Washington Wizards Destroyed By Indiana Pacers, 123-106

I once looked into another person’s eyes as they told me I had no chance. I couldn’t do anything — I stood there and took it. I ate the pain up. That’s exactly what happened to the Washington Wizards tonight. They tried. They contested shots, but the Indiana Pacers laughed at their effort and drained shot after shot after shot.

The Pacers made 19 of their 26 three point attempts. That’s 73.1 percent. They made over 73 percent of their 3-point shots. Let that sink in.

Paul George scored 40 points on 14-19 shooting. C.J. Miles scored 32 points on 10-16 shooting. They shot a combined 15-17 from three. Otto Porter looked into George’s eyes. No chance.

There’s really nothing you can do when things like this happen. Some teams have superstars and others have players that occasionally play up to their potential. The Washington Wizards have the latter.

The Pacers have a bona fide superstar in George. I wondered who the best player in the East was not named LeBron James, but I think we found the answer tonight.

Washington tried their best to keep up with the Pacers’ hot shooting, but they eventually cooled off. They found themselves down by just one to Indiana at halftime, but it was clear that it was only a matter of time before the road team took off.

The Wizards were outscored by the Pacers by 10 in the third quarter. John Wall turned the ball over…and over…and over. Bradley Beal couldn’t find his rhythm. The Pacers hit shots. Rinse. Repeat.

The starters, once again, left a lot to be desired.

Kris Humphries was nonexistent and was replaced in the lineup by Jared Dudley to start the second half.

Humphries didn’t register a single point in just nine minutes of action. Dudley added an irrelevant five points off the bench.

Porter scored just seven points, but more importantly, was lit up on the opposite end of the floor.

Much like the New York Knicks game earlier this season when Carmelo Anthony went off, a lot of the shots George hit tonight were tough and contested.

But, there were also numerous possessions where Porter was beaten to good spots or George simply shrugged him off and got a clean look.

It’s as if opponents look at Porter and think, “oh, cool, an easy bucket”. That’s an issue.

On top of that, Wall — the Washington Wizards’ best player — hasn’t played worse basketball since his rookie season. Is this just a slump? Probably, but Randy Wittman needs to figure something out with his point guard. At this point, I almost look forward to seeing Ramon Sessions on the court, who’s become one of the best backup point guards in the league.

Wall finished the game with five turnovers and eight assists. You can live with that many turnovers if it comes within the flow of the offense ( that makes no sense, Ben) , but Wall’s turnovers have been unforced. He’s driving to the basket without purpose and he continues to leave his feet while passing the ball. Those are rookie mistakes. Wall is in his sixth season.

I wish I could say that Wall’s issues are a product of the system change, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Simply put, his decision making has been poor. I’m sure he’ll improve and we’ll eventually forget about this slump, but right now, it’s a concern.

The bench, once again, provided some stability for Washington. Gary Neal and Sessions scored a combined 33 points and Nene looked like the best big on the roster with 11 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Neal scored a season-high 23 points. Don’t take this for granted because you won’t see this from Neal very often.

Washington will take on the new-look Charlotte Hornets tomorrow night on the road. The good thing about a long season is, you can quickly forget about horrific losses. Tonight was exactly that — a horrific loss. I apologize for the #negativepixels. I know you’re not accustomed to it, but neither am I. On to the next one.