The Washington Wizards lost 107-88 to the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night, giving John Wall a taste of revenge in his first game against his former team.
This game was very energetic starting with the Wizards getting an initial advantage of seven points thanks to an efficient attack and good defense, but in the 2nd quarter the wheels started to work for the Wizards at both ends. The rockets end up having a 4 point advantage in the range.
The 2nd half started much more slowly, with both teams adding just 9 points in the first 6+ minutes. The pace of the game slowed down and the game became sloppy for both teams. Wizards simply could not make things happen offensively.
In the fourth, once Wall was inserted into the game, Wall put the Rockets back on track. He hit Oladipo to open 3 and that shot effectively put the game out of Wizards’ reach.
Learning
John Wall
John Wall was, of course, the story of the game, even before opening the hint. He showed many flashes of his game in DC, hitting medium-range shots, sparkling shots into the basket and smooth pick and roll moves. Wall ended with 24 points and 5 assists.
The game was fiery and exciting for Wall. He and Westbrook were excited at the end and ended up getting a double technique for their problems.
Russell Westbrook
There was a debate between broadcasters during the game that seems like a common refrain in Westbrook. The statistics line, for the most part, looks impressive, but Westbrook’s impact on the game in general was not good. He showed some brilliance at times, but he also had some bad moments. He stumbled several times going to the basket and threw the ball away forcing passes that just didn’t exist. No matter how you look at things, it just doesn’t look right on the court. Westbrook had 19 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists, but also had 6 twists. These twists were costly for a team that struggled to score all night.
Fighting the attack
The magicians’ attack didn’t look good tonight, except in the first room. In the first quarter, the team scored 29 points. For the rest of the game, they averaged less than 20 points per quarter. The team ended up shooting 39 percent of the field, 19 percent of 3 and 20 turnovers. None of these bodes well.
Whether it is a tired team with few players, or just a bad attack, the team just did not perform well and is in danger of having a trip without winning.
Next game: Wednesday in New Orleans Pelicans, 9:00 pm Eastern time.