On the same day that the Washington Wizards decided to trade Kyle Kuzma to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Khris Middleton and Jonas Valančiūnas to the Sacramento Kings for a young player and two picks, they were back in action, facing off against a shorthanded Brooklyn Nets team.
In a one-sided game, the Wizards came out on top, with Jordan Poole and Corey Kispert leading the way to a 119-102 victory at Barclays Center.
Depth
Poole and Kispert led the way with 19 and 17 points respectively but it was a team effort that paved the Wizards win, with seven different players scoring double digits in points to go with the effort from the veterans Richaun Holmes and Malcolm Brogdon who contributed with 9 and 7 points each.
The Wizards may be the worst team in the NBA - record wise - with a total of only nine wins in 50 games this season, but still managed to get a win away from home despite two of their best players this season gone in trades.
Positives for Brooklyn
For the Nets, there were a few positives despite the win. Keon Johnson led all team scorers with 25 points while Cam Johnson is starting to get his rhythm back after being sidelined for six games.
Johnson, as one of the team's most experienced players addressed Washington's shot making during his postgame press conference.
“Anytime they’re shooting that well from three, you’re putting yourself in a tough position, when they get hot,” Cam Johnson said postgame. “At that point, instead of being around five, we should be up 15. Yeah, 20 threes, 47%, that hurts.”
“I’m good, I’ll be alright” Johnson added when asked about getting back to the best version of himself.
