The Washington Wizards’ season is quickly spiraling to the point of no return following a 121-119 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday. Much like their start to the season, the Wizards are 0-5 to start the second half of their 2020-21 schedule after going into the All-Star break on a relative upswing. That previous positive momentum is now far removed even with Washington expressing a do not quit now attitude. In 18 minutes off the bench, Deni Avdija recorded six points on 3-for-5 shooting.
Deni Avdija goes right past Nemanja Bjelica in transition with ease pic.twitter.com/Vud3UtaW3z
— Hoop District (@Hoop_District) March 18, 2021
In a matchup between two of the four worst defenses in the NBA this season, scoring was on full display through the first three quarters. Sacramento had already exceeded the century mark before the end of the third quarter as they cashed in 13 Washington turnovers for 24 points before the fourth quarter even started. The fourth worst 3-point shooting team so far this NBA season, the Wizards fell well short of their 34.7 percent average with an abysmal 4-for-25 (16 percent) from beyond the arc against the Kings in another night where decently open shots simply did not fall. It might be time to admit that despite on-paper stellar shooters in Bradley Beal, Davis Bertans, and Garrison Mathews, Washington is a bad three-point shooting team in today’s NBA.
In a game that featured 19 ties and seven lead changes, the matchup had plenty of entertaining back and forth action right until the very end. After seven straight points by De’Aaron Fox to give the Kings a 119-113 lead with less than two minutes to play, Russell Westbrook had six straight points of his own including back-to-back aggressive attacks of the basket for layups to tie the game at 119. In the end with the game on the line, Fox drained a tough 19-foot jump shot with Bradley Beal in his face with 0.7 seconds left in the game that the Wizards used to quite literally throw the ball away on the ensuing possession outsmarted by the Kings’ zone.
Wizards season recap [Curb Your Enthusiasm Edition] pic.twitter.com/bcoEhGpWap
— Hoop District (@Hoop_District) March 18, 2021
There are limited opportunities for Deni Avdija to showcase his continuous incremental development during games this season with the Wizards still trying furiously to make the playoffs because jobs are on the line. Even still, Avdija has continued to showcase that he is already very good at two aspects on offense. The first is making the right decisions in transition often ending with him finishing at the rim, which we have seen a number of times this season off rebounds and turnovers. The second is strong drives with his right hand, which eventually NBA scouting reports may take away from him but until then it remains one of his best tools.
Deni Avdija has already shown multiple times this season that given space to go right he can take it all the way to the basket with ease pic.twitter.com/ILR9O0KeF9
— Hoop District (@Hoop_District) March 17, 2021
Things do not get any easier for the Wizards with the Western Conference leading Utah Jazz (29-10) coming to Capital One Arena on Thursday, the second night of a back-to-back for Washington.
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