The Washington Wizards received a jolt of bad news when John Wall was ruled out of the game with a left foot sprain. Based on their first-half performance, that news was the worst thing that could have happened to them. They trail the hapless Kings 59-45 at halftime after a lull late in the second quarter.
The Wizards already have 15 turnovers, and we've just played 14 minutes. Without Wall, Gilbert Arenas has been a major liability. Arenas is just 2-9 from the field and already has four turnovers. Meanwhile, his counterpart, Beno Udrih (who admittedly hasn't been guarded by Arenas the whole game) has 19 points on just eight shots. Arenas has shown his frustration too, screaming at Trevor Booker at one point after a shot-clock violation.
Only Kirk Hinrich and Al Thornton, with 12 and 10 points respectively, have come to play. Udrih has been the star for the Kings, but they also got 12 points from Jason Thompson, who has been dominating the interior. Omri Casspi gave the Kings some good production at the end of the half as well.
Wall's absence helps explain some of this, but the Wizards need to give a token effort, and once again, they have failed to do so on the road.