Bullets Forever: All Posts by Ian Decker"Ain't No Luck"https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48097/BulletsForever-fv.png2022-05-26T10:00:00-04:00https://www.bulletsforever.com/authors/ian-decker/rss2022-05-26T10:00:00-04:002022-05-26T10:00:00-04:00It’s fine that the Mystics don’t have a 20 ppg scorer this season
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<img alt="WNBA: Washington Mystics vs. Chicago Sky" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/YKoC8yFe-gfTyiHTx_wYq18RfQ0=/0x0:4794x3196/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70912646/1240848421.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Greater depth should help Washington improve offensively this season.</p> <p id="SigUgw">About two weeks ago, following a <a href="https://www.bulletsforever.com/mystics/2022/5/8/23062717/mystics-at-lynx-final-score-washington-holds-off-minnesota-in-78-66-win">12-point win over the Minnesota Lynx</a>, Washington Mystics guard Natasha Cloud had this to say:</p>
<p id="yc4Qhz">“I’m a shooter. I’m putting the whole W on point. I’m a shooter this year.”</p>
<p id="OfYRYM">Against the Lynx, Cloud went 7-for-13 from the field and 4-for-7 from three. And while the 19 points represent a season-high for the seventh-year guard, she has yet to lead the team in scoring this year, and that’s fine.</p>
<p id="DqUzbZ">The Mystics are 6-2 and have had three different players lead the team in scoring through eight games. Forward Elena Delle Donne has been top four times, and guard Ariel Atkins has paced the offense thrice. Rookie forward Shakira Austin rounds out the high scoring with one game.</p>
<p id="iJkhgf">Last season, Washington leaned heavily on forward Tina Charles, now with the Phoenix Mercury, for scoring. That was due to injuries and a lack of scoring threats.</p>
<p id="0kPTGG">This season, despite losing its leading scorer from a year ago, Charles averaged a league-best 23.4 points per game, the 2019 champions are better off offensively.</p>
<p id="gu15wc">Here’s why:</p>
<p id="V4AiC8">The attack is much more balanced. This season, the 10 players who figure to log the highest share of minutes are Atkins, Austin, guard Kennedy Burke, forward Alysha Clark, Cloud, Delle Donne, forward Myisha Hines-Allen, guards Rui Machida and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough and forward Elizabeth Williams.</p>
<p id="voXrnE">After missing all but three games last season due to back issues, Delle Donne, whose career average in scoring is 20.1 points per game, has gone off for 45 points in her best offensive game. </p>
<p id="MYDCtQ">Granted, that came in 2015, and while she leads the team in scoring this season, head coach Mike Thibault won’t ask the former Delaware standout to shoulder the offensive load each night. Scoring depth will give Thibault a chance to manage Delle Donne’s minutes to prevent further injury.</p>
<p id="aXlq88">While the Mystics don’t have any other player who has a career-high north of 40, they do have a pair of players who can get hot at a moment’s notice. A 2020 All-WNBA second team member, Myisha Hines-Allen averaged 17 points per game in 2020, and her career-high is 35. Then there’s Atkins, who has reached double-digit scoring in seven of eight games this season and has a career-high of 32 points; she also was an All-Star in 2021. </p>
<p id="sxYCJQ">Cloud, who has upped her 3-point game this season, making 10 of 27 threes, has flashed improved scoring with at least 10 points in four of six matches. Her career-high is 26, and Walker-Kimbrough has reached 24 points. Walker-Kimbrough also scored double figures in almost one-third of her games last season. </p>
<p id="AROezw">Alysha Clark and Elizabeth Williams, both known for their defensive abilities, can also put the ball in the hoop with 23 and 22 points, respectively. Burke, who has played only four games with the team, has reached 23, which came in 2020 with Seattle. And in the infancy of her professional career, Austin has games of 20, 14, 13 and 10 points.</p>
<p id="J7DES8">The only other player new to the WNBA set to see regular minutes is first-year guard Rui Machida. And while her points-per-game numbers might be the lowest of the 10, she did average 7.2 points and 12.5 assists at the 2020 Olympics and helped Japan to a silver medal.</p>
<p id="W4HMZV">And while she is playing just 14 minutes a night, forward Tianna Hawkins has a career-high of 24 points.</p>
<p id="K6bP6f">Though the season is still young, Washington has averaged 80.3 points per game. And with Clark and Delle Donne still getting the feel of the game after extended absences due to injury, and Williams’ return from finishing second with Fenerbahçe in the EuroLeague, the attack can only become more dynamic. </p>
<p id="zIHL1k">And while not every player will have a career game on a nightly basis, the Mystics have scoring depth to the point where at least two or more players should show up, making them a dangerous team to play.</p>
