57 games into the 2024-25 season and the Wizards were finally able to hold a team under 100 points, as they beat the Nets in a 107-99 victory on Monday night. What changed in the Washington lineup that has helped them improve their defense? Most believe Marcus Smart has something to do with it.
The new recruit contributed into keeping Brooklyn‘s attempts away from the rim, especially during the fourth quarter of last night’s matchup. The rival team was only able to score 12 points in the final quarter, as the Wizards had been the only squad in the league that hasn’t kept an opponent in double digits.
“It took everybody,” Marcus Smart said after only his second contest wearing the Washington jersey. “That Brooklyn team as we all know, they don’t back down from nobody. They’re going to come out and test you on both ends.”
The last time a club went the whole campaign without holding a rival franchise under 100 points were the 2022-23 Utah Jazz. Incredibly enough, they were the first squad that failed to do so since the 1990-91 Denver Nuggets, the same club that needed 74 games to do so back in 1986-87.
Marcus Smart hadn’t been able to play in recent games as he has been struggling with an injury to his right index finger, and finally made his debut for Washington last week and played again this Monday evening. During last night’s clash he scored 10 points in 21 minutes against the Nets.
“There is some people that kind of probably slept — I haven’t played in a couple years consistently, and they probably forgot about me — which is cool. I’m used to it,” Marcus assured. “I still do what I do.”
The Wizards won the match despite 23 turnovers. “We weathered the storm,” Wizards coach Brian Keefe said. “We didn’t play a perfect game. We scored 40 points in the second half. We struggled to score at times. We’re still learning chemistry with the new guys. But that didn’t stop us from staying competitive and staying with the game. We really won the game tonight with our defense.”
