Pilfering away positivity from a strong start are the Wizards’ last two games, flooded with turnovers, slow beginnings and a crawling offensive pace.
They have lost twice in two nights, the latest a 113-87 rout in Cleveland delivered by LeBron James and the Cavaliers on Wednesday.
The Wizards have scored 21, 19 and 18 points, respectively, in their last three opening quarters. They trailed by seven points in Milwaukee before sorting themselves out and winning, 111-100. They trailed by three at the end of the first quarter against the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night. They lost by four.
Wednesday’s opening was egregious. By the end of the first, the vengeful Cavaliers led, 31-18. The difference would remain near that margin until the second half of the fourth quarter when Cleveland’s lead bloated to 29 points.
Shooting guard Bradley Beal played four consecutive games as a reserve before starting Wednesday. Questions about the poor starts in Milwaukee and and against Atlanta would involve Beal’s non-starting position since returning Nov. 19 from Oct. 12 wrist surgery. His return to the starting lineup Wednesday made that discussion moot. As did yet another bungling start.
Wizards coach Randy Wittman did not specify why Beal was coming off the bench. Beal took little issue with it.
“It really doesn’t matter,” Beal said after Tuesday’s loss. “I’m playing the same amount of minutes probably, if I was starting. It’s not really that big of a concern. Whatever coach wants to do man, that’s what I’m going to go with.”
Beal averaged just less than 32 minutes per game those first four. Last season, he averaged 34.7 minutes per game.
Coming off the bench, Beal provided a scoring anchor for the second unit. It also meant Garrett Temple continued to start. After an efficient beginning of the season, Temple’s shooting fell into the abyss. He was in a 2-for-26 stretch before going a modest 2-for-3 Tuesday night. He did not play Wednesday after being replaced in the starting lineup by Beal.
No matter the opening personnel, the Wizards have been wading in muck.
“We pretty much trailed start to finish, so we got to do a better job of starting games,” Paul Pierce told reporters after the game in Cleveland.
And, whatever the rotation, the Wizards have been downshifted to a halfcourt team. They scored just two fastbreak points combined in the last two games. Those two came at the end of the game in Cleveland and meant little. To Wittman, there is a clear reason why the Wizards have not been on the run.
“Getting stops helps,” Wittman told reporters. “The last two [games] we didn’t get many stops.”
The Wizards have a chance to reset during their two days off. Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans come to Verizon Center on Saturday, starting the first of four consecutive home games.
They need to speed up from the opening tip.
• Todd Dybas can be reached at tdybas@washingtontimes.com.
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