https://www.bulletsforever.com/mystics/2022/5/26/23139646/washington-mystics-scoring-distribution-wnba-analysisIan Decker2022-05-20T10:00:00-04:002022-05-20T10:00:00-04:00For Katie Benzan, hard work pays off
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<figcaption>Photo by Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Benzan earned a spot in the WNBA through hard work and a relentless drive.</p> <p id="U1MHgG">While her time with the Washington Mystics is on hold, Katie Benzan’s rise from an eighth-grader on the varsity team to an undrafted guard who earned a training camp contract was no accident. The former University of Maryland standout reached the highest level because of her relentless motor and an unmatched work ethic.</p>
<p id="uyNe86">As a kid, Katie Benzan would spend time at the high school practices her mother, Kim, coached. Even when she was in elementary school, Kim knew that her daughter had the desire and drive to be great.</p>
<p id="jZikWD">“And that consistency is like building a house brick on top of brick on top of brick,” Kim Benzan said of how her daughter trained. “It might take you five years to build your house, but at some point, you’re gonna have a house, and that’s what I would attribute her success to — just being consistent and putting in the work every single day.”</p>
<p id="9da7fR">Whether waking up early to get shots up before school or practicing in the driveway during winter in the Boston suburb of Wellesley, Massachusetts, Katie Benzan outworked everyone else in the gym to become the first Dominican player in the WNBA.</p>
<p id="U0rHUA">After a two-year career at Maryland that saw her lead the country in 3-point shooting and set the program record for career 3-point percentage, Katie Benzan went undrafted this April. But when Washington’s second-round pick, Christyn Williams, injured her knee during training camp and was ruled out for the season, the former Terrapin got the call.</p>
<p id="lZOEIg">And while Katie Benzan’s time in the WNBA is not guaranteed, her high school head coach Alex Gallagher knows that his former star guard will continue to prove people wrong.</p>
<p id="eeu1El">“I’ve watched Katie for over 10 years where everybody says, ‘well, she’s finally hit her ceiling,’ and she never hits the ceiling,” Gallagher said. “The only reason she continues to break through those ceilings is because of how hard she works.”</p>
<p id="V1tr1y">With Mystics coaching personnel attending Maryland games this season, head coach Mike Thibault, who has a penchant for utilizing unorthodox players, saw how to maximize Katie Benzan’s strengths. </p>
<p id="cIizjW">Through three games with the 2019 WNBA Champions, Katie Benzan played 27 minutes, scored 18 points, had two rebounds, one assist, one block and went 5-for-7 from three.</p>
<p id="vMH5r3">Even though her numbers don’t jump off the page, dozens of players in each draft class get waived before setting foot on a WNBA court. To get to the point where she traveled with the team to Minnesota and played in front of the Washington faithful at Entertainment & Sports Arena, Katie Benzan had to outwork her competition.</p>
<p id="MvHIyN">“She’s had to work herself to a point where she is better than everybody at a certain number of things that allow her to be able to play at the rate that she plays that,” Gallagher said.</p>
<p id="t6X6iR">Her shooting numbers are most prominent from her three games in the W, but the rebounds, assist and block illustrate the little-celebrated part of Katie Benzan’s game. Even at 5-foot-6, Katie Benzan gets in scrums and relishes the less-glamorous part of the game.</p>
<p id="Qm24oh">“I don’t know if I know anybody who’s more mentally tougher than her,” said her father, John Benzan. “She is also physically tough. She gets knocked down a lot. She sticks her nose on defense, in places where, as her father, I’m thinking, ‘can you get out of there, let some big girl get in there and rebound?’ You’ve seen her rip the ball out of people’s hands like they stole her baby.”</p>
<p id="nDCBfG">At Maryland, Benzan scored the ball, set up her teammates and even played taller defense than her frame suggested. And while her biggest impression over three games came from shooting the ball from behind the arc, Katie Benzan has relied on hard work to go from a seven-year-old kid cheering on her mom’s varsity team to an undersized guard competing with future Hall of Famers.</p>
<p id="1xcTbK">“I’d rather depend on my hard work,” Benzan said about what she uses to elevate her game. “You know, I know that I’ve put in all the reps, so I get my confidence from knowing I worked to get here.”</p>
https://www.bulletsforever.com/mystics/2022/5/20/23100895/katie-benzan-first-dominican-player-wnba-washington-mysticsIan Decker2022-04-19T16:00:00-04:002022-04-19T16:00:00-04:00EDD optimistic after recovery from back surgery
