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In what has been for the most part a stellar rookie campaign, we've seen the worst of Michael Carter-Williams over the past two games. He shot just a combined 6-29 from the floor to go with 10 turnovers.
On Saturday, he broke out of his slump in a big way, despite an ugly performance from the team as a whole.
He did everything right in the first quarter, knocking down two early jump shots and turning lackadaisical Wizards passes into easy layups. Carter-Williams also continues to utilize his length, able to weave around the likes of Nene and Marcin Gortat. I can only imagine Brett Brown hopes Tony Wroten is able to return soon, as Evan Turner really struggled handling the ball.
Wizards star point guard John Wall came to play to, showing some new found confidence in his mid-range game. As he usually seems to play against Philadelphia, second-year guard Bradley Beal was lights out. Credit goes to the Wizards for taking note of the Sixers struggles with screens, and creating some spacing for Beal to knock down his shots from outside. At the half he was 5-9 from the floor for 13 points, including two three-pointers. Carter-Williams would lead all scorers with 19 going into the break.
Washington hit a wall coming out of the half, allowing the Sixers to storm back within four. Yet as they've done all year, Philadelphia struggled to play fundamental defense. On several occasions they didn't rotate to the open shooter, and allowed players in behind them for some easy dunks. Washington ended the 3rd quarter on a 16-7 run and up by 13.
The Sixers were never able to close the gap to make it a tight game, but the afternoon belonged to Michael Carter-Williams. He ended the night with 31 points on 22 shots, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and capped off a tremendous shooting night by knocking down a 16-foot, step back jumper over Garrett Temple.
Bradley Beal would lead the Wizards with 22, and help propel Washington to a 107-99 victory. The Sixers have off until Wednesday, where they finish up a three game road trip against the New York Knicks.
