Inside The Wizards

Wizards Coach Not Concerned Over Pelicans Losses

The Washington Wizards lost two straight, but the panic button isn't pressed.

Jeremy Brener

Jan 5, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; New Orleans Pelicans center Yves Missi (21) dunks the ball as Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma (33) defends in the fourth quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Jan 5, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; New Orleans Pelicans center Yves Missi (21) dunks the ball as Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma (33) defends in the fourth quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
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The Washington Wizards are back in a familiar place in the loss column after falling to the New Orleans Pelicans for a second consecutive game.

Two straight losses against the Pelicans have now put the Wizards back in the undesired position of being the worst team in the league.

However, Wizards head coach Brian Keefe isn't looking at these losses as setbacks for the team's overall goals.

“It does not at all for me,” Keefe said postgame when asked if the losses concerned him.

“We didn't love what that game was. A competitive game down there [in New Orleans], turnovers and offensive rebounds for us tonight. We fought them, we just didn't [get] some offensive rebounds. Threes went their direction, but we're trending [up], we're doing stuff that's positive in the right direction. Sometimes you have these games. We move forward.”

The games could have been a good benchmark to try and figure out exactly where the Wizards are as a team, but not having Jordan Poole or Bilal Coulibaly out there for either game made it to where it wasn't very conducive of how the team usually plays.

That being said, there were some positive developments from these games, including the play of Kyle Kuzma, who has been making strides since returning from his rib injury, and Jared Butler, who is making the most of his opportunity on a two-way contract with other players on the sidelines.

The Wizards came into this two-game series after beating the Chicago Bulls at home, and that may have triggered a lot of confidence for them moving forward. However, the Wizards aren't losing sight of their overall goals, and they will take stuff that they can learn from in these games in hopes of applying it down the line.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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