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<figcaption>Elena Delle Donne is back to full strength again as the Mystics head into the 2022 WNBA season. | Photo by Rich Kessler/NBAE via Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>The Washington Mystics’ franchise star spoke to the media for the first time after a long offseason and recovery from back surgery. While she is healthy again, the Mystics will still monitor her progress and her workload this season.</p> <p id="mK0nJB">Since hoisting the 2019 <a href="https://www.swishappeal.com">WNBA</a> championship trophy, Washington Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne has played just three games. The two-time WNBA MVP, who is immunocompromised, sat out the 2020 season because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Last year, after offseason surgery, Delle Donne managed about 52 minutes before back issues derailed the remainder of the year.</p>
<p id="Z8KZSv">“It’s a whole different year; I feel so much better,” Delle Donne said at the team’s preseason media press conference. “I’m not sitting here needing to stand up because I’m in pain — that’s the biggest thing.”</p>
<p id="oxXfjI">Delle Donne also talked about learning how to move her body to take pressure off her back. At 32 years old, the Delaware native spent the offseason with trainers and team staff focusing on strengthening her base and evenly distributing her weight from her upper to lower body.</p>
<p id="xXAA3k">“The importance of my base, which is my feet and the way my feet are interacting with the ground and the way I’m able to push,” Delle Donne said of how she changed her approach this season. “I used to be a top mover, which obviously puts a lot of pressure on your spine. Now moving through the floor with my feet, it’s helped me to be able to have different options on the court.”</p>
<p id="wSqDK5">Even though the six-time All-Star better understands how high-impact movements engender injury, head coach Mike Thibault plans to be cautious in reintegrating his franchise player.</p>
<p id="RdFLMy">“Elena and Alysha [Clark] will probably do somewhere between 60 and 70% of practice,” Thibault said. “There are parts that we’re going to hold them out. It’s not something they’ve been doing every day yet, and we’ll work our way gradually into that.”</p>
<p id="mIy0aG">Thibault also said the pair is unlikely to suit up for the preseason.</p>
<p id="wmV493">During the 2021 season, Delle Donne and Clark, who missed the entire campaign after undergoing surgery for a Lisfranc injury, spent time watching from the bench, supporting their teammates and rehabbing. </p>
<p id="UTMIUn">Through the recovery process, which extended into this past summer, Delle Donne and Clark both worked to get back on the court, which helped the two develop a deeper bond.</p>
<p id="IrKCeb">“Seeing each other in here every day,” Clark said, “the grind of it, the long days that we had in here it just looking back now, it’s like, ‘Man, I’m glad that at least I had somebody in here to be able to talk to to be able to connect with in that way.’ It definitely helps when you can go through something like that with one of your teammates.”</p>
<p id="OHPppW">And while the Mystics will be patient with Delle Donne so that she can be ready for an expected playoff push, the former scoring champ feels more joyous than ever. </p>
<p id="nejpaC">“It’s a newfound me,” Delle Donne said, “a newfound joy of the game, knowing that this game was nearly taken from me and could be at any point. You never know what’s ahead or what tomorrow could bring, so the importance of enjoying today is something I can hopefully bring to my teammates.”</p>
<p id="5OLR0b">A litany of injuries in 2021 left Washington shorthanded most nights, and building chemistry as a team was nearly impossible. So the impact of Delle Donne’s return extends past the scoresheet.</p>
<p id="uSYfDL">“Who do I look like without my Batman?” guard Natasha Cloud said when asked how excited she was to have Delle Donne back. “Obviously, Elena is the best player in the world; I’m always gonna say that. But just to have her presence back in our locker room, that means a world of difference, and it makes the world a difference in how you approach this season.” </p>
<p id="ZAfxM2">While there is room for optimism, the aura around the team’s health is eerily reminiscent of the 2021 season; after surgery, Delle Donne felt like her return would help reestablish the Mystics as a powerhouse. Then the discomfort returned to her lower back, and the Mystics faltered. </p>
<p id="PW3GzX">With Delle Donne learning what it will take to stay healthy, Thibault knows that monitoring his star player’s health will be a day-to-day exercise.</p>
<p id="4pOJns">“As we work through the rest of the training camp,” Thibault said, “I think every two or three days, we’ll re-gather our medical people and coaches and say, ‘Okay, where are we with each of them?’ I can’t give you an answer about what it looks like two weeks from now; I don’t know. I just know that we have a plan for this first week, and we’ll see how that goes.” </p>
<p id="4PDE7j">Nobody knows if Delle Donne will dress for the Mystics’ home opener against the Indiana Fever on May 6. But one thing is certain: Delle Donne is full of joy ahead of her ninth professional season.</p>
