It’s been a rough start to the 2018-19 season for the Washington Wizards. Despite coming in with the usual expectations that are placed on the team — be a solid squad, make the postseason, etc. — Washington started the year 1-7. The Wizards are currently on a five-game losing streak, which has seen four double-digit losses, including a 134-111 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night.
Washington is a team that usually figures things out when it goes through rough stretches, but starting 1-7 and finding themselves in last place in the conference is a different animal. Still, one-half of the team’s standout backcourt doesn’t want anyone to think the Wizards are worried just yet.
Bradley Beal spoke to the media following the loss to the Thunder and preached patience, saying that he believes no one on the roster is too concerned yet.
“I’m not hitting the panic button,” Beal said, per Royce Young of ESPN. “I’m not hitting it, and I don’t think we are either as a team. We understand it’s still early, it’s not perfect. We understand patience is running low from everybody, from ourselves. Nobody is more disappointed than us. I’m definitely going to say that.”
Beal’s backcourt mate, John Wall, thinks it’s as easy as locking down on the defensive end of the floor. While Wall believes the team’s offense is performing well, he shudders to think about what happens if they don’t figure things out defensively.
“We score the ball very well,” Wall said. “It’s just what can we do on the defensive end. Until we figure that out, we’re going to have these same problems.”
The hope in Washington, one would assume, is that Dwight Howard’s return from an injury will give them a defensive anchor who makes life easier on everyone else. If not? Well, maybe that’s when hitting the panic button will become a more appealing option.
(Via ESPN)
