This week...

• Wizard go 1-3 this week falling to the 12th seed in the East and out of a play-in spot

• Zaz's Weekly Take: More people are questioning the Wizards crunch-time coaching decisions

• 5 things you should know about Xavier Cooks

• Autograph session on Tuesday night after the Pistons game (Season Ticket Holders)

• This week's upcoming schedule...

Weekly Recap

Final scores

Wizards 119 * Pistons 117 (Tuesday)

In the first game of the week, the Wizards barely defeated the Pistons thanks to Daniel Gafford converting a last second put-back of Bradley Beal's airball at the buzzer to secure the win.

Beal finished with 32 points, while Kristaps Porzingis scored 24 before fouling out in the final minute. Jaden Ivey had 26 points and 12 assists for the Pistons. This win was definitely too close for comfort and even Beal said it was "lucky" that Wizards were able to pull off a victory.

Wizards 120 * 122 Hawks (Wednesday)

Despite a career-high 43 points from Porzingis, the Wizards were unable to hold onto a 15 point lead. Trae Young led the Hawks with 28 points and 10 assists, shooting an impressive 11 of 14 from the field. Beal finished with 24 points, but his one-of-six shooting in the final quarter proved costly. Kyle Kuzma had 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Wizards.

One of the biggest coaching mistakes by the Wizards was their lack of focus on Porzingis in the fourth quarter. While he made all five of his shot attempts in the fourth, including four 3-pointers, Beal was only able to make one of his six attempts. The Hawks were able to capitalize on the Wizards' mistakes and Hunter's free throws put Atlanta up by four to seal the win.

Wizards 107 * Hawks 114 (Friday)

This one felt like a playoff game. Although the Wizards started strong, scoring 29 points in the first quarter, they struggled with their jumpers throughout the game, shooting 1-of-6 from deep in the first quarter and finishing with 9-of-30 from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the Hawks connected from deep and took a 56-50 lead at halftime.

After going on a 20-6 extended run in Q3, it looked like the game was out of reach for the Wizards, but they fought back hard in the fourth quarter and cut the lead to 4. Unfortunately, they fell short due to missed opportunities in clutch-time execution where Beal missed a lay-up due to tough defense of De'Andre Hunter. Brutal loss!

Wizards * 76ers (Sunday)

In the third loss of the week, the Wizards struggled to get into any offensive flow and the Sixers' defense kept them at bay. Tobias Harris and P.J. Tucker played excellent defense, with Harris limiting Bradley Beal's opportunities to operate. Joel Embid led the Philadelphia 76ers to a 112-93 victory over the Washington Wizards with 34 points, eight rebounds, four blocks, and four assists.

Corey Kispert led the Wizards with 25 points, while our big three of KP, Beal & Kuzma combined for a measly 34 points with the team shooting a miserable 23% from the 3-point line. A bad loss that capped off a an extremely disappointing week.

More people are questioning the Wizards crunch time coaching decisions

From broadcasters to podcasters and even players, many are starting to raise questions about the Wizards strategy (or lack thereof) down the stretch in close and important playoff-implication games.

One that really hits home is Drew Gooden’s comments after Wednesday’s loss to the Hawks. He questioned why the Wizards are sticking to set rotations rather than basing the rotations on the flow of the game? Gooden even says “When does it become insanity when you keep doing the same things?”.

I couldn’t agree more with Gooden’s comments. He, like myself, many of our readers, and Wizard’s fans, want to see the Wizards maximize their talent and get in the playoffs (not just play-in). Gooden’s comments can be seen here.

During the Locked On Wizards podcast, both Ed Oliver and Brandon Scott questioned the rotations (among many other deserving things) including why we waited so long to bring back KP in the 4th quarter during the first (and most heartbreaking) Hawk’s loss this last week.

Other things mentioned during the podcast were the overreliance of Beal in the final plays of the games and why is he, instead off Delon Wright bringing the ball up the court? Why not try a different play like get the ball to KP in the post?

After the same game, Kyle Kuzma made the following comments: “A lot of times we have the ball in the 4th and it’s Brad’s ball. It’s his time in the 4th and it’s his team so we just live and die by it and it’s cool. Whatever happens you just live with it.” Although Kuz kept it very diplomatic, I think we all can read between the lines.

5 things you should know about Xavier Cooks

Last week, the Wizards signed Xavier Cooks to a deal through the 2023-2024 season. Who is Xavier Cooks? Here's 5 things should know about him:

1. Xavier Cooks is a 6-foot-8 power forward who is considered one of the NBL’s (National Basketball League in Australia) outstanding development stories. Cooks, who went undrafted after college, has been playing in the NBL for four seasons and has been a standout player for the Sydney Kings.

2. Cooks was named the NBL's MVP in the 2022-23 season and was also named the Finals MVP in the previous season. He averaged 15.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game for the Kings, helping lead them to a 19-9 record and a trip to the NBL Finals against the New Zealand Breakers.

3. Cooks is the son of an African-American expatriate who became a naturalised citizen of Australia and an Australian mother. He has two siblings, including a brother who was also a basketball player.

4. Cooks has played professionally for the Golden State Warriors, s.Oliver Würzburg in Germany, SIG Strasbourg in France, and the Sydney Kings and Wellington Saints in Australia.

5. Sam Vecenie, the Athletic's draft expert said this about Cooks: "His feel for the game is superb. He’s an awesome passer. He can play within ball screens with the ball in his hand and make strong passing reads that way, but I think the more likely way this will bear itself out in the NBA is how he attacks closeouts. He covers ground quickly with his strides and always has his eyes up looking for teammates. He might make a wild read from time to time, but he’s a smart, unselfish player who should fit nicely into being a role guy. He’ll also get out in transition and really push the pace. He can grab and go or just fill the lanes to attack the rim and space the floor. "

Wizards Autograph Session this Tuesday Night

If you are a seasons ticket holder, Tuesday is your chance to connect with two Wizards players following the Detroit Pistons game on March 14! To participate in the post-game autograph session, RSVP by clicking the button below by 5pm on March 10.

The team has not announced which players will be doing the signing but we know that you are all real Wizards fans and you'll be happy with whomever shows up (wink).

Upcoming Schedule for next week...

• Wizards vs Pistons (Home),Tuesday, March 14th @7:00pm EST

• Wizards vs Cavaliers (Away), Friday, March 17th @7:30pm EST

• Wizards vs Kings (Home), Saturday, March 18th @8:00pm EST

Have a great week!