https://www.bulletsforever.com/mystics/2022/4/19/23031448/2022-mystics-media-day-elena-delle-donne-is-optimistic-about-playing-at-full-strength-this-seasonIan Decker2022-02-16T22:21:15-05:002022-02-16T22:21:15-05:00Recap: Washington falls 113-108 in Indiana
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<figcaption>Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Despite 27 points from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and 26 from Kyle Kuzma, the Wizards fail to edge the Pacers.</p> <p id="z17bBM">It was a back-and-forth matchup Wednesday between two teams that significantly altered their rosters at the trade deadline. Both sides needed to shake up their personnel following a tumultuous start to the season, but after 48 minutes in Indianapolis, the Indiana Pacers edged the Washington Wizards, 113-108. </p>
<p id="1oD9AN">With the away side sans Bradley Beal, who will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery on his left wrist, forward Kyle Kuzma logged his 22nd double-double of the season with 26 points and 15 rebounds. </p>
<p id="i8howh">But even with a prolific offensive night from Kuzma and a game-high 27 from guard Kentavuous Calwell-Pope, who brought energy and hustle to the affair, Washington fell to 26-31 as Indiana ended its seven-game losing streak and improved to 20-40.</p>
<p id="r0BAD3">The visitors made things interesting in the final frame, cutting the lead to one point with about five minutes to go, but Indiana’s dominance in the paint proved the difference Wednesday evening; the Pacers outscored the Wizards 74-36 down low as head coach Wes Unseld Jr. rolled with a small-ball lineup for a majority of the night.</p>
<p id="c2Dbxd">Although they only trailed by five points at the half, Caldwell-Pope and company fell to 12-23 when down after two. The Pacers shook off a rough first half in which they went 2-for-13 from three to outpace their opponents at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.</p>
<p id="3KZwIp">The fire of Lance Stephenson, who returned to Indiana after several years playing professionally abroad, must have rubbed off on his teammates Wednesday night. It didn't matter if you were on the floor or watching from the sidelines, if you were wearing a navy Pacers uniform, you were dancing, hopping or skipping following big plays. </p>
<p id="QM70Er">While the hosts looked loose and confident, the visitors never grabbed hold of the game. With the newly-acquired Kristaps Porzingis looking on from the bench, the Wizards fell to a Pacers team that previously has struggled in close games.</p>
<p id="b0HGQE">Outside of Caldwell-Pope and Kuzma, forward Deni Avdija poured in 14 points off the bench, while guards Raul Neto and Ish Smith bagged 10 points apiece.</p>
<p id="kPEQwW">On the opposite end, Indianapolis had six double-digit scorers, headlined by guard Tyrese Haliburton, who, in just his third game with the Pacers after being traded from the Sacramento Kings at the deadline, notched 21 points and a game-high 14 assists. Rookie Terry Taylor added 18 points and nine rebounds for the home team.</p>
<p id="EypdFq">The Wizards head straight to Brooklyn for a Thursday-evening meeting with the Nets in the team’s final contest before the All-Star break, with play resuming on Feb. 25.</p>
https://www.bulletsforever.com/2022/2/16/22938149/washington-wizards-indiana-pacers-nba-recapIan Decker2022-02-01T22:30:25-05:002022-02-01T22:30:25-05:00Recap: Washington’s comeback effort falls short in 112-98 loss
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<figcaption>Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Beal-less Wizards drop sixth game in a row in Milwaukee</p> <p id="EpTw0D">The <a href="https://www.bulletsforever.com">Washington Wizards</a>, without star guard Bradley Beal, who is out for at least a week with a sprained wrist, lost to the <a href="https://www.brewhoop.com">Milwaukee Bucks</a>, 112-98, on Tuesday night at Fiserv Forum.</p>
<p id="iyNJVV">While the team undoubtedly missed Beal’s production on the offensive end — he puts up 23.2 points per game — they have a better record without the all-star guard than when he plays. Including Tuesday’s loss, the Wizards are 17-23 with Beal and 6-4 without him.</p>
<p id="w9dXTd">Washington (23-27) had trouble scoring the ball early, going just 35% from the field and 33% from deep. On the other end, Milwaukee (32-21) started the contest 8-for-10 from the field and 4-for-5 from three. But the Wizards used a 10-2 run over the final 4:46 to get within four and erase what was once a 15-point Bucks advantage. </p>
<p id="yYWLwm">For the second straight quarter, Washington hobbled out of the gates, scoring a measly six points. However, in the final six minutes, the Wizards put up 14, which accounted for 70% of their scoring in the second. Still, Milwaukee took advantage of nine giveaways from the visitors to fuel a 13-point lead at the half.</p>
