The Washington Wizards had their moments on Friday night against the New Orleans Pelicans and led the game at halftime, but a bad third quarter buried them. In that quarter, they were outscored 37-25 by New Orleans. Ultimately, behind Jrue Holiday’s game-high 28 points, the Pelicans would cruise to a 118-107 victory over Washington.
The Wizards(24-45) are 0-5 in Orlando, and with the loss, Washington is officially eliminated from the playoffs. There were some bright spots for Washington against New Orleans. Rui Hachimura led the way with 23 points. Thomas Bryant added 22 points, and Troy Brown Jr. had 20 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists.
While Washington will not make the playoffs, head coach Scott Brooks is happy with the team’s growth.
“Coming down here, that was our goal, get involved in the play-in game,” Brooks said after the loss to the Pelicans. “We didn’t reach that, but we also had other goals to develop, and keep getting better, and keep playing the brand of basketball that we want to play. A lot of guys are getting great experience. I couldn’t ask for better effort over the last five or six weeks. We still got a week to go—a lot of good things. We’re not winning any games, nobody is happy with that, but I’m happy with the progress..
“Our job is to keep evaluating and figure out before next season starts who’s going to be with us and who’s not.”
No one wants to lose, but Bryant understands Washington is still growing and looking toward to the future.
“It is difficult because everybody wants to win,” Bryant said. “I know everybody in our locker room; coaches included, players included want to win every time you step out on that floor, but sometimes you gotta look at the bigger picture on how things are going to work out.”
Development is the name of the game for the Wizards, and we have seen that from the young players on this team. Bryant, Brown, Jerome Robinson, and Hachimura have played well at times in Orlando, which is good news for a team expected to have two All-Star caliber players in John Wall and Bradley Beal next season.
Not many expected Washington to do much in Orlando without Beal and Davis Bertans, and in reality, 0-5 is not surprising when it comes to this team. On paper, it appeared Washington and the Brooklyn Nets were the two least talented teams in the bubble, and after five games, Brooklyn is 3-2, and Washington is the only winless team. The Wizards have three games left, and that’s three games to get better, and hopefully, find a way to get a victory.
Notes:
-Wizards’ Ish Smith finished the game with 18 points, 10 assists, and six rbounds against the Pelicans.
-Pelicans’ rookie phenom Zion Williamson, who played on Thursday against the Kings, missed Friday’s game against the Wizards due to rest.
-Washington will battle the OKC Thunder on Sunday.
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