Too often in Saturday’s 119-112 loss to the Indiana Pacers, the Washington Wizards’ defense wasn’t what it needed to be for a team trying to make a playoff push. The Pacers routinely took advantage of defensive breakdowns, jumping out to a 17-point lead at one point.
Washington’s effort was better in the fourth quarter, but by then, it was too late. The Pacers held on and the Wizards lost for the ninth time in 12 games.
A month ago, the Wizards looked like they had turned a corner defensively — finishing the month of January with the league’s fifth-best defensive rating at 107.1. But in February, Washington’s defense has plummeted again — giving up 120 points per 100 possessions.
That ranks second-to-last league-wide.
“They got out in transition and then (had) straight line drives and the back doors,” coach Scott Brooks said. “We were a step behind. We were walking through mud in the first half.”
Brooks tried to make an adjustment before the game. He swapped out center Thomas Bryant in the starting lineup for Bobby Portis, who was acquired earlier in the month in the Otto Porter trade.
But against Indiana, Portis logged just 17 minutes. Bryant, who played 31 minutes, was a spark-plug off the bench. He had three blocks and provided a much-needed interior presence. Bryant was on the floor as the Wizards made their comeback. Still, it wasn’t enough.
The Wizards are frustrated in part because they’ve shown flashes of being a capable defensive team, though they’re not consistent enough. Forward Trevor Ariza said the Wizards play in spurts rather than complete games.
“We just gotta want to do it,” Ariza said. “Myself included, we take a lot of plays off. We can’t do that, especially going down the stretch, knowing how tight it is and the position we’re in.”
This season, the Wizards rank among the league’s worst in the following defensive categories: three-point percentage (30th), opponent field goal percentage (28th), points (29th) and points inside the paint (25th). They also allow the third-most second-chance points and the 10th-most points off turnovers.
On Saturday, the Pacers were able to capitalize off Washington’s mistakes. The Wizards committed 22 turnovers, leading to 30 Indiana points. Indiana also grabbed 12 offensive rebounds — many of which came after an initial solid defensive effort from Washington.
In all, Indiana shot 56 percent from the floor. So far this month, the Wizards are allowing opponents to shoot 50.1 percent from the field, 42.7 percent from deep.
The Wizards, too, are running out of time. They have only 22 games left to correct major defensive flaws. They’re a season-high 12 games under .500 and are four-back of the eighth seed.
“The only way you can do it is by doing it on the floor,” star Bradley Beal said when asked how the Wizards can build a defensive identity. “I don’t know how else to really put it. We can do it in practice, but it’s not going to mean a [darn] thing if we don’t do it in a game. It’s up to us players to go out and get it done at the end of the day.
“We show spurts of it clearly, we do that, but it needs to be a lot more consistent than what it is not.”
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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