Davis and Young aren’t enough. Wizards fall to Charlotte Hornets

The Wizards couldn’t keep Moussa Diabate from getting offensive rebounds or Brandon Miller from scoring from everywhere, so they lost to the Hornets in Charlotte despite solid games from Anthony Davis and Trae Young.

Diabate grabbed eight offensive boards in the first half and finished with 11 for the game — a new career high. After a few bad possessions early with Bilal Coulibaly on him, Miller torched the Wizards from all over the floor — at-rim, mid-range, and threes. He finished with 39 points — a new career high.

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As for the Wizards, Davis was pretty good, notching 29 points and 10 rebounds on solid efficiency. He had trouble containing Diabate, and communicated effectively on defense.

Young was crafty and effective for the most part, though he turned down a few threes he’d normally take. His passing threat was significant — looking at a teammate had Charlotte defenders jumping out of his way and leaving him open for layups.

One highly annoying development: going for a rebound, Justin Champagnie landed on Naz Reid’s foot, and suffered what appeared to be a significant ankle or foot injury.

From the notebook

It’s only four games, but I’m not sold on the Wizards shot selection.

One play annoyed me — Davis turned down an open three with a late closeout. Instead of side-stepping into a truly wide open three (which is a fundamental in today’s game), Davis took a dribble and stepped in for a long two, which he missed.

I have no data to back this up, but my impression from watching Bub Carrington for two full seasons and the start of his third is that he’s terrible at throwing lobs. He tried one to Coulibaly in the fourth quarter that would have been a simple turnover with any other teammate. Coulibaly skied to deflect the pass off the backboard, grabbed the carom, and threw it off a Charlotte player while falling out of bounds.

The coaching staff’s decision to start doubling Miller in the final minutes of the game, helped stall Charlotte’s offensive attack and get Washington back in the game. The Hornets countered with Reid hitting an open three, and then countering by bring Grayson Allen one pass…

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Publish date : 2026-10-27 11:00:00

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