Wednesday’s contest against the Atlanta Hawks had most of the makings of a playoff-like atmosphere for the Washington Wizards. Coach Wes Unseld Jr. shortened his rotation, relying primarily on eight players for heavy minutes. The Capital One Arena crowd erupted late as both teams traded baskets. There were a number of high-quality, individual performances — from Kristaps Porzingis’ career 43-point night to Atlanta’s Trae Young takeover in the fourth.
But afterward, Porzingis noted a crucial element missing from the Washington side of the 122-120 loss. It’s something the team has lacked for weeks, if not all season.
“I would like us to be a little bit tougher, honestly,” Porzingis said after the Wizards let another 15-point lead slip away.
The Wizards, on a back-to-back, were playing their fourth game in five nights, but Porzingis said that was no excuse and added that the group has to do a better job of not letting those circumstances affect them. And he’s right. Washington’s latest collapse was far from a one-off. This season, the Wizards have lost a league-high seven games in which they’ve led by at least 15 points.
Unseld and players have struggled to explain the blown leads — five of which have occurred since Feb. 3 — keep happening. Unseld, for instance, suggested that his team relaxed once getting the lead against Atlanta.
Forward Kyle Kuzma seemed to back his coach, telling reporters: “We feel a little bit cool about ourselves … and take our foot off the brake a little bit,” he said.
That may be a natural reaction for players, but the explanation can be hard to grasp especially when factoring in the stakes of these games. The Wizards (31-35, 10th in the East) are in the thick of a competitive race for the NBA’s play-in tournament, and a win against the Hawks (33-33, eighth in the conference) would have possibly helped them gain ground in the standings.
These two teams meet again Friday in their final matchup of the regular season, but the Wizards could have clinched the season series Wednesday and own what could be a useful tiebreaker down the road. Instead, they eased up. Again.
“We know this is gut check time,” star Bradley Beal said.
Beal said Washington’s execution down the stretch has to be better, starting with him. Over the final minute, the three-time All-Star’s sequence of errors — a missed free throw, a botched, wide-open layup and a traveling call — prevented the Wizards from making their own comeback.
Beal’s performance in the clutch has often received scrutiny and while his shooting percentages are much better in those situations this season, his 13 turnovers are tied for the second-most in the league. The NBA defines clutch situations as games within five points in the final five minutes.
Still, the Wizards wouldn’t have needed Beal — or anyone — to come through in the clutch if they hadn’t blown the lead.
Porzingis floated the idea that the problems will be corrected once the Wizards have more time to play together. He compared the situation to his first year in Dallas, which he said had trouble maintaining leads and finishing late. By his second year, he said, the issue wasn’t as prevalent.
To his point, the Wizards’ core of Beal, Porzingis and Kuzma have played only 30 games together — leading to a 15-15 record. And yet, there are key differences. For one, the Wizards don’t have a star like Luka Doncic who can smooth problems over with his sheer amount of talent. But beyond that gap, Washington might not have the luxury of keeping its core together.
Kuzma, who has said he will decline his $13 million player option, is set to become a free agent after this season and Porzingis can opt out of his contract to test the market, as well. As much as the Wizards’ brass has said they want to retain both players, there’s no guarantee that they will.
And even then, Porzingis, Beal and Kuzma possibly staying together for the future arguably does nothing to address this year. Are the remaining 16 games really enough time to make that much of a difference?
Of the seven games in which the Wizards blew at least a 15-point lead and lost, the trio played in four of those contests.
When a reporter referred to Kuzma, Beal and Porzingis as a “Big Three,” Kuzma pushed back against the premise.
“I don’t necessarily think it’s the Big Three,” Kuzma said. “None of us are All-Stars (this year).”
So what are they then?
“(Shoot), we’re the Washington Wizards,” Kuzma said.
And those Wizards are searching for answers.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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