Randy Wittman’s assessment was more measured than the anger he spewed when the Wizards last lost. That was four games prior in Toronto, where he questioned most things around his team, from to their manhood to the media.
Though his tone Wednesday following the Wizards’ 105-102 loss to the potent Dallas Mavericks on the night Bradley Beal returned was even, it still had a brisk message. Unprompted, he said the team needs to grow up.
“From an emotional standpoint,” Wittman said. “We’re sometimes our worst enemy. What I mean by that is, this is a game of mistakes. I’ve been around the game a long time. I’ve yet to see a team or a player play the perfect game. And, until we get past the two or three minutes when we as an individual or as a team have a bad stretch, when you turn it over, you miss a shot or get a shot blocked or you blow a defensive assignment…
“We quit playing, is the way I term it. We feel sorry for ourselves. We put our heads down. We did that a couple times (Wednesday).”
Wittman delivered his words with an arching dynamic. This was not a direct drill down on one player. However, a brief look at the second-half possessions identified a sole candidate for the discussion.
John Wall turned the ball over twice to begin the third quarter. The Mavericks turned a hard-earned one-point halftime lead into a seven-point lead in 59 seconds. Furious, Wittman called timeout.
“There’s no way in the world I should have to take a timeout 40 seconds in coming out of halftime to wake you up because you are feeling sorry for yourself because we turned the ball over two times in a row to start the third quarter,” Wittman said in reference to the team as a whole. “Now, it’s a 10-point game, just like that. That’s what it really boils down to.”
Wall’s passion and pace are double-sided weapons. No one was more amped when Beal hit a 3-pointer for an 85-84 Wizards lead with 7:58 to play. No one was more dangerous when he dropped his hips then accelerated to other end of the floor in a way few others in the league can.
Yet, he’s also a victim of self-sabotage. His irritation following a bad pass is apparent. His decisions when in top gear on the break vary in quality. Properly managing his dynamic qualities will help push the Wizards.
“I put my head down (at times),” Wall said. “My teammates were like, ’Keep your head up, keep going.’”
Which is an in-game chore and one for this week with the Cleveland Cavaliers and surging Milwaukee Bucks on the schedule. The return of Beal, who missed six weeks because of a left wrist fracture that happened Oct. 10, was dynamic and will be a boon. A meaningless 3-pointer at the end of the game pushed his point total to 21. That led the Wizards.
Beyond that, Beal’s influence was expansive. After debuting off the bench with 4:53 remaining in the first quarter, Beal took 17 shots, tying Wall for the most on the team. He had three rebounds, three assists and a steal. His four personal fouls were not a surprise for someone who has been off the floor for six weeks. Nor was the fact that Beal said he was fatigued toward the end of the game. Paramount was that the he came out of the game feeling well.
“It was like playing a normal game,” Beal said. “I didn’t feel anything (in the wrist).”
Wednesday night’s final horn felt like it signaled the season had begun. It was the first evening in the Verizon Center this season producing rapid pulses fluctuating possession by possession.
No team in the league was scoring more or at a higher rate prior to tipoff than Dallas. Dirk Nowitzki and his often indefensible fadeaway are joined by parts with a precision fit. He found late-game mojo with diminutive J.J. Barea in pick-and-rolls. Elongated Brandan Wright thundered two dunks down on Kevin Seraphin. Monta Ellis scored 34 points on the night, 18 in the first quarter. The Wizards countered with Wall, Beal and interior muscle. It was what a game between two good teams is supposed to look like.
Nowitzki hit a 3-pointer with 80 seconds remaining to push the Mavericks, winners of five consecutive, in front, 102-97. That was the trump card. Wall later missed a wing 3-pointer that would have tied it.
Paul Pierce scored 17 points. When the game careened, he was steady. On the bench he applauded or instructed defensive coverages. In the game, he worked at his usual hammer-effective tortoise pace. Afterward, he sounded like Wittman.
“You can see it at times when we turn the ball over or we don’t make the right play, guys tend to put their head down,” Pierce said. “We got to get over that. We’ve got to grow up and get back on defense and worry about the next play. That’s what the great teams do. They don’t let one play … they don’t get emotionally hijacked. They continue to fight through it, fight through it. It’s a game of mistakes.”
By a narrow margin, too many were made against Dallas. The Wizards are no longer undefeated at home. Their growth is ongoing.
• Todd Dybas can be reached at tdybas@washingtontimes.com.
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