Washington Wizards News: Injury-plagued franchise defeats an underwhelming Philadelphia 76ers
The Washington Wizards beat the Philadelphia 76ers 119-113 on Thursday night.
With a depleted roster, the Wizards brought it together to give the Sixers their 7th loss of the season. There were no excuses for Philly to lose tonight, as they were only without guard Josh Richardson tonight. They still had supposed stars Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, and Al Horford. But clearly it was not enough for them to beat the Wizards, who are without CJ Miles, Jordan McRae, Isaiah Thomas, and Thomas Bryant. With that being said, here is an analysis of Washington's win against one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.
Beal isn't efficient but scores 26, gets a double-double
Bradley Beal has certainly been red hot since signing his contract extension with the Wizards. Tonight, Beal scored 26 in the win but went 7-24 from the field, 11-13 from the free-throw line, and 1-4 from downtown. It was a rather rare occurrence of Beal not shooting efficiently, both in the paint and beyond the arc. This was likely due to the defensive skills of the 76ers team, as they rank in the top 10 in the league in terms of defense.
Besides that, Beal grabbed 10 rebounds and 4 assists, getting him a double-double, his fifth of the season. The inefficiency is a rare occurrence and should not be alarming for fans or fantasy owners; Beal should bounce back in the next game.
Rui Hachimura shows who's the boss
Rookie Rui Hachimura showed the 76ers what a high caliber player he can be tonight, as he scored a team-high 27 points. Hachimura played the most minutes for any game since the start of the season, racking up 43 minutes of playtime tonight. He went 11-18 from the field, 4-4 from the free-throw line, and 1-3 from beyond the arc. He also grabbed 7 rebounds to tie things up.
Considering the type of players on the Sixers, it was rather shocking to see Hachimura score this high against the team. It is not a rare occurrence to see him perform like this, but certainly gives fans a glimpse of the future with Hachimura on the team.
Bertans stays on fire
Davis Bertans, unfortunately, moved to the bench in tonight's game, but that didn't stop him from putting on a show. Bertans scored 25 points coming off the bench, going 9-16 from the field and 7-13 from downtown. He played a total of 37 minutes, which was a huge contribution to why the Wizards won on Thursday night.
What's next?
The Wizards will take on the 15-6 Miami Heat tomorrow at the American Airlines Arena. Tune in at 8 PM ET.