Two teams headed in opposite directions meet when the Milwaukee Bucks face the visiting Washington Wizards on Saturday.
After losing eight of their first 10 games, the Bucks have turned things around and bring a five-game winning streak into Saturday’s contest.
While Milwaukee was able to find solutions for its early-season doldrums, Washington is mired in a 13-game losing streak. The Wizards are three losses away from matching their franchise-record losing streak of 16.
Washington had no answers for Los Angeles star James Harden in a 121-96 loss to the Clippers on Wednesday. Harden scored 43 points in his team’s victory, including 23 in the first quarter.
“It’s still really, really early, but to run into this much adversity early stinks and stings,” Washington forward Corey Kispert said. “And it’s testing the culture that we put in. There’s still a lot of positivity within the room, and there’s still a lot of encouragement. While things are tough, they’re not toxic and not unbearable.”
Wizards guard Jordan Poole returned after missing two games with a hip injury and scored eight points on 1-of-7 shooting. The Wizards shot 24.2 percent (8 of 33) from 3-point range in the loss.
“In moments like this, you can get discouraged, especially in this league,” Washington guard Malcolm Brogdon said. “There are no easy games. You’ve got to pick yourself up. It’s really you against you out here. At the end of the day, it’s about you performing up to the level you know you can play at.”
Things are only going to get tougher for the Wizards, who are beginning a four-game stretch against Milwaukee, Cleveland, Dallas and Denver.
The Bucks posted a 106-103 road win over the Miami Heat on Tuesday despite playing without both Giannis Antetokounmpo (left knee soreness) and Khris Middleton (ankle surgery). Damian Lillard led the way with 37 points and 12 assists.
Antetokounmpo is expected to return on Saturday, while Middleton could make his season debut against the Wizards after completing a full 5-on-5 practice earlier this week.
Middleton will join a much different team than the one that struggled to close out games in the first few weeks of the season.
Lillard has four double-doubles in his last five games for Milwaukee, which led by as many as 22 points in the third quarter against Miami.
“We’re beating good teams,” Lillard said after Tuesday’s game. “We’re winning at home. We’re winning on the road in a game like tonight without Giannis, the way we’re doing it is sustainable. And it’s showing that we’re doing what we wanted to be doing coming into the season, so it’s definitely positive.”
Veteran guard Pat Connaughton is also putting his slow start to the season behind him. He had 10 points and eight rebounds off the bench against the Heat in his first action since Nov. 16.
“He has one of the highest basketball IQs, if not the highest basketball IQ out there,” Bucks center Brook Lopez said. “He’s a great communicator, so he’s always great at getting everyone on the same page. He does so many intangible things that just make us better.”
–Field Level Media
