All Offense, No Defense: Why one of the NBA’s leading offenses is struggling to win games
This season, the Washington Wizards have a prolific offense, scoring nearly 120 points per game. Even with this explosive scoring—they are third in points per game, behind the Nets and Bucks—the Wizards managed to win just three out of their first eleven games. Why? The Wizards' defense is non-existent. While the team scores at a high rate, their defensive rating is dead last in the league, and they allow the opposition to score over 121 points per game.
Even though the Wizards have two of the best offensive players in the NBA, they still struggle to win. Bradley Beal is the heart of the Wizards offense, putting up an NBA-best 35 points per game. He shoots an incredible 50% from the field, as well as a career-best of 87% from the free-throw line. On the other hand, Russell Westbrook is averaging a near triple-double with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists per game. Even though on paper this is one of the NBA’s best duos, they have not produced wins. While both of these players are elite scorers, they also turn the ball over a combined eight times per game. For context, the Wizards only turn the ball over 12 times per game, with eight of those coming from their two-star players. As well as turning the ball over at a high rate, both these players, especially Beal, are known to be subpar defenders.
While one could blame Westbrook's and Beal’s lackluster defense for the Wizards' slow start, the team cannot defend as a collective unit. According to Bleacher Report, three Wizards players are statistically the worst defender in their respective position. As mentioned previously, Beal is not a great defender; in the 2019-2020 season, he was the lowest- ranked shooting guard in terms of defensive efficiency and has not improved by much this year. His inability to guard isolation plays allows opponents to pick on him and center their offensive game plan to expose his flaws. Moreover, Rui Hachimura—the Wizards' starting power forward—has never been praised as a defensive force. Even though he is 6’ 8” and 230 pounds, the athletic power forward only manages to grab 4.9 rebounds per game; on the other hand, an average starting power forward in the league obtains eight per game. Like most of his teammates, Hachimura struggles to read offenses and make the right defensive decisions.
Scott Brooks, the Wizards head coach, has never coached a well-known defensive team. Each season after Brooks became the Wizards coach in 2016, Washington has landed at the bottom of the defensive rankings. Brooks likes to experiment with questionable defensive rotations and has never inspired his team to play solid defense. However, as much as people doubt Brooks' focus on the defensive end, the players must take most of the blame. Even if the coach puts a defensive gameplan into play, the players are the ones that have to execute it. Now that the Wizards have obtained a hungry Russell Westbrook, Washington fans must stay optimistic and believe that their team can find an identity and start winning again.
