So we got beat by their bench and not their starters?
The Washington Wizards got a couple guards back in the rotation, but it didn’t help as they are defeated by the Chicago Bulls, 130-122. In what was supposed to be a revenge game for Washington, the Bulls ended all that noise coming away with the victory.
Fell short in Chicago.#DCAboveAll | @Ticketmaster pic.twitter.com/uSDWh5gWtL
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) January 8, 2022
The defense simply was not there for the Wizards and that was noticeable in the first half allowing 73 points to Chicago. In the first half, Washington had four of their five starters in double figures despite being down by seven points. Spencer Dinwiddie had 14 and Bradley Beal had 12 points in the first half as this duo seemed to be able to work cohesively for once this season.
All the Wizards starters finished in double figures. Beal led the way with 26 points and Kyle Kuzma had a double double with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Dinwiddie in his return had 18 as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Daniel Gafford both had 14 points a piece.
The problem was the defense and not being able to stop the Bulls’ bench at all especially in transition. Too many times Washington left shooters open ending in their demise. Chicago’s bench finished with 52 points led by Coby White with 21 points only missing one shot and was perfect from three-point range. Ayo Dosunmu had 18 points in his contribution. The Wizards only received 29 points from their bench.
As for the Bulls starters, Zach LaVine had 27 points as Lonzo Ball made six three-pointers for a solid 18 points.
Only one can imagine if Washington actually played defense in this game especially with their starters actually showing up as a unit. We could attribute the loss also to missing reserve players such as Davis Bertans and Montrezl Harrell, but still doesn’t account for those who were ready to go and could’ve made a difference.
Washington remains at ninth in the Eastern Conference with a 19-20 record. They continue on the road to Orlando to face the Magic on Sunday where it’s possible we could see the return of Rui Hachimura who hasn’t played a game this season yet.
Game time is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET.