The Wizards ended a back-to-back series with a 120-106 defeat at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Anthony Edwards, aka Ant-Man, dropped 41 points in his usual fashion. While the Wizards did look better than they did against the Thunder, the talent gap was too great in the end. Now, they must look forward, and next up, they have a familiar foe coming into town.
Bradley Beal and DMV native Kevin Durant and the Suns come into town with a 19-19 record and question marks heading into the trade deadline. The question is, what kind of reception will Beal get, especially a couple of games after former backcourt mate John Wall was in the building? The Wizards will look to get back to a defensive identity and try to gather some momentum before heading out west for a 6 game road trip. Will the Wizards send Beal home with a coke and a smile plus a side of an L, one could only hope.
The Wizards then head west where it might not be welcoming. 5 out of the 6 teams are Playoff/Play-in hopeful teams who like to score. The Wizards are not a good defensive team so rebounding and extending possessions should be the priority for the Wiz-kidz. Another goal should be ball movement and moving without the ball offensively for the Wizards. Finally, fighting till the end should be the expectation, let’s see if they hold true to it.
West Coast trip schedule
Saturday, January 18 @ Warriors
Sunday, January 19 @ Kings
Tuesday, January 21 @ Lakers
Thursday, January 23 @ Jazz
Saturday, January 25 @ Suns
Monday, January 27 @ Mavericks
