Following a thrilling comeback victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, Russell Westbrook said, “winning tonight and not coming next game ready to play means nothing.” One step forward and two steps back is exactly what happened as the Wizards lost to the Portland Trail Blazers, 132-121. It was the Blazers who were playing on the second night of a back-to-back yet it was Washington that was a step slow all night on defense. In his second game back from a bout with COVID-19, Deni Avdija had 13 points, seven rebounds, and three assists in 23 minutes of play.

“It was inexcusable in the first quarter, we got off to a slow start, lackadaisical,” Bradley Beal described. “We were late to everything, we were late on our defensive rotations, offensively we weren’t playing fast enough or playing hard enough. They were just kicking our ass. They got their butts kicked last night by Milwaukee and they came in tonight with a different mindset out the gate.”

Portland shot an outrageous 21-for-46 (46 percent) from beyond the three-point line and that was with Damian Lillard shooting a below-average 4-for-14 (29 percent) from deep. Instead, it was the likes of Gary Trent Jr. and Robert Covington that combined to shoot 12-for-17 (71 percent) from three. Despite the Wizards specifically emphasizing three-point defense during their pre-game walkthrough less than three hours before tipoff it was not executed well. Even after Trent and Covington lit up Capital One Arena in the first half with 7-for-9 shooting from three, no adjustments were made in the second half. After a 9-0 Wizards run in the third quarter to cut the deficit to seven, the Blazers responded with two Covington and one Trent threes over the span of 59 seconds to increase their lead back to 16.

“All night long we were a step behind on the closeouts from three,” Scott Brooks pointed out the obvious. “Closing out short all night and that wasn’t the game plan. It seemed like we were always cutting it off short and not putting our hand up and contesting the shot properly.”

Bradley Beal fights through the double team and gets Deni Avdija a good look that the rookie converts through contact, and-1. pic.twitter.com/IxuXEmT0qo

— Hoop District (@Hoop_District) February 3, 2021

As poorly as the Wizards played defensively they were still within reach following an Avdija top-of-the-key three-pointer to pull within four with four minutes left in the game. Davis Bertans had a great look from the corner to pull within one, but could not cash in as was the case for much of the night, shooting just 2-for-10 from the field and three. Portland would respond with a 10-0 run to send Washington to 4-13 on the season. With Bertans again having to work himself back into shape and rhythm following his quarantine with COVID-19, he is a net negative on both ends of the court when unable to hit shots. Scott Brooks opted to stick with him, but a net -22 in 30 minutes off the bench certainly did not help the cause.

Admittedly not up to par against the Nets and understandably so, Avdija bounced back with a better performance against the Blazers. Never one to force a shot, Avdija was an efficient 5-for-6 from the field wisely picking his spots and opportunities to score. Although one of the more fundamentally sound defenders on the team already, the rookie was the culprit of bad three-point defense at times with late contests because of over helping in the paint and not recovering in time. That is something that Avdija will improve at over time with more experience.

“I wasn’t in a rhythm,” Avdija said about Sunday’s game. “I was in a rhythm before and then I was not with the team for three, four games so I think my rhythm is starting to come back. It wasn’t easy, my shape was not that good in the first game. I tried to do my best, but I wasn’t 100 percent there yet. Today I came more focused and stepped it up.”

Now Washington faces their own second night of a back-to-back on Wednesday in Miami in what will be two straight to be played in South Beach. With five games in seven nights including these last four on the road, the Wizards could see their season get away from them quickly even with the 7-10 seed play-in tournament.