One common theme for the Washington Wizards is always to expect the unexpected. They lost to the Atlanta Hawks at home just to upset the more talented Brooklyn Nets. Then they lost to the Portland Trail Blazers who were on the second night of a back-to-back just to upset the Miami Heat on the road on Washington’s own second night of a back-to-back. With a better effort defensively, the Wizards came back from a 13 point second-half deficit to win, 103-100. Deni Avdija had 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting and four rebounds in 33 minutes of play.
Following an 8 pm tipoff in D.C. on Tuesday vs. the Blazers, the Wizards did not arrive at their hotel in Miami until 4 am. Bradley Beal personally did not get to sleep until 5:30 am and had to be up by 8 am for the team’s daily morning COVID-19 testing. Despite limited sleep, Beal still had a game-high 32 points against a smart Heat defense that often doubled him. The NBA’s leading scorer gave Washington just enough with Russell Westbrook resting in the second night of a back-to-back, but it was allowing the Heat just 35 second-half points that got the Wizards a comeback victory. Miami shot just 29 percent from the field in the second half.
“The zone affected them a lot tonight. We kind of mixed it in and they didn’t know how to beat it,” Beal said. “We did a good job of just matching up, being physical, making them take and make tough shots.”
Deni Avdija with a monster rack attack 😳 pic.twitter.com/aWWtWdqjaB
— Hoop District (@Hoop_District) February 4, 2021
As his minutes increase since returning from nearly three weeks away due to COVID-19 protocols, Avdija is finding his conditioning and rhythm back. He might have had a missed dunk that he would like back, but the rookie also had a thunderous jam before that. For all of the concern when first being drafted about Avdija’s poor three-point shooting percentage with Maccabi Tel Aviv, the 20-year old has already put that concern to bed. Not a ton of volume through 14 games, but 21-for-45 on the season (47 percent) is as good as Washington can ask for.
“I thought Deni had a solid game tonight. We’re trying to teach him how to be a pro. He’s done a pretty good job at the professionalism he brings, the work ethic he brings. The experience that he needs is going to take time. I thought tonight was another step in the right direction,” Scott Brooks assessed. “He’s going to keep getting better because he cares. His ‘give a crap level’ is high, his willingness to work is high. He’s a smart kid that’s going to pick things up.”
Washington will play Miami again on Friday from South Beach in the Wizards’ first experience of back-to-back games on the road in the same city. The team will hold an optional practice on Thursday that should be well attended given the benefit of no travel.
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