The Wizards are in a strange moment. They started the season as one of the revelations of the tournament and, afterwards, they have been giving a series of lurching that has left them in a no-man’s-land. For now Wes Unsled Jr. is doing a good job overall, as is the entire franchise. But not everything lasts forever and the situation has suffered especially in recent weeks. Luck for them? That the coronavirus is not hurting them, at the moment, in a very marked way, so they can try to make up for lost time and add a series of victories that would not come at another time of the season. Now, when it is impossible to draw conclusions and there is no threat of paralyzing the course due to the proximity of the Christmas day, there are options for any rival. And the games that were lost yesterday are those that are won today. It all adds up. Or everything remains, of course. That always depends on the point of view.
Before the duel against the Jazz, the team from the capital of the United States had four defeats, seven in eight games. A situation that had complicated their record enormously and that left them in the most complicated parts of the Eastern Conference, those that are always close to the playoffs but end up being play-in (or worse). This victory against one of the best teams in the West (the Jazz are now 20-9 and are third in the classification) could be a turning point for a team that needs to cheer up enormously to endure the remainder of the course (be it with extreme restrictions or not) the most talented squad pull and thus access a final phase to certify a success that would be almost a blow after the resounding departure of Russell Westbrook to the Lakers.
The game against the Jazz was a constant give and take in which the locals could never separate and the visitors took a relatively good lead in the second quarter with which they managed to take the lead. In the fourth quarter, the Jazz were even ahead (85-84). The opposition reaction was fantastic and, with two minutes to go, a basket from Donovan Mitchell made it 100-103 and the excitement. Royce O’Neale brought the Jazz even closer with a pitch from the staff. But nevertheless, the Wizards held the tug in a fantastic resilience exercise and managed to close out a tough game with a 103-109, but very good from the viewer’s point of view.
The main person responsible for the final result was a Bradley Beal who is not in his best moment after being top scorer last season, but who has rediscovered old feelings: 37 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists for the guard, who has led some Wizards who have shown great collective work and a tremendous effort, in addition to adding up to six players over ten points. In the Jazz, 32 points for Donova Mitchell and 11, with 19 rebounds and 6 blocks, for Rudy Gobert. A new exhibition of the duo that this time did not serve to add a victory that was for their rivals, some Wizards that momentarily come out of a crisis with which they want to end and that, in general, continue to be one of the surprises of the season. And if Beal goes back to being the one from last year, anything is possible. So far, it has been for one night. The rest, We’ll see.