The Washington Wizards are currently in a 20-point deficit, 63-43, against the New York Knicks at halftime in the District. Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma is leading the team with ten points and Corey Kispert is trying to get some good things going from off of the bench, but lack of defensive pressure continues to be an issue for the Wizards.
The Knicks have 63 points at the half. 63!
Shooting at 52 percent, the Knicks largest lead was 26 points. They’ve kept their turnovers to ten to the Wizards 14. The Knicks are dominating points in the paint (28), second chance points (10), and fastbreak points (16). Julius Randle has had his way in the first half with 21 points.
The Wizards are going to have to find a way to take and make shots in the second half coupled with trying to close the defensive gap. This is a repeated message and issue for this team but until they get better with their defense, this will continue to be a pain point for the team. The Wizards will need to keep the Knicks out of the paint, notably Jalen Brunson, as much as they can to have a shot (no pun intended) at a win tonight.
The game already seems to be out of reach for the Wizards and could remain that way if the handling of the ball doesn’t get better and the shots don’t fall.
Jordan Poole is desperately in need of having an impactful presence in the game; hopefully he can get going in the second half.
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