | 42.3 | 85.1 | 0.4 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 10.3 |
| Deni Avdija | 74 | 26.4 | 44.5 | 30.5 | 73.8 | 1.0 | 5.5 | 6.5 | 2.7 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 2.7 | 9.2 |
| Daniel Gafford | 73 | 20.2 | 73.1 | 0.0 | 65.7 | 2.0 | 3.3 | 5.3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 8.5 |
| Will Barton | 40 | 19.6 | 38.6 | 37.7 | 77.8 | 0.3 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 7.7 |
| Delon Wright | 47 | 24.2 | 47.3 | 35.2 | 86.5 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 0.9 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 7.0 |
| Kendrick Nunn | 25 | 12.9 | 44.0 | 35.8 | 91.7 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 6.1 |
| Jordan Goodwin | 56 | 17.1 | 45.8 | 33.7 | 75.4 | 0.9 | 2.2 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 6.0 |
| Taj Gibson | 47 | 9.7 | 53.5 | 21.1 | 70.0 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 3.3 |
| Anthony Gill | 53 | 9.9 | 57.1 | 13.6 | 78.2 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 3.1 |
| Johnny Davis | 22 | 9.7 | 40.0 | 22.7 | 53.8 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 3.1 |
| james huff | 3 | 4.1 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 2.3 |
| quenton jackson | 4 | 2.9 | 50.0 | 33.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 1.8 |
| Jordan Schakel | 2 | 3.1 | 50.0 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.5 |
| Vernon Carey, Jr. | 11 | 2.6 | 25.0 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Devon Dotson | 6 | 8.9 | 10.0 | 25.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 0.5 |
| xavier cooks | 4 | 3.4 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Isaiah Todd | 4 | 3.1 | 25.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Jamaree Bouyea | 1 | 5.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
