After an 0-5 start to the 2020-21 NBA season, the Washington Wizards are slowly and surely picking up victories here and there. In their latest win over the Phoenix Suns, Bradley Beal revealed the one problem they finally managed to fix.
After their 128-107 victory over the Suns on Monday, Beal commended his team for doing a great job on defense. The win snaps the Wizards' three-game losing streak. They are now 3-8 in the young regular season.
“I think we did a good job of defending,” Beal said, per the Associated Press via ESPN. “Tonight was the first time we guarded the right way.”
The Wizards limited the Suns to 44.8 shooting from the field and a horrendous 14.8 percent from downtown. Only four Suns players scored in double digits led by Devin Booker with 33 points, Chris Paul with and Miles Bridges with 14 apiece, and Dario Saric with 13.
Beal himself dropped a game-high 34 points, along with eight rebounds, nine assists, and two steals. Five other Wizards players scored in double digits including Davis Bertans with 18 (6-of-9 from downtown) as well as Raul Neto with 16 points.
This marks their second straight game without star guard Russell Westbrook who's going to be out for at least a week for the Wizards due to a left quadriceps injury. This is also their first game without Thomas Bryant who suffered a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Reports reveal that he'll likely miss the rest of the season.
The Wizards have a chance to notch back-to-back wins when they face the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.
Washington is dealing with COVID-19 along with the rest of the NBA. A lot of discussion has surrounded the Wizards, given that other teams (and star players) who have faced Washington have subsequently run into problems with the coronavirus in subsequent days. That problem exists on an island separate from actual basketball concerns. The team is trying to handle on-court and off-court tasks, and it tried to take a step forward on Monday night.