The Washington Wizards‘ play on Tuesday night was a tale of two halves. They were down 12 points at halftime to the Charlotte Hornets as they relied heavily on their offense alone to keep them in the match. In the second half, they tightened up on their defense, which helped them end up with the victory, 118-111.
However, according to Bradley Beal, it was not about focusing on the defensive end that won them the match, but the “dark side” Scott Brooks showed them during the halftime break.
Via Ava Wallace of The Washington Post:
“It’s just our defensive efforts, man — Coach let us have it a little bit. We didn’t have the right focus, the right energy, they were just way too comfortable on the offensive end, and our defense is what won us the game. We just had a different approach to it in the second half.”
“This is — this is his dark side you guys don’t know about. Everybody has one, and he definitely has one. Don’t let ’em think he’s innocent. But it’s a good thing, he grants us a lot of freedom, you know, he trusts us on both ends of the floor, but ultimately he still holds us accountable for not playing well. He’s going to let us know. He does a great job with that, he knows when it’s serious, when he wants more out of us, and he knows how to go about it the right way.”
The Wizards' win on the night was an important one as it allowed them to tie the Toronto Raptors for third place in the Eastern Conference. With only three games left on their schedule, they will need a strong finish to overtake them and face the sixth seed in the playoffs.
Whatever Brooks said to his team during the break, it certainly worked, as his players responded positively and clearly took his words to heart. If there's one thing certain, the D.C. faithful are not complaining as long as they see the Wizards win and the players giving it their all during games.
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