Will a big win over Brooklyn spark the Washington Wizards?
The spark the Washington Wizards desperately needed.
In what may have been the best finish to a game yet this season, the Washington Wizards got over a big hump unexpectedly. The tandem of Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook was able to steal one from the Brooklyn Nets late behind heroics from the talented duo.
They combined for 78 points, and Russ by far had his best game of the season so far. After Beal came down and drained a 3, Russ would hit a trey off of a turnover and the Wiz would go on to obtain their fourth win.
The glimpse of this duo dominating is what Wizards fans have been waiting for. Beating the Brooklyn Nets was big from a few standpoints.
This Washington Wizards team was teetering. Bradley Beal has been a prime source for memes over the past week, looking incredibly disgruntled and rightfully so. He’s in the midst of another impressive scoring stretch, but the losses continued to pile.
Beal’s body language was monitored in the first half, and the signs weren’t good. It looked like a trade request may finally hit first-year GM Tommy Sheppard’s desk. The trade of Russell Westbrook for John Wall was looking more skeptical by the day, especially after their matchup against the Rockets.
Prior to this meeting, Beal had to have been growing fed up with the direction Washington was headed in. He spoke highly of Russ initially, but the former MVP has struggled to find his form this season. Injuries have begun to pill up and take their toll on Westbrook, but could this comeback win by the spark these two need?
This backcourt is immensely talented. Beal is no-doubt a top-3 scorer in this league. Outside of the duo in Brooklyn of Kevin Durant and James Harden, nobody is better at putting the ball in the basket right now.
Beal went on a respectable scoring tear late last season and each game ended with a loss. The frustration only began to brew, but with Wall on the horizon and ready to return, there was a reason for optimism in Washington. In Wall’s absence, Beal took a big step forward, and those two had to be looking forward to playing together again.
The Wizards made a bold move though, swapping Wall for Westbrook. The two lead guards are both blurs in transition, but they play the game at such a different pace. Even after two years of missing action, Wall might still be the best pass-first point guard in the league. He’s also among the fastest, but he plays the position with pace. Russell Westbrook’s approach is a bit different.
The triple-double machine can light it up at times, but he also can be very erratic. That can be derailing to the flow of a team’s offense, and it’d had been up until last night.
No, Russell Westbrook won’t shoot that well on most nights. Yes, the Wizards need to shore up their rosters and maybe add a few pieces.
If anything was taken away from last night, it’s how talented this duo can be if Russ picks up his play. That was the ultimate response game from Westbrook, and if he can play within himself as he did last night, this team could really scare someone come playoff time.