The Washington Wizards are really outdoing themselves with fourth-quarter collapses to start the 2020-21 season. After holding the Orlando Magic to a mere 15 points in the third quarter on Sunday to build a 17-point lead, the Wizards surrendered 43 fourth-quarter points. Unable to sustain offense in the final quarter, Washington saw another double-digit fourth-quarter lead evaporate and now stare down a 0-3 start to the regular season with 69 games left to play. The Israeli sensation Deni Avdija this time did not get into early foul trouble and played 36 minutes compared to only 15 points the night before while almost putting up a double with 9 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists.

Bradley Beal – EPA-EFE/SHAWN THEW

“I think we got comfortable, that’s what happened,” a frustrated Bradley Beal said after the game about the fourth-quarter collapse. “You don’t go from 17 points [up] to losing the damn game. That’s unacceptable on all fronts on everyone’s behalf.”

Without Russell Westbrook, who will not be playing in back-to-back games this season with long-term benefits in mind, Orlando was able to aggressively double team and blitz Bradley Beal on pick-and-rolls all night. After Beal continued to work Evan Fournier, the Magic adjusted by putting Michael Carter-Williams on him in the fourth quarter. In 39 minutes, Beal had 29 points on 10-for-29 shooting, seven assists, and five rebounds. Beal missed all seven of his three-point attempts and had a mere six points on 2-for-9 shooting in his 10 fourth-quarter minutes. The All-Star shooting guard often feels he is fouled without receiving the whistle with Sunday’s game being another example with Orlando receiving 38 free throw attempts to Washington’s 13.

Markelle Fultz – EPA-EFE/SHAWN THEW

“Our offense was stagnant early in that fourth quarter. Quick shots, bad shots, turnovers, and they were just putting their head down and attacking us getting to the rim. Getting easy shots. We didn’t show enough resistance in that fourth quarter. It’s been three games in a row now, we got to figure that out,” Scott Brooks explained after the game.

Troy Brown Jr. – EPA-EFE/SHAWN THEW

Thus far, Scott Brooks is not pushing the right buttons of who to play when. With a 17-point lead, the Wizards would have emerged victorious with sound defense in the final quarter. These are some of Isaac Bonga and Deni Avdija’s strengths. Instead, Brooks opted for Troy Brown Jr. and Davis Bertans during the final five minutes when Washington had a six-point lead with 4:32 to play.

“Davis, shot maker, his experience. I thought Troy had one of his better games. Played Deni a lot of minutes straight so he definitely needed a blow,” Brooks justified post-game when asked about the decision not to finish with his starting lineup.

Deni Avdija – EPA-EFE/SHAWN THEW

It was inexplicable for Avdija to play 19 consecutive minutes to start the second half making him practically unavailable for the final few minutes of the game. No longer perfect from the field in his young NBA career, Avdija had 9 points on 4-for-11 shooting, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists in 36 minutes of play. Avdija’s starting forward counterpart, Bonga, was a team-high +20 in 18 minutes of play knocking down his two field-goal attempts, both triples, making it all the more puzzling why he did not see fourth-quarter action. It was a similar deal in Washington’s home opener the night before where Raul Neto did not see any second-half minutes following a perfect first half. Brooks can attempt to justify his decisions as experimenting to learn about his roster or gut feelings, but so far he has missed the mark costing his team wins.

The Washington homestand continues with another pair of consecutive matchups against an Eastern Conference team, the Chicago Bulls, on Tuesday and Thursday. The Wizards need to get wins in those games before the road gauntlet of Minnesota, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, and Boston begins.

Bradley Beal – EPA-EFE/SHAWN THEW

“The team is alright, we’re pissed off,” Beal shared. “Nobody likes to lose. Nobody enjoys losing, we’re all frustrated, we’re all upset. I think it’s a positive fierceness we have. It’s in the right direction of winning, it’s not us pointing the finger at one guy or anything like that. We all got to do better, we all got to play better. Stop talking about it, let’s just hoop and go out there and win. There’s nobody losing confidence, there’s nobody pointing fingers, there’s no teammates not liking the next man.”

Deni Avdija – EPA-EFE/SHAWN THEW