Inside The Wizards

Wizards Dire Defense Needs to Improve

The Washington Wizards defense is coming off a season-worst performance.

Jeremy Brener

Nov 13, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) lays in a basket over Washington Wizards guard Bub Carrington (8) during the second half at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images
Nov 13, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) lays in a basket over Washington Wizards guard Bub Carrington (8) during the second half at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images / Scott Wachter-Imagn Images
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The Washington Wizards defense has allowed 107 or more points in every game so far this season, including in the team's last game against the San Antonio Spurs, where they surrendered 139.

Last year's No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama dropped 50 on the Wizards, showing that there is a desperate need to get things turned around.

Wizards coach Brian Keefe explained what he thinks the key is to improving the defense.

“The key is the stops,” Keefe said. “That's what you got to have consistency throughout the game. That's something we got to keep getting better at. But when we get stops, we're hard to guard, because we can play and we can pass and we can shoot, so good, that's how we got that run to start with our defense.”

In their loss against the Spurs, the Wizards couldn't catch a break. The Spurs shot 52.2 percent from the field, including north of 40 percent from beyond the 3-point line. During the fourth quarter, the Spurs scored 41 points and it seemed like the Wizards couldn't get a stop to save their lives.

Every possession brings on a new opportunity, and the Wizards can't allow poor effort or an open shot from the previous go up the court to affect them in the next.

Rebuilding teams often struggle to find any rhythm on defense, and the Wizards are clearly no different. Eventually, the defense will have to get better over time in order for the Wizards to start winning games, and if they can add more emphasis to that end of the floor, they may be able to snap their losing streak.

The Wizards are back in action tonight against the Atlanta Hawks. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET from State Farm Arena.

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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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