Last night’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers was in the “should win” category for the Washington Wizards. The Wizards have been better this season, and Portland was missing Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Larry Nance and Norman Powell — four of their five most productive players.
Instead, the Wizards lost 115-110, primarily because of ineptitude on the offensive end. This is not to say Washington’s defense was good — it wasn’t. They permitted a countless array of open looks, which Portland’s B team couldn’t hit at a high rate.
Even so, the Wizards had to stage a phony “comeback” in the fourth quarter to cut the final margin to five.