Washington Wizards Three Takeaways: Milwaukee Bucks Derail Wizards' Momentum
Washington Wizards were coming off two impressive victories, but failed to carry the momentum over against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night.
On Friday night, the Washington Wizards checked into the Bradley Center will all of the momentum on their side.
They had just beaten the Chicago Bulls on the road and were coming off their most impressive home victory of the season over the Los Angeles Clippers.
With a win over the Bucks already in the books, the Wizards seemingly had nothing to fear.
But then the Bucks exposed the Wizards’ already-known flaws, making a highlight of their poor defense virtually every time up the court.
There’s a difference between getting blown out and getting embarrassed. The Wizards were flat out embarrassed on Friday as the Bucks dunked their way to a 27-point victory.
The rim protection? Still a problem.
I took the night off on Wednesday and Nithin was kind enough to cover the Bulls game. Even in the win, he mentioned how poorly the Washington Wizards protected the rim.
Without Ian Mahinmi – the team’s best rim protector who will miss an additional six weeks of action following a double-knee procedure – the Wizards lack size.
Marcin Gortat has never been known for his shot-blocking ability and has regressed in that aspect of the game.
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He doesn’t have the quickness nor leaping ability to consistently alter shots at the basket, making it that much more difficult for the Wizards to find their defensive identity.
That’s not Gortat’s fault, though, and while it’s easy to put the blame on him, the finger should be pointed towards the team’s poor roster construction.
The Bucks shot 70 percent for an entire half, basically.
There are times when the towel could be thrown in.
Teams get hot and make impossible shots.
But the Bucks were dunking – like, every time they had the ball.
Gortat stood and helplessly watched as Giannis Antetokounmpo coasted to 39 points – almost all of which came inside of the paint.
Keef – where are you?
Markieff Morris has a tendency to disappear and it’s not talked about enough.
Morris is one of the team’s best defenders – he shut down Paul Millsap and Kristaps Porzingis earlier this season – but he’s also one of the team’s best magicians.
On some nights, Morris looks like the Wizards’ second best option. But then there are other nights when he might as well be on the bench in a suit.
Not only was he unreliable defensively, but he came up short on the other end, grabbing just 2 rebounds for the night.
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The Bucks outrebounded the Wizards by 11.
Whenever the Wizards got a stop, it seemed like the Bucks got an offensive board.
His 14 points were also unmemorable.
Washington needed his physicality, but Morris wasn’t present.
Wacky rotations
Kelly Oubre has been one of the most dependable options on Scott Brooks‘ bench, yet he was stuck in the doghouse on Friday.
Oubre had one of his best individual performances against the Bucks in their last meeting, but Brooks opted to play Sheldon McClellan ahead of him on Friday.
The move, to put it bluntly, cannot be justified.
McClellan had just spent some time in the NBA Developmental League and hasn’t done anything noteworthy as of late. He played 23 minutes, totaling 6 points on 1 of 5 shooting. Oubre played just 14 minutes, making 2 of the 5 shots he took.
On a night when the Washington Wizards needed defense and length, Oubre should have shared the court with the starters. Instead, Brooks rolled with his regular lineup and the team got lit up as a result.
In the NBA, you have to fight length with length. Believe it or not, McClellan and Jason Smith are not the answer.
Washington had momentum on their side, but a blowout in this fashion will derail that. They will have a unique opportunity to redeem themselves against the Bucks at home on Monday night.
