The Washington Wizards fell to the Spurs in San Antonio, 92-79, on Wednesday, and Nene was highly discouraged by his team's play and cited a lack of selfless play.
“They kicked our butts in the most classy way — playing the right way,” Nene said, fuming following the clinical destruction of the Wizards by the selfless Spurs. “It’s crazy, that’s what makes me mad. Our young guys think they’re so smart. But if I was young, I would watch video of that game for one week to see if I could learn something, because the way they play is how you’re supposed to play.
“They not talented as us,” Nene continued. “They have great players, a great team, but the way they execute things, the way they cut, the way they exploit weaknesses, swing the ball. They don’t think about stats. We still think about stats. Our young guys must take their heads out their butts and play the right way, because I’m getting tired of this.”
The Wizards' dynamic backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal combined for 33 points but shot just 14 for 38 from the field.
The Wizards fell to 2-6 and have lost their past 15 visits to San Antonio.
Thoughts on this?
Honestly, i get what he's saying, but he should be the last one to talk about playing the right way. He didn't even show up against the Spurs, looked disinterested from the beginning, and got destroyed by Tiago Splitter the whole time he was in. Despite our size, we're getting dominated on the glass every night and he's a big reason why, averaging a pathetic 5 rebounds per game.
On to Wall and Beal. First of all, I'm far from a Wall apologist, in fact there's no player in our starting lineup that's criticized on the Wiz board more than Wall, and it's warranted this season. I don't know how bad the back spasms are, but hasn't been attacking nearly enough this season. Seems like he's becoming content with bailing out defenses with his broken jumper. For a guy that's as physically gifted as he is, with his size and speed, it's criminal that he's not being aggressive and at least trying to get to the rim. Our whole offense relies on him getting in the lane and sucking in the defense. But so far, especially in the halfcourt, he doesn't look anywhere near the same type of player that went on a tear late last year and averaged 24-10 over the last couple months.
As for Beal, he can do no wrong on the Wiz board, for now. But he's quickly falling in love with his jumpshot a little too much. Even though it's money for the most part, when it's not falling, he's struggling to have an impact on the game.
