Right now, for the Wizards, everything's ending in tears

Children cry for lots of reasons. I don’t know for sure that this particular child was crying about watching the Washington Wizards get utterly served up by the 1-9 Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night …

… I’m just saying I’d understand if he was.

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After all, these weren’t just the 1-9 Sixers, who entered Wednesday ranked 29th of 30 NBA teams in points allowed per possession and dead last in points scored per possession. These were the 1-9 Sixers without Joel Embiid, who sat out on Wednesday as Philly embarked on a back-to-back that’ll include a nationally televised Thursday night matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves, as part of his ongoing rest and treatment plan. These were the 1-9 Sixers without their leading scorer, rebounder and shot-blocker; without the still-shelved trio of No. 1 pick Ben Simmons, ace defender Nerlens Noel and veteran guard Jerryd Bayless; and, seemingly, without any reason to believe they could credibly generate consistent enough offense or get enough stops to get their second win of the season.

And yet …

Jahlil Okafor led six Sixers in double figures with 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting in 20 minutes. Dario Saric had a double-double (13 points, 12 rebounds) in 26 minutes off the bench. Ersan Ilyasova hit four 3-pointers, Sergio Rodriguez had 12 assists, and the 76ers led for the final 44 minutes of the 48-minute affair, taking a 109-102 decision at Wells Fargo Center.

That final makes the game sound closer than it was. Philly led by as many as 24, limiting the Wizards to just 15 first-quarter points and never looking back … well, not until the final five minutes, when Washington ripped off a last-gasp 13-4 run to get within three points and give themselves a chance to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. The Sixers hung on, though, getting a huge corner 3 from big man Richaun Holmes and some late free throws from Rodriguez to ice it.

Yes, the Wizards were playing without starting shooting guard Bradley Beal, who missed his third straight game with a tight right hamstring, and without top free-agent acquisition Ian Mahinmi, who has yet to suit up after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee last month. Everybody else was available, though, from All-Star point guard John Wall on down, and the Wiz still got handled by what has comfortably been the worst team in the NBA through the season’s first three weeks.

The Wizards shot 41.8 percent against the NBA’s second-worst defense, and allowed its worst offense to shoot 54.5 percent from the floor. Wall scored 27 points with six assists and four rebounds despite logging just 24 minutes as he continues to play under restrictions after undergoing a pair of knee surgeries this summer. Markieff Morris added 19, and Marcin Gortat had a double-double. But the reserve corps the Polish center recently called “one of the worst benches in the league right now” turned in another chilling performance, as Washington just didn’t have enough — enough skill, enough desire, enough urgency, whatever — to take down Brett Brown’s team.

“It’s still early,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said after the game, according to Candace Buckner of the Washington Post. “I’m not down but I want some urgency and I’m going to have to find guys that are going to do that each time when we put them in the game. Whoever starts the game. It has to mean something. We’re playing for our organization every night and then secondary, you’re playing for your teammates and then you’re playing for your family’s name. It’s about competing for each other and we have to do that for 48 minutes both sides of the ball.”

The Wizards haven’t done that much this season, and couldn’t do it on Wednesday, falling to 2-8 to continue a tremendously disappointing start to a season that began with expectations of a return to postseason play. It’s a sorry state of affairs in the nation’s capital these days — enough to make a young supporter question what kind of life of fandom he’s gotten himself signed up for.

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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!

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