Wizards Come Up Short Defensively in Home-Opener

It was a tough day all-around for the Washington Wizards. Head Coach Randy Wittman was absent for the beginning of the game due to attending his dear friend and mentor Flip Saunders’ memorial service in Minnesota. He arrived in the second quarter as his team was being out-shot by a newly-reformed New York Knicks squad. Washington’s defensive tactics just weren’t that impressive.

There were valiant efforts. Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal put up 26 points, shooting 1 -7 from the field early in the first half but he also made some key clutch three-pointers to help his team. Point guard John Wall with 25 points, four assists, three rebounds and two blocks, helped to bail the team out as usual. Even center Marcin Gortat, forward Nene, Gary Neal (point guard), and Drew Gooden (center/forward) all showed up ready to play but, again, fell short defensively.

Nene played well but fouled out after 18 minutes. Forward Otto Porter, Jr. had it rough from the start, but still managed to put up 16 points and nine rebounds. It still was not enough to defend against the Knicks’ 10-time All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony from raking in 37 points to bring New York to a 2-1 season record.

Beal said it… his team didn’t do enough on the defensive side. New York outscored the Wizards from the field, 47.7 to 42.2 percent. They tried to block Anthony any way they could, double-teaming him several times throughout the game with Porter defending. Anthony scored 10 points in the first quarter, mostly against Porter.

Even putting in shooting guard Jared Dudley — a wider body — wasn’t enough. The fact that Dudley had made his feelings known about Anthony when he went on radio back in May and stated that Anthony is the most overrated player in the NBA (for which he later apologized) didn’t help matters. It may have even given Anthony more fuel. Dudley and Anthony both received technical fouls for bickering after Dudley fouled Anthony a second time. The eight-time All-Star Knicks forward scored another eight points. It seems Anthony can make shots anywhere, anytime and with anybody on him.

Despite playing flat, the Wizards were still impactful for most of the game. Neal and Washington guard Ramon Sessions shot a combined four from 11 off the field. Wall and Beal were, of course, solid from the start.

The Wizards were only down by three at halftime and were able to secure a lead for a time. They were simply unable step up their game defensively throughout. Two guys alone can’t win all the games by themselves… the whole team is needed. Porter needs to make more shots and Gortat must get stronger on the inside. It was a disappointing loss but perhaps the game plan that made them successful and took them to the Eastern Conference Championship might be worth revisiting, especially since they played a heck more defensively then.

The Wizards will rest up Sunday and then practice Monday and Tuesday in preparation to host the San Antonio Spurs.