Wizards vs. Bobcats recap roundup: A frustrating loss

Here's your recap roundup from Monday's 119-114 Wizards loss to the lowly Charlotte Bobcats. As always, check out our StoryStream and view interviews of Randy Wittman, John Wall, Emeka Okafor and Garrett Temple on Monumental Network:

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Washington Post:

"Mental lapses. Blown assignments. We all did it. You have four or five guys, six, seven guys that all have mental lapses, it all adds up to one big mess," forward Martell Webster said after the Wizards lost for the 26th time in 31 road games this season. "We were in control of that game and then all of sudden, we found ourselves becoming very complacent. Lazy on defense. And you just can't do that."

Washington Post sidebar:

"We didn't play defense at all," rookie Bradley Beal said. "We didn't know what we were doing. We were switching on guys we shouldn't have switched on. We weren't denying, we weren't contesting. Our defensive effort wasn't good at all."

Associated Press:

"We played about five minutes of what we call how we play, getting up and pressuring," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. "Then we went back to just, 'Well, we're going to win this now, we're up five, we're going to coast in.' And you can't do that. It ends up biting you. Then we don't execute down the stretch. Inexcusable. It'll bite you every night in this league."

Wiz of Awes:

Bradley Beal did not seem healthy to me, as he showed little movement on the court and even less lift on his jump shot. He capped off a forgettable 2-for-8 performance from the field with a badly missed 3 pointer that would have cut the Bobcats lead to 1 with under 30 seconds to play. I'm not sure if he needs additional rest, or if it was just a matter of getting his legs back under him but I am hopeful that he continues his fantastic progression since November and finishes his rookie year strong.

Wizards Extreme:

Washington's bench again did not play a role in this game. Already short-handed with the injury to A.J. Price, and Chris Singleton not logging minutes due to personal reasons (presumably), the Wizards lacked the punch in their second unit to match pace with a Bobcats bench that got confident early.

District Sports Page:

With the loss, the Wizards are now 5-26 on the road this season, which represents the fewest road wins of any team in the league.

Rufus on Fire:

Tonight was a great night for the Bobcats. They looked like they had a real offense. The defense was actually not as horrible as the score indicates. There were a lot of possessions and a fast tempo, which led to the very high scoring we saw tonight. If the plan stays the course, we should be seeing a lot more games like this for the rest of the season. I think I speak for everybody when I say passing is fun so I hope we do.

Charlotte Observer:

Monday, Wall's key statistics were six turnovers and six fouls, sending him the bench late. Sure, he scored 25 points, but Walker clearly outplayed him down the stretch. It didn't help that Washington big man Nene (21 points) was also in foul trouble.

"We knew Nene had five fouls," said Bobcats coach Mike Dunlap. "We went to the pick-and-roll; we knew he'd play it soft. It was Kemba's game from there."

Gaston Gazette:

Fourth-year forward Gerald Henderson led the way in the early going, then second-year guard Kemba Walker closed out a comeback rally on both ends of the court.

"I was brought in to develop players," Dunlap said in response to a question about Henderson's recent improved play. "His development is not deniable. So is Kemba's."

Queen City Hoops:

He's filling in nicely for Sessions. What the Bobcats brought him in to do. Oh, and Dunlap loves him.

Dunlap on Pargo's defensive energy and Bobcats strategy to get the ball out of Wizards big men, Nene and Okafor - "He knows how to what we call roam, and so he'll leave (John) Wall or (Garrett) Temple to see if he could plug some gaps and take some chances. Whatever we give up on the backside we'll take that, but we were trying to tag (Martell) Webster, (Bradley) Beal and (Trevor) Ariza and not leave them."

Charlotte Observer sidebar:

Big Pat, the Charlotte Bobcats' normal public-address announcer, was ill Monday. The fill-in had a funny moment during the introductions when Emeka Okafor - first-ever Bobcats draft pick - was pronounced "E-meek-a."