There’s kicking a man when he’s down, and then there’s what Golden State Warriors backup center Marreese Speights did to the Washington Wizards following his team’s 107-76 win last night. Via Ben Standig of CSNWashington.com:
“We just turned up a little,” Speights said of Golden State’s defense to reporters following the win. “We knew if we hit them, if we got a couple stops they would start arguing with each other and quit. We went out there with a good mindset in the second half and we did it.”
The Warriors outscored the Wizards 55-27 in the second half. It’s unlikely the two teams will meet in the Finals, so there’s little chance Speights’ words will be used as bulletin board material, but his mild-mannered teammates probably won’t be thrilled with his bravado.
As for the Wizards, this is continued confirmation things are as bad as they seem. They’ve dropped 18 of their last 29 games since reaching a high-water record of 29-13 in January, and a recent five game winning streak has now been followed up by three straight losses. The Wizards’ inconsistency has been maddening, and without a dominant offensive threat – Wall leads the team at 17.2 points per game – scoring in the crucible of the playoffs will be a major challenge.
With only 11 games remaining in the regular season, it’s clear the Wizards need to get past their chemistry issues and establish an effective identity in a hurry.
Photo: USA Today