Washington Wizards attempt to get back on track this afternoon
After winning 29 out of their first 41 games, the Washington Wizards lost ten out of their last 14 games leading up the the All-Star break. However, they built themselves such a large advantage that even after the losing streak, they still held the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference.
After receiving a crushing blow from the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night, the Wizards only hold the fifth seed in the conference, and are just 11 games over .500 for the first time since December 14th. The losing streak was bound to come, and there is no problem with it. However, the end has to come.
The Wizards will travel to Detroit to take on the 22-33 Pistons this afternoon. This is a perfect opportunity for Washington to get back on track against a below-average team.
The Pistons have made some highly-anticipated acquisitions over the years, but through all of this they have failed to make a postseason appearance in six years. They are well in playoff contention this year, just one game behind the No. 8 seed Brooklyn Nets.
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There is no question that where Detroit holds their advantage is down-low. The one-two punch of Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond has continued to be one of the NBA’s best combinations. While Monroe does more of the scoring, averaging 15.5 points per game, Drummond is second in the league with 13 rebounds per game.
However, the 6-foot-11 Monroe knows how to rebound pretty decently himself. He is averaging 10.3 rebounds per contest, which is eight-best in the league. There were several rumors about him coming to the Nation’s Capital in the offseason, but he denied any deal put forth and returned to the team that originally drafted him.
Both these players are talented specimens that can really help build this Pistons team into a great club. However, it will take some work. Starting point guard Brandon Jennings is a very talented guy, but he also has plenty of room for improvement.
The biggest problem in his game has been his tendency to take too many unnecessary shot-attempts. That is exactly why he holds a career shooting percentage of 39 from the field. Once he improves on that aspect of his game, there is not much doubt in my mind that this Pistons team can become a fixture in the NBA playoffs.
As for today’s game, Jennings will be going head-to-head with All-Star John Wall, who totaled 18 points, nine assists, and five rebounds in his first game back from the nine-day break.
The losing streak should not be a concern for Washington, but they will have to start winning sooner or later or else fans will have valid reasons to grow more worries.