The Wizards lost 103-97 to the Hawks on Friday and fell to the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference standings. Head Coach Scott Brooks was upset after the loss where he said that “we’re a selfish basketball team right now.” Brooks even went on to say that the team does not have “one on one players,” when he spoke about Washington’s lack of ball movement, Marcin Gortat’s four assists aside. You can watch the video of Brook’s presser above or click here.
After Brooks’ presser, the locker room was tense according to Candace Buckner of The Washington Post:
Just left a VERY tense #Wizards locker room — in which Otto Porter Jr. and Tomas Satoransky were the only starters who stuck around long enough to talk.
— Candace Buckner (@CandaceDBuckner) April 7, 2018
Both guys responded with variations of “I don’t know” when asked for their diagnosis of what’s wrong with this team now
What’s even more frustrating about the losing is that the Wizards are close to the end of the regular season. It is less than a week away. However, Washington lost four straight games and looks like a team headed for a quick first round exit. The Wizards seemed to be checked out from the start, just one day after they blew a 16 point lead and lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Wizards analyst Christy Winters Scott was egged on (by us in part) to lecture the team like she did after a December loss to Atlanta. Here were her suggestions on Twitter after Friday’s debacle and her appearance on Wizards OT:
What’s more disappointing is this.
— Bullets Forever (@BulletsForever) April 7, 2018
Winters-Scott’s tough love came after a Hawks loss in December. She can say the exact same thing today and it still applies to a T.
and everything you said that night was true and sadly everything you said tonight is right on the money and the problem is that in this day of the NBA most players don't want to hear it. Most coaches can't get in their face like that.
— George Templeton (@temptherat) April 7, 2018
I appreciate that... it’s not so much of “getting in their faces” physically, or anything like that, but having them get into their OWN faces in terms of accountability, integrity, and expectations.. if you want it, be about it. #PointBlank #MirrorsDontLie #DCFamily
— ChristyWintersScott (@ChristyWScott51) April 7, 2018
The Wizards still have two more games to play this season. The first is against the Celtics on the road next Tuesday, and they’ll follow that up with a road game against the Magic. Even if the Wizards’ playoff seeding is set at this point, I’d like to see the team show more energy and chemistry like last February, and not like Friday night.