🏀 Make that three in a row for Wizards, who almost blew an early 16-point lead against Chicago. It wasn’t the prettiest basketball, but I’ll take it. This increases the stakes for tomorrow’s home game with the Nets, if there is such a thing as “stakes” for a team that won’t have a post-season.
🏀 Another two wins in a row for the Wizards last week, and both of them at home. So starved were the fans for a W that there were half-standing ovations. This week is the last chance for another home win with Pistons coming to town before back-to-back games against Bucks and Lakers.
A message you don't often see in the Capital One Arena.
🏀 It was clear after their first 10 games that the Wizards won’t have a post-season, but it’s now a mathematical certainty. At least they have a two-game winning streak (stretched from a streak of one — thank you for the laughs, WaPo). Against the Heat, no less. The Washington Wizards are the ultimate broken clock.
I make a lot of charts and I watch a lot of basketball. I am therefore obligated to link to this explanation of why line chart baselines do not need to start at zero, which uses some basketball statistics to make a compelling case. (ᔥWaxy.org)
🏀 From a 21-point lead in the second quarter to a 10-point loss to Orlando last night, and the Wizards are yet to win their 10th game after loosing 53. They should get a team therapist since their third-quarter meltdowns are purely psychological.
🏀 “The Wizards lost their 13th straight game Thursday night and have the worst record in the NBA, but at least Jordan Poole scored a season-high 34 points against the Lakers.”
No comment, truly.
🏀 “I don’t need to lay eggs to know when one is rotten” is a spin on being allowed to critique something without being an expert in the field, or indeed without ever having done that something at all. Well, I’ve never played basketball but after last night’s game against the Nuggets I can say with some certainty that the Wizards are the worst team in the NBA. Any clip of theirs, like the one I just linked to, should be set to Yakety Sax (aka the Benny Hill theme).
🏀 By the way, Jordan Poole has confirmed last night that he was epically bad: 0 points and 6 fouls after 24 minutes in the game. The trade deadline is today — maybe the Wizards can pay someone to take him?
🏀 Another home loss for the Wizards last night, by 8 points. Their usual style is to trail by double digits and close the gap near the end. This time they were actually in the lead for much of the game only to loose the thread in the last quarter. Is a single home win too much to ask?
🏀 Yesterday, the Eastern Conference’s worst team pummeled the Western Conference’s best, one day after losing to the second-worst. Every sport is non-transitive, but basketball is extreme.