The Washington Wizards have now lost 10 straight games; they are officially the worst team on form in the league. Their last win came against the Timberwolves three weeks ago, and they have been slipping since. Kyle Kuzma, Bradley Beal, and Kristaps Porzingis have done nothing to arrest this slide.
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In this horrendous run of form, they’ve lost to the Lakers and the Clippers twice each, a faltering Hornets and an imploding Bulls. A team that looked locked in for the playoffs now languishes in the 12th spot. The Wizards have lost their magic, and it shows.
Tonight, against the Lakers, it appeared that they would change that with a huge third-quarter comeback. Kuzma and Beal were the frontrunners of the push, seeing a massive lead overturned. It looked like the Lakers would end with an L in their column again, but LeBron James managed to bundle a pass through shambolic defending.
A dunk in the final seconds of the game was enough to seal the deal for the Lakers in a game in which they led by 14 at one point. The Wizards had seven seconds—all the time in the world in basketball terms—to go on and score the winner.
But Kyle Kuzma displayed the basketball IQ of an egoist: he wanted to hit the game-winner at his former home. It, however, ended up being a botched 3-point shot. If he had just passed to Jordan Goodwin, the game would have been theirs. Sometimes, you need to make the right play; that’s how you become a hero.
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LEBRON TURNED IT OVER – ALMOST. BUT THE WIZARDS COULDN’T HANG ON, SOMEHOW LEBRON GOT IT BACK AND WAS ABLE TO KICK IT INSIDE FOR A WIDE-OPEN DUNK. HOW LUCKY WAS THAT??? KUZMA COULD’VE WON IT AT THE BUZZER BUT CLANKED THE THREE!
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) December 19, 2022
Skip Bayless wakes up from his slumber to post about the Lakers win – He had to deride LeBron James even in a win
Just before the Lakers pulled the rabbit out of the Wizards’ hat, Skip posted a tweet asking Bron to have some guts. It’s always something about Bron not having the guts when it’s crunch time, and when he does shoot, it’s the “no-clutch gene”. A template is set, irrespective of the outcome.
COME ON, LEBRON, DRIVE IT AND HAVE THE GUTS TO SHOOT THE FREE THROWS. THEY CAN’T KEEP YOU FROM THE RIM. THEY’VE LOST NINE IN A ROW! JUST MAKE ONE FREE THROW.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) December 19, 2022
It’s understandable why the King doesn’t choose to make FTs. He doesn’t get called as much, and more often than not, he’s been missing those layups. It only makes sense for him to not take those risky shots, but Skip doesn’t understand.
All he had to use was “Alohomora” to unlock a shoddy Wizards’ defense. And that’s what he did, finding a pass for Thomas Bryant in the dying seconds of the game. Like Fawkes the Phoenix, Bryant rose from the ashes to grab his 16th point and the Lakers’ 13th win.
What should Kyle Kuzma and the Wizards do next?
Win a game—that’s all they need to do. The East is a highly contested affair, and the Wizards have a solid team. They just need to figure out their rotations and shot selection. With every team struggling from the 3, it makes sense to have more than one rebounder to grab their misses.
In tonight’s game against the Lakers, Kyle Kuzma, a forward, grabbed five more rebounds than his center. Whether that is good positioning or poor rebounding by Kristaps, they have to decide. One look at their attempted 3-point shots is enough to show why they lost the game.
They play the Suns next, a team that is more efficient than the Lakers. If they have to break them down, the key is to stop DeAndre Ayton from getting their misses. Second-chance points have been a pain point for the Wizards, and outclassing a marauding Ayton is key.
