Wizards look to overcome inexperience in big spots to save season

Bradley Beal guessed he could count on one hand the number of players on the Wizards with playoff experience. Technically, he would need an extra finger, but the point remained: In their biggest game of the year, most of the Wizards were in unfamiliar territory. 

“It’s very new and fresh for our guys,” Beal said. 

That inexperience reared its head in a big way Tuesday when the Wizards suffered a 118-100 loss to the Boston Celtics in the NBA’s play-in tournament. 

Washington could have secured a playoff spot with a win, but the Wizards looked all out of sorts. Boston’s Jayson Tatum went off for 50 points. Multiple Wizards got into foul trouble, and so many had an off-night from beyond the arc. After the end of it, coach Scott Brooks said the Wizards had their worst performance in over a month. 

The Wizards’ season will now come down to Thursday when Washington hosts the No. 9 Indiana Pacers for the Eastern Conference’s eighth seed in a do-or-die game. Win, and the Wizards get to face the Philadelphia 76ers in the postseason. Lose, and their season is over. 

This time, they better hope their inexperienced guys can handle the moment. 

“It’s a matter of us as leaders relaying that message of how important every possession is and how important these games are,” said Beal, who had a team-high 22 points. “Everybody’s play is lifted to a new level. That’s just automatic. … It’s just a matter of going out of there and (understanding) who wants it the most, understanding that Xs and Os aren’t going to get it done.

“It’s a matter of will.”

The Wizards have only six players who have played in the postseason before: Beal, Russell Westbrook, Robin Lopez, Davis Bertans, Ish Smith and Raul Neto. And of that group,  only Beal, Westbrook and Lopez have logged over 300 playoff minutes. Bertans, Smith and Neto have all varied in playing time as backups, depending on the year. 

Against Boston, Rui Hachimura and Daniel Gafford looked like the ones most out of their comfort zone. Both picked up early fouls, seemingly affecting them for the rest of the game. Gafford, for instance, was whistled for his third personal foul in just his fifth minute on the floor. Hachimura drew his fourth just 35 seconds after halftime, sending him right to the bench. 

The Wizards badly needed them. With Hachimura and Gafford out of the game for long stretches, the Celtics feasted on smaller lineups — with Tatum scoring 23 of his 50 in the third, which blew the game open for Boston.

Gafford, who had a history with foul trouble in Chicago before the Bulls traded him to Washington in March, wasn’t able to consistently be the rim-running, lob-catching threat that fueled the Wizards over their late-season surge. He still finished with 12 points in 20 minutes, but his early absence hurt Washington. 

Hachimura played just 16:37 against Boston — far below his season average of 31.5 minutes per game. 

In fact, the total was his fewest amount of minutes since Dec. 16, 2019 — his rookie year. That does not, of course, include games missed due to injury. 

“This is the first time he’s been in the playoffs,” coach Scott Brooks said of Hachimura. “It’s another level. I know it’s a play-in game, but it’s still the playoffs. We’re fighting for our lives. We want to get into a seven-game series and the level of intensity comes up. You’ve got to be ready for it.

“He’s not the only player in the league that’s had a tough start to their first action after the regular season. He’ll bounce back.” 

The blame does not deserve to be pinned solely on Hachimura and Gafford. Even those with playoff experience underperformed.

Westbrook had 20 points, but was just 6-of-18 from the field. The triple-double king appeared to lack his usual explosiveness — leading those to wonder if he was injured. Westbrook told reporters that he’s dealing with “nicks and bruises” but will get through it. 

Beal, too, referred to himself as a “one-leg bandit” after another night when he was clearly bothered by his nagging hamstring injury. Beal went 10-of-25 and only got to the free-throw line once. 

Bertans was arguably the biggest disappointment for the Wizards. He missed all seven of his shots from deep and when the Latvian’s shot isn’t falling, Washington’s offense takes a huge step back. Bertans has had an uneven year, a letdown given the Wizards gave him a five-year, $80 million contract in the offseason.

Bertans is a good example of the Wizards’ inexperience in big spots. Despite the forward appearing in the playoffs in three seasons with the Spurs, the 28-year-old has been asked to fill a much bigger role with Washington. He logged 32 minutes in Tuesday’s loss — double his average from the 2019 postseason.

Not including Tuesday’s stats — the NBA doesn’t count the play-in officially as the postseason — Bertans has shot only 29.8% from beyond the arc in the playoffs. That’s a cause for concern, given he holds a career 40.4% average from deep in the regular season.

“Every shooter,” Bertans said, “there’s some cold nights.”