<p id="BZUvFV">After the away side won the third quarter, 33-25, and entered the fourth down five, a Rui Hachimura deep look put the Wizards up three and gave them their first lead of the night. But despite a huge fourth from Montrezl Harrell — he had 10 of his 20 in the final frame — a 17-2 Bucks run to close the game ended Washington’s comeback bid and handed the visitors their sixth straight loss.</p>
<p id="Qqzy1R">It doesn't get much easier for the Wizards; they travel to Philadelphia before hosting Phoenix and Miami. On top of that, center Thomas Bryant left the game with an ankle sprain and did not return. Bryant had been getting his legs back under him after tearing his ACL last season. </p>
<p id="HwP44F">Kyle Kuzma led all Wizards scorers with 25 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. And while Kuzma had another productive outing, one Wizard fell short of expectations. In games playing without Beal this season, Spencer Dinwiddie has averaged 23.6 points and scored no less than 17. Tonight, the guard had seven points on 2-for-9 shooting from the field, although he contributed nine helpers.</p>
<p id="qtwQB0">For the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmp had a game-high 33 points to go with 15 boards and 11 assists. It was the Greek Freak’s 17th game this season with 25-plus points. Jrue Holiday also added 22 points for the hosts.</p>
https://www.bulletsforever.com/2022/2/1/22913451/washington-wizards-milwaukee-bucks-nba-recapIan Decker2022-01-25T22:19:35-05:002022-01-25T22:19:35-05:00Recap: Wizards blow 35 point lead to Clippers in 116-115 loss
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<figcaption>There was little to celebrate in D.C. after the Wizards blew a 35-point lead. | Photo by Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Wizards suffer most embarrassing loss of season after crumbling at home</p> <p id="weda91">On Tuesday night, the Washington Wizards (23-25) lost to the Los Angeles Clippers (24-25), 116-115, in agonizing fashion. The game started with a pregame tribute and moment of silence for Maurice “Moe” Brown, a member of the NBC Sports Washington and Monumental Sports families, who recently passed away.</p>
<p id="gqhgwR">Los Angeles entered the game missing several key players, including Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Marcus Morris.</p>
<p id="h2Brgu">The Clippers scored their first points at 8:46 of the first after center Ivica Zubac hit a pair of free throws. The visitors failed to make a field goal until 5:56, when Amir Coffey (game-high 29 points) hit a two. L.A. started the game 2-for-13 from the field but closed the period out in strong form to cut what was once an 18-point lead to nine.</p>
<p id="vmvwbx">Even after picking up two early fouls, Daniel Gafford led the way in the first quarter with 10 points, two rebounds and one emphatic block on Terance Mann. Even though the Wizards went over three minutes without a field goal, and with Bradley Beal not attempting a shot in the first, Washington went into the break ahead, 32-23.</p>
<p id="o98hc8">Remarkably, Beal’s first shot attempt and set of points came at 6:47 of the second. Still, the Wizards were ahead by 22 even without a bucket from their leading scorer. Beal’s next basket was a stepback three to put the home side up 29 with just over five minutes left to play in the second. </p>
<p id="fLxddq">Washington had its best defensive quarter of the season, holding Los Angeles to just 13 points in the second frame. After half the game played, the hosts enjoyed a 30-point lead.</p>
<p id="PiZkT9">Sloppy play early in the period allowed the Clippers to cut into Washington’s lead. After scoring 23 and 13 points in the first two quarters, respectively, LA blitzed the Wizards for 40 in the third.</p>
<p id="CQXHc6">With the game coming down to the wire, Montrezl Harrell missed a pair of free throws, but the energetic center made up for it on the defensive end with a key block. Trez’s defense plus a huge Beal three had the Wizards heading in the right direction.</p>
<p id="9fzRq3">But two late threes from Luke Kennard (25 points off the bench), the second of which he was fouled on, saw the Clippers erase a 35-point deficit at Capital One Arena. As the Clippers celebrated on the court, the Wizards left in ignominy.</p>
<p id="PR3RlI">Beal had 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists and Kyle Kuzma had a 19-point, 12-rebound double-double. Gafford, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Harrell had 12 points apiece.</p>
<p id="h3Bezk">The only consolation on the night when the Wizards celebrated the Chinese New Year was that Beal made his 644th appearance for the Wizards, passing Greg Ballard for third-most games played in franchise history.</p>
<p id="26XBjm">The Wizards now face a brutal six-game stretch, starting with Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET. After that, Washington faces the Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets.</p>
https://www.bulletsforever.com/2022/1/25/22901769/washington-wizards-los-angeles-clippers-nba-recapIan Decker2022-01-19T22:12:25-05:002022-01-19T22:12:25-05:00Recap: Washington misses two buzzer-beater chances, falls 119-118
