Key Numbers from the Wizards 140-111 loss to the Raptors

What’s made the Wizards a fun watch much of the season was the pyrotechnic scoring. Washington poured in points and so did their opponents. Their youthful effort and bench mob enthusiasm was infectious. The crowd and TV viewers got into the spirit.

But, after the loss to the Bulls, Bradley Beal ripped the team’s losing culture, and the usual enthusiasm was missing against the Raptors. Their offense collapsed along with their defense and the result was a painful and embarrassing slog that featured hyper-efficient offensive performances from multiple Raptors and some Bertans-esque three-point shot hunting by Marc Gasol.

The team’s decision-making regarding Beal continues to be puzzling. Beal is dealing with persistent knee pain and stiffness — the same issue that had him miss several games the past few weeks — as well as a painful shooting shoulder. In a developmental season where the outcomes of individual games don’t matter, it’s baffling why the front office and medical staff is letting him play with injuries.

They may believe he can’t get hurt more seriously, but that’s something impossible to predict. More to the point, there’s nothing to be gained from having Beal grind out minutes in a lost season. This is an opportunity to let him fully recover, to take pressure off his body, and to add life to future years of his career. Instead they’re inviting the possibility of more serious injury by putting him out there at significantly less than 100%.

Four Factors

Wizards assistant coach Dean Oliver formalized the four factors (offensive and defensive) that determine who wins and loses in the NBA. Get more details here. The Wizards shot a decent .534 (eFG) from the floor, but committed a whopping 26 turnovers.

They allowed the Raptors an astonishing .692 eFG — the worst mark of the season for the Wizards defense and the 10th worst in the league this season.

Player Production Average and Scoreboard Impact Rating

In the table below are results from Player Production Average (PPA) and Scoreboard Impact Rating (SIR), which are player rating metrics I developed. PPA is an overall production metric that’s pace neutral and accounts for defense. In PPA, 100 is average and higher is better.

SIR translates overall production into points on the scoreboard in this game.