Washington Wizards Have Unique Opportunity To Avenge Loss To Milwaukee Bucks
Washington Wizards suffered their most embarrassing loss of the season to the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday and could avenge the defeat days later.
Coming off impressive wins over the Los Angeles Clippers and Chicago Bulls, the Washington Wizards walked onto the Bradley Center on Friday night with momentum on their side.
The Milwaukee Bucks had previously lost to the Wizards and are operating without a few key pieces, Khris Middleton and Michael Beasley.
Theoretically, the Wizards had the recipe for what it took to get another victory against the Bucks, even if they were playing away from home.
But then Giannis Antetokounmpo showed why he’s the most talented young forward in the game, leading his club with a career-high 39 points en route to a 27-point blowout against the Wizards.
Instead of continuing to play with energy, the Wizards gave up dunk after dunk to the Bucks, allowing Jason Kidd‘s team to suck all of the momentum away.
Washington didn’t have an answer for Milwaukee, who shot nearly 70 percent from the field in the first half.
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Whenever the Wizards got a rare stop, the Bucks seemed to get an offensive rebound.
And whenever the Bucks had an opportunity to score inside the paint, they did.
Scott Brooks opted to play traditional sets instead of countering with length of his own, causing the Washington Wizards to become severely outmatched.
As Kelly Oubre sat on the bench and likely wondered why rookie Sheldon McClellan was getting run over him, Giannis continued to make a YouTube highlight video out of the Wizards’ nonexistent defense.
Washington gave up 123 points in regulation – meaning, their defense was legitimately not even remotely a factor on Friday night.
The loss felt different than just a regular blowout defeat, given the hope Washington played with days prior.
The lock-down defense the Wizards prided themselves with against the Bulls late in the game last week, for instance, was meaningless against the Bucks.
But on Monday night, the Washington Wizards will have a unique opportunity to avenge what was potentially the most embarrassing loss they suffered in at least a few years. The lack of competitiveness couldn’t be compared to any of the current 16 losses in the books, at least.
