I Hate the Bubble. Wizards Lose to Sixers 107-98, Effectively Eliminated From the Playoffs

These articles are getting too depressing to write. The Washington Wizards drop their fourth straight game since the season restart, losing to the Philadelphia 76ers 107-98. This brings the Wizards overall season record to 22-44, currently the worst of the 22 teams in the bubble and are 8 games back of the Orlando Magic for the last spot in the playoffs in the East, a lead that looks increasingly impossible to overcome given the Wizards have only 4 more games until the postseason starts.

Thomas Bryant has continued to impress in Orlando, logging his second straight double-double scoring 19 points and 10 rebounds. A promising sign for the Wizards as they have been looking for their true center ever since Marcin Gortat departed from Washington in 2018. Rui Hachimura put up another lackluster performance, going for 8 points and 8 rebounds in a game high 39 minutes on the floor. The Wizards supporting cast also included Troy Brown Jr and Jerome Robinson off the bench, scoring 17 and 19, respectively.

To their credit, Washington played a pretty tight game through and through. They were able to get the game within 6 late into the fourth quarter with Sixers All Star Joel Embiid, who scored a game high 30 points and 10 rebounds, in foul trouble. But clutch shots from Tobias Harris and Shake Milton would effectively put the game out of reach for the Wizards as Embiid returned to the floor for the final minutes.

The big story of the game would be the knee injury to 76ers PG Ben Simmons in the third quarter, taking him out of the game as he was seen leaving the team locker room in street clothes and a limp in the middle of the fourth quarter. If the young star were to miss extended time, it would be disastrous to Philadelphia who are looking to make a deep playoff run this year with their Big 3 of Embiid, Simmons and Harris.

With 4 games left and 8 games back of the last playoff spot in the East, it looks increasingly doubtful that we will see Washington in the postseason in 2020. On the bright side, it’s probably easier on my heart than watching watching Giannis and the Bulls sweep us in 4 games in the first round of the playoffs. Any realistic Wizards fan knew what the situation coming into the bubble was, and this is about what we expected. As usual, I think World Wide Rob on Twitter said it best:

Spot on Rob. Spot on.

The Wizards next game will be against Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans this Friday at at 8 pm.

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