Inside The Wizards

Wizards Missed Opportunities To Win Against The Hornets

Veteran Guard Bradley Beal led a great comeback for the Wizards on Friday, but missed opportunities in the final moments ended the game in a loss for the team
Candi Waller|
Wizards Missed Opportunities To Win Against The Hornets
Wizards Missed Opportunities To Win Against The Hornets

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Washington WizardsCharlotte HornetsLos Angeles Lakers

What looked like a comeback that would be celebrated, turned into Washington’s fifth loss in six games. Washington trailed by as many as 22 points in the second half in Friday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets. Then All Star Guard Bradley Beal showed up. Beal was putting the team on his back to ensure a victory for the Wiz.

With under two minutes left in the game, Beal had three opportunities to win the game for his team. Despite leading the team in a fourth quarter surge, their comeback attempt failed and Charlotte would hold off Washington for a 117 – 1116 win. Beal’s missed opportunities were the result of two turnovers and a missed open jumper. This loss was the fifth straight for the Wizards on the road.

Hornets Coach Steve Clifford told reporters; “I don’t know if I’ve seen a game where one team gets outscored 28-10 in the fourth quarter and still wins by one. I’d say that’s not something, as crazy as our league is, that happens very often.” Coach Clifford would be correct as that is not something that happens very often. Nor should it.

Overall Beal had an impressive game with a season-high 33 points, seven assists, and six rebounds. Beal has now scored 20 plus points in 11 consecutive games and this streak being tied for the second longest active streak in the NBA. Yet in the clutch moments of games, Bradley Beal struggles. He currently leads the league in turnovers in clutch situation with nine total.

The NBA veteran recognized that not being able to finish the game, after leading a great comeback, is unacceptable. Beal told reporters after the game; “I turned the ball over twice, which can’t happen. I had a chance to win the game at the end and it didn’t go down.”

The Wizards will have to re-group quickly as they are back at home hosting the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers have a couple of veterans that over the years are known to show up in the clutch. Hopefully Beal can begin to be one of the veterans that can be relied on consistently in the clutch starting tonight against the Lakers.

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Candi Waller
CANDI WALLER

Candi Waller also known as "CWall" is the Founder and CEO of CWall® Sports & Entertainment, President of the CWall Foundation, Inc, the Managing Publisher of the Fan Nation Inside the Wizards site, and President of Bowie Television. A native of Gorgeous Prince George's County, Maryland, Candi has been an authentic lover of all sports since her childhood. She was such a sports fan at an early age that she notes one of her favorite childhood shows as the legendary "George Michael Sports Machine". Candi holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Hampton University, Master of Arts in Human Resource Development from The George Washington University and a certificate in Sports Industry Essentials from Columbia University.  Prior to and during her work in the sports industry, Candi has established her identity as a results-driven, relationship building advocate and professional with extensive years of experience leading and implementing successful strategic change, communications, and stakeholder engagement programs across geographically dispersed organizations. She’s worked across Big Four and Government Trusted Advisor consulting firms such as IBM, Deloitte, and the MITRE Corporation. She is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, Women in Sports & Events (WISE), the National Press Club (NPC), the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), the Prince George’s County Chamber of Commerce and is an ambassador for the National Museum of African American History and Culture. In terms of what she likes to do for fun, that’s just it…anything that is considered fun, she’s all for it! She’s very close to her parents, brother, and sister, and has a host of nieces, nephews, and godchildren. 

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