It seems that the Wizards lost a tough 127-119 double-overtime game to the Los Angeles Clippers last night. Unfortunately, I was unable to watch live, and unfortunately, the DVR was not set to record that much extra basketball. Still, that won’t preclude me from studying the portions of the game I was able to record tonight.
“They’re hurt in there,” Flip Saunders told the media after the game. It can’t hurt for too long, however, because not one of the remaining 12 games on the season will be easy. And the 17-51 Wizards need three more wins so as not to tie franchise records for losing futility in an 82-game slate. Getting to 20 wins is, however, unlikely.
It’s conceivable that Washington’s 98-92 win over the New Jersey Nets at home last Sunday will be their last of the season. Sure, they’ll have good chances to score Verizon Center wins over Cleveland (April 1) and Detroit (April 5), or even their second road win in the last game of the season versus the Cavaliers (April 13), but why not throw a bit of pessimism in the bag with optimism and realism?
Because as much positivity that was pumped after that good win over the Nets — as it should be — there were also some glaring issues, ones that have been seen many times before, which really must come to a halt before the team can proceed with winning in the future. The same issues likely kept the Wizards from winning against the Clippers, even though they hung tough til the end. So let’s start with JaVale McGee versus the Nets…
