“We want our identity to be defensive,” Wizards guard Marcus Thornton responded when asked how he would describe the team 20 games into the season, “but unfortunately we take plays off sometimes.”

AD

AD

The Wizards (7-13) entered the 2016-17 season with the hope of building from the young core that made the Eastern Conference semifinals two years ago. They believed John Wall and Bradley Beal would blossom into the best two-way backcourt in the league and into the leaders desperately needed in the locker room. They assumed that a revamped bench of veteran players would provide depth and ease the two stars’ burden. And more than anything else, Washington began the Brooks era with one big idea: To be a defensive-minded team that could also score.

So far, the Wizards have not lived up these expectations. Instead, they’ve identified as a team that lacks the motivation to compete every night.

“Our job is to wake up and just play hard,” Wall said after scoring a career-high 52 points in a 124-116 loss to the Magic on Tuesday. “Before you made it to the NBA or got a college scholarship, you played hard every day to get to where you wanted to.

AD

AD

“To still be talking about playing hard, that’s something that you should be able to do after just waking up,” Wall continued. “Everybody has a job and they have to go work hard. Our job is to come here and play hard and compete. That’s the easiest thing that you should do without any contracts or any money, just come in and play basketball.”

Through Tuesday’s games, Washington had the 10th-worst defensive rating in the league (106.3 points allowed per 100 possessions), below a pair of four-win teams, Philadelphia and Dallas. The defensive problems reach far, even infecting an area that should be a strength, the Wizards’ wing play.

Wall, who underwent two knee surgeries in May, is one of the league leaders in steals per game (2.1) and has held his own by other defensive measures as well. Players are shooting 42.5 percent when defended by Wall, third among Wizards starters behind Otto Porter Jr. (39.5 percent) and Beal (40.6 percent). The numbers escalate once the bench players get on the court: 49.4 percent against Kelly Oubre Jr. and 47.7 percent against Jason Smith. Players defended by Thornton have shot 52.7 percent, the second-worst mark among all players in the NBA this season who have defended at least 90 possessions.

AD

AD

As a unit, infamously dubbed “one of the worst benches in the league” by center Marcin Gortat, the reserves have generally started the second quarter, and it’s no coincidence that the Wizards have surrendered 28.9 points during that frame, second most in the league.

“Our guys need to come out better with the defensive disposition,” Brooks said, “of just being solid with understanding the principles of guarding your man, understanding the principles of contesting the shot, and also understanding the principles of blocking out.”

On Tuesday night, the Wizards struck a new defensive low. Though they were facing Orlando in the second game of a back-to-back set, they could not use fatigue to excuse their effort in allowing 124 points. Before the game, the Magic averaged 93.2 points, second fewest in the NBA.

AD

AD

“Defense is all about effort, you just got to go out there and do it,” Thornton said. “You can’t talk about it.”

For 20 games, the Wizards have talked about who they want to be. They are not a fast-paced team that tries to outscore opponents like the Nets. They’re certainly not a lockdown defensive group like the Magic. The Wizards are still trying to figure it out and can not identify themselves as a good team.