The Washington Wizards didn’t have an answer for the Utah Jazz on Monday. Guard Bradley Beal had an off-night shooting and Utah face-guarded him nearly every time down. Jazz center Rudy Gobert bullied his way to the paint.
But perhaps the thing that stood out the most in Washington’s 116-95 loss was the crowd.
Angry comments were shouted from fans throughout the loss, with some calling for Ernie Grunfeld’s job and for Scott Brooks to resign. The comments could especially be heard since the crowd of 15,637 was largely quiet for large stretches of the blowout.
“Hey, oh, Ernie Grunfeld’s got to go,” yelled season-ticket holder Jim Nagle, who once wore a paper bag with holes cut for eyes and a mouth over his head earlier in the season.
“Quit, Scott Brooks,” one fan yelled.
Heckling goes on at every NBA game — the Jazz just recently banned a fan for an incident with Thunder star Russell Westbrook — but over the course of a losing season, fans have increasingly voiced their dissatisfaction toward the Wizards. It’s been especially noticeable lately.
Attendance, too, has taken a slight hit. Entering Monday, they ranked 20th — averaging 17,358 fans per night, according to ESPN. That’s down from last year when the Wizards ranked 14th (17,973). Capital One Arena holds a capacity of 20,356.
“My ears are fine, so I can hear it,” guard Tomas Satoransky said of the heckling. “But (you’re) trying to stay focused. You have to ignore it when you’re in a game obviously.”
With the loss, Washington fell to 30-41 on the year — four games back of the playoffs. There are only 11 games left.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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