It was another failure to close to the game from the good guys. The good guys held a 20 point lead, but just couldn’t get the job done. Here are 5 points from the last game:

1. Another great outing from Kuz. He had a near trouble. Kuz finished with 28 points, 10 assists, and 9 rebounds. As of late, Kuz has done a fantastic job dishing the ball to his teammates (and his teammates are doing their job hitting their shots of course). I’m loving the consistency and growth I’m seeing from Kuz. I love the consistency in the scoring, and the growth in the other areas of his game besides scoring. We have another about 40 games for him to keep balling out and raise his value, and then we’ll be able to cash him in at the trade deadline. He played an efficient ball game: 12-22 and 3-6 from the field. Really nothing to complain about for Kuz except that he should’ve been the go to guy in the clutch. We’ve had this tendency to ice out the hot hand (which usually is Kuz) which is nonsencial, but good for the tank I guess. Would love to see Kuz try to take over games in the clutch. Anyways, hope to see this sort of consistency from Kuz going forward as he is our true number 1.
2. Monster game from Gaff. He wasn’t bullied like last time when Mark Williams basically ate him alive. 15 points and 16 boards for big Gaff. Pretty sure those 16 boards are a career high from him. I’m starting to see a little bit of Gaff with the scoring. It seems like there’s a big emphasis on getting him the ball early on, and I love that. We have a unique aerial weapon, and I’ve pleaded for 2.5 seasons for them to use it, and it looks like it’s finally being used properly. Better later than never I guess. Now it’s on Gaff to convert at a high rate, and it looks like for the most part he’s doing that. Would be amazing if Gaff could become a 15-10 guy for us. He easily has the potential to do that for us with his current skillset. For him, it’s all about the mindset and staying aggressive, and staying cautious to not draw stupid ticky tacky fouls. He did that tonight, let’s hope tonight is the beginning of a trend for the big man.
3. This was a game where the starters did great, and the bench didn’t. JP had 24, Tyus had 13, and Deni had 13 as well. They got what they were supposed to. The bench didn’t help at all as not a single player was able to get into double figures. In games in the past, that figure has been Bilal, but Bilal got injured towards the latter half of the game, and he wasn’t able to be that guy. Kispy had WIDE OPEN shots but wasn’t able to knock them down. Those games happen for shooters, now it’s about bouncing back. Feels to me like Kispy is still unable to find his true rhythm from deep. He’s putting up a point less than last year on much worse efficiency. Hopefully he finds his stroke sooner rather than later. Bench is going to have do better than they did for the team to have a chance on a nightly basis. Starters did what they could. It’s up to the young guys and vets to step up.
4. This was a masterclass on how to blow a game again. It wasn’t quite as infuriating as the TOR game, but it was still a little frustrating. A 20 point lead was once again blown, and the blame is undoubtedly the lackluster defense of the Wizards. Miles and Melo were getting everything and anything they wanted. There was absolutely 0 resistance. None. Absolutely pathetic to call what that was defense. Again, I’m not asking them to win games. I’m asking them to try. They did a great job against the Bucks, and got outmuscled. That happens, especially since we’re talent dry as a tanking team. I’m just asking for effort, and I just don’t know why that’s so unreasonable to expect. There isn’t a reason for a mid season firing unless stuff takes a turn for the worst (which I don’t know how it’s possible to get worse than it is now), but after this season I would really like a new coach. Maybe someone like Budenholzer, Atkinson, Brown, or someone else with a proven track record to come in and instill positive values and the mentality of a winner into this sorry excuse of a franchise.
5. Not a great game for the younguns as mentioned before. Bilal got injured, but thankfully, he’s fine. Deni has an average game and did what he was supposed to. Kispert had a below average game. Nothing to write home about. JD is looking better as of late, but I just don’t know that there’s space on THIS team for him. We just seem really crowded at that 2 guard and 3 spot, and I don’t know that he adds a dimension different enough to warrant time over Kispert, Poole, and Bilal. Tough luck for JD, but it is what it is. Maybe after the trade deadline he can get some run, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. Not a great game for the Wiz youngsters. We’ll see how they bounce back against a stacked Bucks team looming.

Sorry for the late write up again! Holiday season has kept me busy. Today I’ll try to be a bit more prompt. Anyways, the tank must roll on, and it most definitely will as we will almost assuredly get spanked by the Bucks at Fiserv tonight in our last In Season Tournament game of the season. Cover the eyes of the young ones, because this is going to be a spanking for the ages. We will almost assuredly see PBJ, Omorouyi, and the other end of bench guys get run tonight. See y’all in a couple hours!