The Washington Wizards have dealt with numerous seasons of mediocrity. Finally this year, they have made the NBA Playoffs thanks to the superb play of guards John Wall and Bradley Beal. Despite that, though, head coach Randy Wittman hasn't been impressed with his starting backcourt's effort as of late.
The Wizards clinched their playoff berth on April 11, but they have been slacking as of late. The Wizards, who were the sixth seed when they clinched, are now at No. 7 after poor play and a loss to the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday, who were the original No. 7 seed.
Wall and Beal both played poor in that game. Wall had five turnovers along with going 6-for-18 from the field. Beal, on the other hand, shot only 4-of-15 from the field.
Wittman criticized both Beal and Wall's effort.
“When you don’t put effort in, you’re not going to have good showings. It just filters down,” Wittman said, via Michael Lee of The Washington Post. “You can’t play with no energy or effort at one end of the floor and expect to turn it on at the other end of the floor. It doesn’t work that way. That’s been proven with these guys. It was almost like we were spinning our wheels in mud. We just didn’t come out with any enthusiasm. I don’t even know if they had a sweat broken at the jump ball."
I guess you can't blame Wall and Beal. Both are still very young at 23 and 20 years old, respectively. They will learn with time.
Both probably are still getting used to the idea making the postseason. In their past couple of seasons together, Washington knocked out of the playoffs in mid-March or early-April, so I guess it's understandable for them.
However, they'll have to turn up the gears for the final few games of the season. The playoffs are a whole 'nother animal and I'm sure Washington would much rather face a team like the Toronto Raptors or Chicago Bulls than the Miami Heat or Indiana Pacers.
If Wittman's comments say anything, expect the Wizards to push back hard these final few regular season games to get the No. 6 seed back.