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<figcaption>Kyrie Irving had a strong first half against the Wizards tonight. | Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Kuzma and Dinwiddie both miss late threes that would have given the Wizards a statement win</p> <p id="jLXCeN">The Washington Wizards, still without Head Coach Wes Unseld, Jr., lost to the Brooklyn Nets, 119-118 on Wednesday night at Capital One Arena.</p>
<p id="UHnfeq">Assistant Coach Joseph Blair, who earned his first career win as an NBA coach in his first-ever coaching start Monday against Philadelphia, again took charge of Washington.</p>
<p id="GOFHb8">Brooklyn entered tonight’s game without Kevin Durant, the league’s leading scorer, who is out with a left MCL sprain. Even without one of the top players in the association, the Nets boast some of the game’s most electric stars in Kyrie Irving, who is only playing away games, and former MVP James Harden.</p>
<p id="VEjA8R">Washington had all its players for the second consecutive game, meaning the true starting five of Bradley Beal, Spencer Dinwiddie, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma and Daniel Gafford were together to start the match.</p>
<p id="IRcq21">At 11:10, after a Gafford free throw, the Wizards led 3-2; it was the last time the home team held the advantage all night, although they nearly pulled it out at the buzzer.</p>
<p id="gLzhVE">Brooklyn managed to escape with a win despite a late 8-2 Washington run in the third quarter and a scrappy display that almost led to an exciting turnaround victory.</p>
<p id="nRRiU3">With his team down 119-115, Beal found Kuzma in the left corner, and the former Laker knocked down a corner three to bring the Wizards within one.</p>
<p id="YQc9Iu">On the ensuing possession, Montrezl Harrell had a trailing block on Harden, Washington marched the ball down the court, but both Kuzma and Dinwiddie missed three-point attempts that would have sealed the game.</p>
<p id="JgPYEM">Even though they came up short, the Wizards had six different players score in double figures.</p>
<p id="rvDyCC">Beal led the way with 23 points and nine assists. Kuzma had 16 points and six rebounds, Harrell and Rui Hachimura had 14 apiece, and Deni Avdija, who only played in garbage time against the 76ers, had 13 points and five rebounds.</p>
<p id="aqgNCf">Irving had 30 points and seven assists for Brooklyn, and LaMarcus Aldridge had 27 off the bench.</p>
<p id="Qlx4I8">The Wizards’ homestand continues Friday when they play the Toronto Raptors. Tip-off is at 8 p.m. ET.</p>
https://www.bulletsforever.com/2022/1/19/22892527/washington-wizards-brooklyn-nets-nba-recapIan Decker2022-01-17T16:49:32-05:002022-01-17T16:49:32-05:00Recap: Washington surprises Philly with 117-98 victory on MLK Day
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<figcaption>Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Wizards flex full force of healthy team with mid-day win against Eastern Conference foes.</p> <p id="s0W4xX">In Monday’s matinee to honor Martin Luther King Jr., the Washington Wizards (23-21) topped the Philadelphia 76ers (25-18), 117-98, sending most of the traveling supporters home early.</p>
<p id="04p2d9">During an afternoon of remembrance and celebration, here’s what the players said about MLK Jr. and his legacy.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">"I feel inspiration whenever I hear his name."<br><br>Members of our team reflect on what MLK's legacy means to them.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MLKDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MLKDay</a> <a href="https://t.co/7L79gO0C4I">pic.twitter.com/7L79gO0C4I</a></p>— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) <a href="https://twitter.com/WashWizards/status/1483071608491229184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2022</a>
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<p id="lATE8D">Bradley Beal: “I think if he was still here today, I think in a lot of ways he would be proud but still unsatisfied. It’s definitely something that we’ve made a stride, but we still have a lot of strides left to go.”</p>
<p id="O2I5VH">On the afternoon when the Wizards had their full complement of players for the first time this season, Washington found itself without its head and assistant coach. The two absences paved the way for basketball lifer and Assistant Coach Joseph Blair to assume lead NBA duties for the first time in his career.</p>
<p id="cT9uai">Blair also had his top scorer back; Beal returned after a three-game hiatus in the league’s health and safety protocols. With Beal back in the fold, Washington sprinted to an 11-2 lead.</p>
<p id="GRaT4Z">Philadelphia big man Joel Embiid, who had a game-high 32 points and eight rebounds, baited Wizards’ center Daniel Gafford into three quick fouls, and “The Process” then got Thomas Bryant for yet another foul on a Washington center. </p>
