The Washington Wizards have been plagued by a number of losses to sub-.500 teams this season, and John Wall has a theory as to why.
Speaking with the media on Thursday after a 14-point loss to the Eastern Conference-worst Atlanta Hawks the night before, the All-NBA point guard expressed a belief that the Wizards play for stats against bad teams.
“We talk about it,” said Wall, per Candace Buckner of the Washington Post. “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.
“It’s simple as that,” he continued. “We can see it. I think we all can see it when we play.”
The Wizards certainly have the talent to be an Eastern elite. But they sit at just 19-16 on the year with defeats to the Lakers, Phoenix, Dallas, Charlotte, Utah, the Clippers, Brooklyn (twice), and now Atlanta in the opening months.
Wall is far from the only Wizard who has been frustrated with the team’s play lately, so hopefully all of these bad losses will be the reality check they need.
