The Washington Wizards suffered one of the more embarrassing defeats of the young season as they lost to the NBA-worst Dallas Mavericks, 113-99, at home. It was a lousy defensive effort from the Wizards, who allowed the Mavs to shoot 47 percent from the field and dominate the rebounding battle, 53-39.
After the game, Wizards star John Wall was not particularly complimentary of his team’s effort and defense.
John Wall on effort and defense: "I think we do a better job of that when we’re playing against each other in the practice court."
— Candace Buckner (@CandaceDBuckner) November 8, 2017
Wall’s comment was quite an indictment of his team, which has failed to regain the momentum they had when they stormed to a quick 3-0 start to the season. Their defense, in particular, has remained problematic and inconsistent. It also let them down as they squandered a big lead at home in a loss to the Phoenix Suns last week.
As the team’s star and leader, it’s Wall’s responsibility to get his team in the right mindset in terms of effort and defense on a nightly basis.
Wall hasn’t had a promising start to the season offensively. He’s averaging 20.8 points but is shooting just 41 percent from the floor. However, that should give him even more of a reason to concentrate on straightening things out on defense, which is currently preventing the Wizards from being a legitimate contender in the East.
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