Pistons Play in D.C.
By J.M. Poulard
Essentials
- Teams: Detroit Pistons (23-35) at Washington Wizards (33-26)
- Date: February 28
- Time: 7:00 p.m.
- Television: FSD
Get in the Game
The Detroit Pistons are on the road tonight to take on a struggling Washington Wizards team.
The Wiz have lost six consecutive games thanks in large part to an offense that has abandoned them. During this most recent stretch, Washington is scoring an anemic 90.6 points per possessions, a figure that would rank below the lowly Philadelphia 76ers if projected over the entire season.
One struggles to comprehend Washington’s scoring failures after glancing at the roster. After all, the Wizards have two brutes on the interior in Marcin Gortat and Nene, who seemingly always finish plays at the hoop with defenders draped all over them.
In addition, the team features one of the league’s top playmakers in John Wall, who should in fact be lethal with the big men he has playing alongside him. He’s a pick-and-roll nightmare and transition demon with his speed and ball-handling ability, all of which makes explaining the Wizards’ struggles even more difficult.
How could a team with so much talent get stuck in such a rut?
The answer is both simple and complicated at the same time. Injuries have hit Washington and removed some of its shooting, scoring and secondary creators.
Paul Pierce has missed the last few games with a bruised knee and Bradley Beal will likely miss his eighth straight game with a mild stress reaction in his right leg. The absence of both players hurts the Wizards in many ways, none more prevalent than on offense.
The Wizards have been abysmal from downtown in their last six games – 23.4 percent shooting – and it’s made the team look awful. Opponents are packing the paint and daring Washington to beat them from long range, which it hasn’t been able to accomplish.
Beal and Pierce are the two main perimeter scoring threats on the team, and their absences has left Washington with very little options. Wall can continue to dump the ball into the post or run pick-and-rolls, but defenders are remaining glued to interior players and daring the Wizards to make shots from deep—it hasn’t happened.
Washington normally has its defense to rely on, but the inability to score has apparently taken the fight out of the unit. Since February 11 (start of losing streak), the Wizards have been defending at a bottom-three league level, according to NBA.com.
Until head coach Randy Wittman can figure out a way to mitigate for the loss of Beal and Pierce, it appears as though Washington will have issues on offense and defense.
If such is the case tonight, the Pistons should get some transition opportunities coupled with second-chance looks at the basket on the strength of their offensive rebounding.
Still, I’m curious to see if Washington brings the fight to Detroit tonight, or whether the road team’s intensity ends up being too much to overcome for the hosts.
Read about the Wizards