Unseld blows another lead

Zaz's Weekly Take: Three Coaching mistakes that Wes Unseld Jr. needs to fix NOW!

The Wizards blew another double-digit lead on Wednesday night against the Hawks, losing 122-120. Again, here’s the usual coaching mistakes that Unseld continues to make:Play Calling

1. Again, the same play for Beal was constantly ran. Although Beal had success throughout the game, the Hawks were ready for the final possessions.

2. Another critical turnover on an out of bounds play. Again, it was Beal who stepped out of bounds. It doesn’t appear these plays are practiced.

3. Closing lineups. Gafford sat out down the stretch. The Wizards needed some critical rebounds and stops. If closing with others doesn’t work, why not try your starter?

Below is our article from three few days ago detailing the same errors. Unseld needs to make adjustments.

In Saturday’s overtime loss to the Raptors, Bradley Beal shot a combined 2 for 11 in the 4th quarter and OT, including going 0 for 4 in the extra period. The Wizards actually ran the same play for Beal about five times in a row and the Raptors were ready each time. Even Drew Gooden was pleading on the broadcast to please run something different, like give the ball to KP in the paint.

Also, what is up with our out-of-bounds plays? Remember the last play vs. OKC back in November when Deni Avidja couldn’t inbounds the ball? The defense was all over Beal and there was no backup plan. Deni ended up having to force a cross-court pass to Beal which resulted in a turnover. If only we had someone tall enough, like 7’3, that could catch and get a decent look when there’s only a few seconds remaining. Oh wait, we do.

Lineups/Rotations

I’m going to reference the November OKC game again. The reason being, that was the first time Beal was back in the lineup after winning four in a row without him and the “everybody eats” chatter started to resurface.

We looked incredible going up by 17 points early. I remember thinking to myself, wow we’re going to do some damage with these three guys together. Then WUJ subs out all five starters. Not a couple of them, ALL of them. The lead was gone fast.

I’m not going to claim that I had been saying all along Daniel Gafford should start before he became a starter, BUT I was always saying, why is Gafford not playing more? We didn’t see Gafford at all down the stretch or in OT. Kispert was knocking down shots but I thought we’d at least see Gafford in OT. We all know how OT worked out.

Timeout Management

Is it me or does Wes Unself Jr. seem to burn timeouts just to make substitutions? I noticed in Saturday's game against the Raptors in the third quarter the Wizards were down by a few points and trying to take the lead. WUJ called a timeout not to stop momentum, which was in our favor, but to pull Beal and KP and sub in Kuzma and Gafford for their rotation with the second unit.

Before you knew it, the Wizards were down by 13 and spent the rest of the game clawing back. Don’t get me wrong, I’m fine with having them carry the second unit, but subbing doesn’t need to waste a timeout, especially when the momentum is going your way. I've noticed that on many occasions. Unfortunately, I haven't noticed timeouts to stop the other team’s momentum, until it gets out of hand.