Washington Wizards vs Atlanta Hawks

The Washington Wizards rally back with a 19-1 run and had the opportunity to obtain the lead late but ultimately lose in another nail-biter against the Atlanta Hawks, 125-124. The Wizards’ are 13-4 since April 10th and all of those losses were decided within one possession. 

The Hawks were led by Trae Young who played a very impressive game by not wasting possessions and making use of his undeniable floater. Young currently leads the league in floaters made and finished last night with 36 points and 9 assists in 36 minutes. 

Why was Scott Brooks so adamant about having Bertans switch on Young? Another head-scratcher from Mr. Brooks. Daniel Gafford hardly saw any playing time in the second half while Len was getting absolutely cooked. 

Young was accompanied by Bogdanovic with 25 points and Jason Collins was a force in the paint with 28 points on 71% shooting. 

Role players stepped up in last night’s contest due to Bradley Beal’s absence. Rui Hachimura scored 20 points, Bertans lit up the 4th quarter and finished with 15, and Ish Smith tied his season-high with 16 points. 

Franchise star, Bradley Beal missed last night’s game due to a hamstring strain and will miss Wednesday night’s rematch against ATL. Beal will be reevaluated on Friday. 

Brad is currently averaging 31.4 points per game on 49% shooting from the field along with 4.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists. While that is impressive to most, others have been doing some “Sideline Hating”. 

Golden State Warriors’ own Kent Bazemore took to social media to express how he felt about Beal’s efforts and Brad wanted all the smoke. 

Kent admired Curry’s performance with a dash of salt, “49 points in 29 minutes, that’s unreal. We got guys hurting hamstrings to keep up.”

Beal responds

“You don’t know why I go out there and play and it damn sure ain’t for another man’s approval!!!” Beal wrote in a tweet directed at Bazemore. “You a straight LAME!!!”

When Kent is asked about his Saturday night comments on Monday, he tries to ignore the situation and act like he was not throwing shade. 

“I guess you can’t joke anymore,” Bazemore said, adding, “I don’t say things to ruffle feathers, but … if you want to know what my loyalty is, it’s to [Curry]. Anyone out there chasing him, it’s gonna be tough.”

For the full story, check out ESPN here

Russell Westbrook Makes History

Though a win is always important and would have put Washington in a better playoff spot, Russell Westbrook did the unthinkable. 

In last night’s contest, Russell Westbrook made history and marked his 182nd triple-double with 28 points, 13 rebounds, and 21 assists passing the great Oscar Robertson and becoming numero uno on the All-Time list. 

Russell Westbrook broke a 47-year record and did it in two seasons less than Oscar. Oscar Robertson’s triple-double record had stood since the year 1974 and took Robertson 14 seasons to do. 

Russell broke the record in 12 seasons and 108 fewer games than Oscar. This season, Westbrook is playing arguably some of his best basketball, has 36 triple doubles, and is averaging a triple-double for his 4th season. 

Westbrook only had 8 triple doubles during his first six seasons in Oklahoma City since then he has had 174. Let’s not forget he had 42 triple-doubles in the 2016-2017 and became the first player since Oscar Robertson to average a triple-double in a season. 

“I normally don’t like to pat myself on the back but tonight I will just because I’m so grateful for the ones before me and so blessed to the man above to allow me to go out and do it,” Westbrook said. “I take this job very seriously and I’m super grateful for my teammates and coaches on my journey so far.”

Russell is an exceptional player who will leave it all out on the floor every game. He is not worried about accolades or season awards because he is only worried about one thing and that is winning. 

As if making history was not enough, Russell also joined the rankings of Robertson, LeBron, and Gary Payton as players who have over 20k points and 8,000 assists. 

“I’m super grateful, especially for Oscar,” Westbrook added. “He paved the way for guys like myself, he endured different things back in the time when he was playing where he was able to do that and still be effective on the floor… I just want to thank him because without him and the things he did for the game, I probably wouldn’t be able to do some things now.”

The triple-double record will not be broken any time soon because Russell still has a motor left with plenty more seasons to play. Watching Russell play in a Washington uniform is an honor and we are all very proud of him.