<p id="iofODb">But even though Embiid got to the line eight times in the first and logged 11 points, the home team went into the break up nine. Collectively, the Wizards shot 60% from the field and 50% from three on six attempts. </p>
<p id="NqVJCQ">At the buzzer, Bryant picked up the ball, hit Andre Drummond with a pretty fake and downed a buzzer-beater two. And that wasn’t even the nicest play of the quarter.</p>
<p id="iHnmue">The highlight of the second came at 4:31. Raul Neto drove the lane, spun and found Kyle Kuzma at the edge of the three-point line. Kuzma then drove to the net and dunked all over Embiid, much to the delight of Wizards’ bench and the Washington faithful inside Capital One Arena.</p>
<p id="zWZUlh">After it looked like the hosts had the last laugh of the period following a Corey Kispert three, Montrezl Harrell fouled Tyrese Maxey — the only other 6er to reach double-digit scoring with 18 — with eight-tenths of a second remaining, and the second-year player out of Kentucky knocked down both of his free throws.</p>
<p id="3NUcnV">From 7:09 to 2:44 in the fourth, the 6ers failed to make a field goal, with the team’s only point coming off a Maxey free throw. When Philadelphia finally got a bucket, Head Coach Doc Rivers already had thrown in the towel and put in the bench unit.</p>
<p id="SDhfUE">The difference in Monday’s affair was bench points and defense. Washington outscored Philly 63-27 and held their opponents under 100 points on 27% shooting from three.</p>
<p id="r2JVor">It was a welcome win after a disappointing loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday.</p>
<p id="xdTnHL">Kuzma’s 15-point, 16-rebound double-double gave the former Laker his 10th double-double in the last 13 games. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 15 points and Beal had 13 and six assists. </p>
<p id="0CjA5b">Harrell led all Wizards’ scorers off the bench with 18 points and seven rebounds, Bryant had 15 points and Rui Hachimura and Kispert had 11.</p>
<p id="RSRHwx">The Wizards were also without a full coaching staff as Joseph Blair was the head coach when then-interim head coach Pat Delany was in his place in their last game.</p>
<p id="oyXT95">Washington’s next game is on Wednesday when they host the Brooklyn Nets at 7 p.m. ET. </p>
https://www.bulletsforever.com/2022/1/17/22888236/washington-wizards-philadelphia-76ers-nba-recapIan Decker2022-01-05T22:01:05-05:002022-01-05T22:01:05-05:00Recap: Washington makes things interesting, still falls, 114-111
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<img alt="Houston Rockets v Washington Wizards" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/drtDyuqDrF-eC_GZ9_iky3Rbcg8=/0x0:5132x3421/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70353290/1237555365.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Even after Bradley Beal fouled out, the Wizards fought but were undone by a late three.</p> <p id="4emFzF">On Wednesday night, Bradley Beal scored 27 points, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope put up 26 and Kyle Kuzma notched 24. Despite accounting for 70% of their team’s points, the Washington Wizards (19-19) fell, 114-111, versus the Houston Rockets (11-28), who snapped an eight-game losing streak.</p>
<p id="566qFx">The silver lining from Wednesday’s first six minutes was that the Wizards couldn’t have played much worse. Houston jumped out to a 9-0 lead, and the visitor’s largest advantage of the quarter was 12. At that point, Washington had committed five turnovers and had missed all five of its three-point attempts.</p>
<p id="e8vSAK">But with the home team floundering in the first quarter, their star player, Beal, led his team on a 6-0 run to force a Houston timeout. First, he threaded the needle of the Rockets’ defense and found rookie Corey Kispert. On the ensuing play, Beal hit Caldwell-Pope in transition, and the former Laker went to work on Christian Wood (22 points, 11 rebounds) for a two.</p>
<p id="UJq1I5">The highlight of the opening frame came from none other than Beal; the electric guard blew by his defender, stopped on a dime and knocked down a step-back three. Beal had 12 points, four rebounds and four assists on 2-for-4 shooting from three. He also did not go to the bench in the first.</p>
<p id="1GG6JT">At 10:06, Daniel Gafford did something he had yet to accomplish in 34 previous games: hit a jumper. He followed that up with a hefty denial of a dunk attempt.</p>
<p id="tkGKVx">It might have taken almost 20 minutes, but a Kispert three finally put the good guys ahead. However, the lead was short-lived as the Rockets punched in four points, punctuated by an emphatic Jalen Green (22 points, six rebounds) slam. The two sides traded blows to end the half, but the Wizards took a one-point advantage into the break.</p>
<p id="05T5Go">It took just 70 seconds into the third for Beal to pick up his fourth personal foul. Shortly thereafter, Gafford also picked up foul number four. And before the quarter ended, Beal picked up his fifth, which prompted Washington’s bench to go to the monitor and consider a potential challenge. However, the replay revealed it had indeed been a foul, so Beal sat for the remainder of the period.</p>
