Washington returns home on a three-game skid
The Wizards started a five-game road swing 10 days ago and felt as good as they have all season after starting the trip with a pair of impressive victories. But they’re returning home with a familiar dread after three less-than -impressive defeats in a row.
Washington held on until the fourth quarter before the Los Angeles Clippers ran away with a 102-84 victory, a 114-100 loss at Utah was never competitive and the Wizards (7-25) gave up a 31-6 run in the third quarter of Monday’s 104-88 defeat at Phoenix.
| Up Next |
| Kings at Wizards |
| When » Wednesday, 7 p.m. |
| Where » Verizon Center |
| TV » CSN |
“It was all fueled by us, the most selfish basketball I’ve seen since I’ve taken over,” Wizards interim coach Randy Wittman said. “I’ve gotta find the right people to play the right way, but I’m not letting that slip back in.”
Many of the woes, in usual fashion, have been due to Wittman’s lack of a true scorer at his disposal, instead forcing his reliance on streaky but unreliable Nick Young. Since Young’s season-high 35 points on 12-for-17 shooting in Washington’s 124-109 win at Portland, he’s missed 31 of his last 43 shots and hasn’t hit a 3-pointer in two straight games. Rashard Lewis, who returned to action during the road trip after missing the previous three games with soreness in his left knee, averaged 4.5 points and shot 36 percent (8-for-22) during the road trip.
Against the Kings (10-21) in the Wizards’ final game before the All-Star break, Wittman won’t yet be able to call on injured big men Ronny Turiaf and Andray Blatche, with both players expected to remain out of action until sometime after the players return following this weekend’s midseason festivities, according to team sources.
Turiaf has been out with a broken left hand since Jan. 1.
Blatche has been out since Jan. 28 with a left calf strain.
Like the Wizards, the Kings are also working under an interim coach who starred in college at Indiana. Keith Smart replaced Paul Westphal on Jan. 5 after just seven games and an escalating feud with second-year center DeMarcus Cousins.
Sacramento had lost five straight heading into Tuesday’s game at Miami, but the team has been more settled, with Cousins finding his stride, averaging 20.0 points and 11.9 rebounds a game in February.
Sacramento rookie Jimmer Fredette (8.0 ppg), who was a college sensation last year at BYU, hasn’t fared spectacularly of late, scoring in double figures only once since reaching that mark in four straight games late in January.
The Kings’ visit will be their lone game against the Wizards this season. The teams won’t meet in Sacramento due to the unbalanced 66-game schedule.
