![\"Wizards](\"https:\/\/platform.bulletsforever.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2026\/02\/gettyimages-2262893096.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100\")
<\/a><\/p>\nWizards rookie Will Riley had a good fourth quarter in the team\u2019s loss to the Atlanta Hawks. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n
If you time-shifted this one to the morning, I\u2019d recommend just firing it into the sun. In the first minute, I\u2019d jotted \u201csloppy\u201d in my notes. A few seconds later, I wrote, \u201cSLOPPY.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Wizards committed turnovers on each of their first five possessions. They were disorganized and discombobulated. They were getting pummeled on the glass. When they finally did start getting shots up, they were inaccurate, and the shot selection was\u2026well\u2026crummy.<\/p>\n
There were some moments of hopeful basketball. Bilal Coulibaly made a couple strong drives on consecutive possessions for a potential and-one (he missed the free throw) and a dunk. Dyson Daniels, who was first team All-Defense last season, had trouble staying in front of him. At least on those possessions.<\/p>\n
The second of those possessions came with 8:33 to go in the first quarter. The game degenerated from there.<\/p>\n
Before Atlanta began The Slacking Off, they built a 38-point lead. Washington\u2019s bench mob staged something of a \u201ccomeback\u201d to cut the final margin to a semi-respectable 21 points. The game was not even that competitive.<\/p>\n
For the record, I double-checked my in-game mental math, which turned out to be correct. The Wizards have 25 games left in the season.<\/p>\n
Atlanta\u2019s broadcast had the cinematic camera first used (at least in the NBA) by the Toronto Raptors. It blurs the background on player closeups and a few other shots and looks epic. Kudos to the Hawks for adding it.Here are Washington\u2019s offensive ratings (points per possession x 100) by quarter:First: 74Second: 85Third: 72Fourth: 155The fourth quarter output was more a result of Atlanta defensive indifference than Washington offensive excellence. Kudos to the Wizards for making the shots, I guess.Neither team played well on the offensive end. Washington\u2019s 91 offensive rating was their fourth worst of the season. Atlanta\u2019s 110 ortg was more than five points per 100 possessions below average\u2026against one of the NBA\u2019s worst defensive teams.Given the number of possessions (108 for each team) an average NBA game would have produced 249 points. The Wizards and Hawks combined for 217.All complaining aside, Coulibaly had a pretty decent game despite shooting 3-9. In 24 minutes, he had 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 4 blocks.If you\u2019re looking for positives, focus on clips involving Will Riley (7-8 shooting) or Justin Champagnie (5-8) or Jamir Watkins (6-8).Watkins, by the way, got hit with a well-deserved technical for flopping.Jonathan Kuminga looked great in his Hawks debut. In 24 minutes, he had 27 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists and hit 3-4 from three-point range.<\/p>\n
Below are the four factors that decide wins and losses in basketball \u2014 shooting (efg), rebounding (offensive rebounds), ball handling (turnovers), fouling (free throws made).<\/p>\n
The four factors are measured by:<\/p>\n
eFG% (effective field goal percentage, which accounts for the three-point shot)OREB% (offensive rebound percentage)TOV% (turnover percentage \u2014 turnovers divided by possessions)FTM\/FGA (free throws made divided by field goal attempts)FOUR FACTORSWIZARDSHAWKSLGAVGeFG%50.0%44.9%54.3%OREB%4.5%32.8%26.1%TOV%18.6%9.3%12.8%FTM\/FGA0.1670.2150.208PACE10899.5ORTG91110115.4<\/p>\n
PPA is my overall production metric, which credits players for things they do that help a team win (scoring, rebounding, playmaking, defending) and dings them for things that hurt (missed shots, turnovers, bad defense, fouls).<\/p>\n