The Washington Wizards are a mess, and it turns out that not even incredible comeback wins can solve their problems. After making some changes to the starting lineup on Tuesday night, including putting Kelly Oubre Jr. in for Markieff Morris, the Wizards gave up 40 points in the first quarter, and trailed by as many as 24 points in the first half.
Fans in D.C. were booing, and at least one was wearing a paper bag on their head. But for whatever reason, the Wizards came out in the second half looking like the team everyone expected them to be this season. John Wall and Bradley Beal led the way, while they tightened up the defense, and surged to a spirited comeback. By the time the final buzzer sounded, they nearly beat the Clippers by double-digits, winning 125-118.
It would be easy to view the comeback as a turning point, but to do that you would have to forget that the Wizards are the Wizards. While head coach Scott Brooks called it an "emotional win," Morris was not on the same wavelength.
"It's f----- up what's going on," Morris said after the win, according to Candace Buckner of the Washington Post. "The comments that's coming from the locker room is f----- up. That don't happen in sports."
Well then!
In recent days, there have been numerous reports coming out of D.C. about blowups during practice between both players and the coaching staff. Wall reportedly cursed out Scott Brooks, while Bradley Beal expressed frustration about long-running dysfunction in the franchise. Most recently, reports circulated that the Wizards were open to trading just about anyone on the roster, including Wall and Beal.
Morris' comments speak to the fact that someone on the team -- either a player or staff member -- has clearly been leaking this info to the press, and it's completely understandable to be annoyed by that. Basketball is a competitive, emotional game sometimes, and outbursts at practice might not always be as serious as they seem in the moment -- especially if they can be kept in-house and dealt with privately. But when things go public, it always becomes a bigger problem.
Still, it's clear that when there are reportedly this many incidents, there are some big picture issues within the organization. While the win might be nice for now, it's not going to solve everything. As a veteran, Morris is well aware of that fact.
The Wizards will see how the drama affects their next game, which comes on Friday against the Toronto Raptors (7:30 p.m. ET, available on fuboTV through the NBA League Pass extension here).
