Wall: Wizards are 'playing for stats' against losing teams

The Washington Wizards have their priorities out of whack when taking on teams with a losing record.

Wednesday's 113-99 loss to the league-worst Atlanta Hawks put a lot of things into perspective for All-Star guard John Wall. Six of the Wizards' last seven losses have come against teams currently below the .500 mark, which has opened Wall's eyes to a common theme.

"We talk about it. We say when we play these teams that are not above .500 or not one of the great teams, we go out there playing for stats," Wall said to The Washington Post's Candace Buckner. "It's simple as that. We can see it. I think we all can see it when we play."

Wall finished with a double-double of 10 points and 11 assists against Atlanta, but took just nine shots in 34 minutes of action, which is one shot above his season low. Washington was also hurt on the glass in a big way, getting outrebounded by the third-worst overall team in that department, 53-40.

A 2017-18 campaign featuring credible wins over the likes of Eastern Conference rivals the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics are being overshadowed by continuous losses to teams outside of the playoff picture. Other than the 9-25 Hawks, the Brooklyn Nets (12-22), Los Angeles Lakers (11-22), Charlotte Hornets (12-22), Utah Jazz (15-21), Dallas Mavericks (11-25), and Phoenix Suns (13-23) have all knocked off Washington at some point.

"it was about me, me, me, me because we’re playing an under .500 team, so we think it’s going to be easy and that’s something that’s been killing us. We fall into that trap every single time," added Bradley Beal, according to Slam Online.

Washington's assist numbers are only slightly worse in losses (21.7) than in wins (23.3), with Wall's 8.9 dimes per game ranking fourth behind Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, and James Harden. Keep in mind, though, that the 27-year-old has missed 11 games due to injury for the 19-16 Wizards, which has played a part in some of their poor results.