Wizards Coach Not Concerned Over Pelicans Losses

The Washington Wizards lost two straight, but the panic button isn't pressed.

Jan 5, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; New Orleans Pelicans center Yves Missi (21) dunks the ball as Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma (33) defends in the fourth quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The Washington Wizards are back in a familiar place in the loss column after falling to the New Orleans Pelicans for a second consecutive game.

Two straight losses against the Pelicans have now put the Wizards back in the undesired position of being the worst team in the league.

However, Wizards head coach Brian Keefe isn't looking at these losses as setbacks for the team's overall goals.

“It does not at all for me,” Keefe said postgame when asked if the losses concerned him.

“We didn't love what that game was. A competitive game down there [in New Orleans], turnovers and offensive rebounds for us tonight. We fought them, we just didn't [get] some offensive rebounds. Threes went their direction, but we're trending [up], we're doing stuff that's positive in the right direction. Sometimes you have these games. We move forward.”

The games could have been a good benchmark to try and figure out exactly where the Wizards are as a team, but not having Jordan Poole or Bilal Coulibaly out there for either game made it to where it wasn't very conducive of how the team usually plays.

That being said, there were some positive developments from these games, including the play of Kyle Kuzma, who has been making strides since returning from his rib injury, and Jared Butler, who is making the most of his opportunity on a two-way contract with other players on the sidelines.

The Wizards came into this two-game series after beating the Chicago Bulls at home, and that may have triggered a lot of confidence for them moving forward. However, the Wizards aren't losing sight of their overall goals, and they will take stuff that they can learn from in these games in hopes of applying it down the line.

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