John Wall says Washington Wizards 'playing for stats' against losing teams
John Wall and Bradley Beal aired out some frustration following the Washington Wizards’ 113-99 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.
Selfishness and stat chasing were credited as factors to the team’s inconsistent play and terrible losses to opponents with losing records.
“We talk about it. We say when we play these teams that are not above .500 or not one of the great teams, we go out there playing for stats,” Wall said, via Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. “It’s simple as that. We can see it. I think we all can see it when we play.”
“We’re too selfish. Offense and defense, plain and simple,” Beal mentioned after the game, adding “we’re so consumed about stuff that shouldn’t matter during the game, instead on winning the game.”
Washington has compiled losses against the Hawks (9-25), Dallas Mavericks (11-25), Los Angeles Lakers (11-22), Brooklyn Nets (12-22), Charlotte Hornets (12-22) and Phoenix Suns (13-23) during the first half of the season.
A few impressive wins have occurred, including a victory in Boston on Christmas Day.
“I wouldn’t say that we’re a selfish team. I just feel like we have selfish moments because Boston we weren’t selfish,” Beal said, via The Post. “We were moving the ball, passing, everybody got touches, everybody got shots. [Against the Hawks] it was about me, me, me, me because we’re playing an under .500 team, so we think it’s going to be easy and that’s something that’s been killing us. We fall into that trap every single time.”
It will be interesting to see which Wizards team shows up in their next matchup. Washington hosts the Rockets, who have one of the best records in the NBA, on Friday (7 ET, NBA TV).