<p id="m1cqqG">A 7-0 Houston run to start the fourth forced Wes Unseld Jr.’s hand, as the Wizards’ bench boss had no recourse but to put Beal back on the floor. For one of his first plays back on the court, Beal took a gutsy charge. But the roll of the dice later backfired as Beal fouled out — for the first time since Nov. 29, 2017 — with nine minutes remaining in the affair. </p>
<p id="QMlm23">Surprisingly enough, without their top player, the Wizards went on a 10-2 run to get within three. As the clock ticked away, it seemed like every trip down the court led to a bucket as the two sides traded scores. But after tying things up late, the Wizards had their hearts broken for the second time in the past week; Kevin Porter Jr. dropped a shot from behind the arc with four tenths of a second remaining.</p>
<p id="xDZEhV">With Davis Bertans ruled out for the game with a left foot sprain, the Wizards had a difficult time shooting the three ball, going 10-for-39 on the night. In his first game back since returning from the Covid list, Raul Neto added 14 points off the bench.</p>
<p id="DggLTw">For the visitors, Eric Gordan put up 19 points on 3-for-5 shooting from three, and Jae’Sean Tate contributed 13 points, 10 boards.</p>
https://www.bulletsforever.com/2022/1/5/22869532/washington-wizards-houston-rockets-nba-recapIan Decker2021-12-28T22:09:29-05:002021-12-28T22:09:29-05:00Recap: Washington shows fight but falls to Miami, 119-112
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<figcaption>Spencer Dinwiddie’s team-high 24 points weren’t enough as the Wizards lost for the 17th time this season. | Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>A late-game comeback displayed Washington’s fight and heart.</p> <p id="EBYWnN">Missing seven players to covid protocols isn’t really an excuse considering the other team had an equal amount of players out or injured. With each team missing a significant portion of its roster, the Miami Heat (22-13) dropped the Washington Wizards (17-17), 119-112.</p>
<p id="yEWLvq">Kyle Kuzma (22 points, seven rebounds) led the way for the Wizards from the get-go, scoring his team’s first bucket with an emphatic dunk. On the other side, Duncan Robinson (26 points on 8-for-16 shooting from three) knocked down a pair of threes for the Heat early on.</p>
<p id="dGYiBj">Neither Wes Unseld Jr. nor Erik Spoelstra dipped into their benches until 5:35 of the first. With the insertion of Davis Bertans (19 points, 5-for-10 from behind the arc) for Washington and Tyler Herro (game-high 32 points off the bench) for Miami, the three balls started falling. Inside the arc, Jimmy Butler worked his magic to get to the line four times in the first. His four points from the stripe contributed to a 12-point first quarter.</p>
<p id="xvTWFF">Despite 13 lead changes in the first, the South Beachers went into the break up, 38-24, courtesy of an 18-3 run in the latter stages of the period.</p>
<p id="ToR1JU">Spencer Dinwiddie, who led the Wizards with 24 points and 11 assists, ended a four-and-a-half-minute Wizards field-goal drought with a tough and-one at 10:09 of the second. However, by that point, the Wizards found themselves down 11. </p>
<p id="UFjbcd">After Gabe Vincent drained a top-of-the-key deep shot, Unseld called for a stoppage with his team down 16. Three minutes into the second, Miami held a 58% shooting rate from downtown.</p>
<p id="7eJJIq">It took 15 minutes before the Heat committed a turnover; Butler threw an errant cross-court pass that flew into the first row. Other than a couple Butler turnovers, Miami did little wrong and took a 14-point advantage into the half.</p>
<p id="HY3kIn">Back-to-back threes from Robinson midway through the third stretched Maimi’s lead to 21, which prompted a Washington stoppage to regroup against their division foes. But even after the timeout, the Heat kept scoring. The home team used a 17-2 run to extend its lead, but a late barrage of threes from Washington gave the visitors some hope heading into the final frame.</p>
<p id="Eetzyb">The Wizards used a 25-11 run over the course of seven minutes in the fourth to get within eight of the Heat, but four points from Butler, who finished with 25 points, eight rebounds, a career-high 15 assists and two steals, in the final two minutes of the game sent Washington home with loss number 17.</p>
<p id="Z7aeYT">With a majority of the team in covid protocols, the Wizards can be proud of the fight they showed against an equally decimated Miami squad. If it isn’t already clear, a Wes Unseld-coached team will always show up and work hard.</p>
<p id="up3zut">A couple things to note from tonight’s game. Daniel Gafford was a perfect 7-for-7 from the field; Craig Sword scored his first points for the Wizards this season; and several G-League/recently-signed players, Sword, Alize Johnson, Jordan Goodwin and Isaiah Todd saw the court.</p>
https://www.bulletsforever.com/2021/12/28/22857792/washington-wizards-miami-heat-nba-recapIan Decker