Wizards were defeated by the Hawks 136-108

Washington was without their big offseason acquisition, Jordan Poole, who was out due to an illness. The game started similar to almost every Wizards game, which is high scoring as both teams combined for 64 first quarter points. The first half was tightly contested until the Hawks went on a run in the middle of the second quarter, which propelled them to a 12-point halftime lead. The lack of scoring in the absence of Poole was crucial in the second half, as the Hawks took complete control of the game and the Wizards defense had no resistance at all. The Wizards allowed three Hawks starters to finish the game with double doubles, and nobody on the Wizards roster scored more than 13 points on the night or had 10 rebounds.

Turnovers are always an Achilles heel for Washington, as they doubled the Hawks in that department with 20 turnovers on the night. Washington also gave up 17 offensive rebounds, which is a huge problem when facing sharp shooting teams. Normally, Washington can count on forward Kyle Kuzma to showcase his scoring ability night in and night out, but he wasn’t in rhythm all night and finished the game with only 12 points. The Wizards next game will be on the road, as they’ll face the only other two-win team in the league, the Detroit Pistons. These two teams will surely be at the top of the lottery in the upcoming NBA draft. Hopefully, for all Wizards fans and the organization, Jordan Poole will show why the Wizards wanted him in Washington, and the team can maybe improve.