New Jersey to allow limited fans
Fans will be allowed to attend sports and entertainment events at New Jersey’s largest facilities in limited numbers starting next week, Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday. New Jersey venues with an indoor seating capacity of 5,000 or more will be allowed to have 10% of those seats occupied by fans starting March 1, the Democratic governor said on the WFAN sports radio station. For outdoor venues over 5,000 seats, the number will be 15% of capacity. Murphy said he decided to allow the limited in-person attendance after reviewing a vast array of coronavirus-related statistics including hospitalizations, the number of hospital admissions versus discharges, overall positivity rate for COVID-19 and the rate of transmission. He said face coverings and social distancing will be required at these venues. The order applies to the state’s major arenas, including the Prudential Center in Newark, where the NHL’s Devils play, and outdoor stadiums including MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, home to the NFL’s Giants and Jets. The governor said about 1,700 to 1,800 fans should be allowed to attend Devils games under the new rules.
WASHINGTON — Rui Hachimura had a statement to make. At one recent practice, according to Bradley Beal, the 23-year-old forward told his Washington Wizards teammates that he was up to the task of guarding any position on the court, point guard through center.
They were heady words for a second-year pro who is still maturing on the defensive end and still familiarizing himself with the different players in the NBA. But Hachimura’s teammates, many of whom spent the first few weeks of February crying out for more accountability and effort on defense, took him at his word.
“We’re holding him to that standard,” Beal said on a video conference Saturday, “and he’s holding himself to that, and he’s doing it.”
Hachimura received a healthy amount of praise from Beal and Wizards Coach Scott Brooks alike for his defensive performance in Washington’s 118-111 win over the Portland Trail Blazers late Saturday night. But he wasn’t the only one.
With the victory over the Blazers, Washington (10-17) earned its first four-game winning streak since 2018, and the reason is obvious: The Wizards are flying because their defense, long their Achilles’ heel, has been improving.
“We’re being better at [defense] because everybody’s accepting the individual challenge,” Beal said. “We’re helping each other, and it’s all starting to click. We’re not getting tired of doing the right things on the floor. I think that’s just been a testament to our maturity in our last few games.”
On Saturday night, the Wizards held Portland to 35.9 percent shooting, including 34.5 percent from three-point range, and displayed some of their longest stretches of solid defense all season. After catching Washington flat-footed and opening the game with a 43-point first quarter, the Blazers didn’t have a single field goal in the final five minutes before halftime.
Just like in the Wizards’ win against Denver on Wednesday, the game hinged on Washington making a defensive stand in the second quarter. The Wizards allowed Portland just 12 points in the period, the fewest they have given up in a quarter since March 2019, according to the team.
For the second game in a row, Brooks deployed all three of his centers in the first 12 minutes. And for the second game in a row,
Robin Lopez had the most impact at the rim, with Hachimura in a supporting role.
“I thought Rui and RoLo changed the game,” Brooks said.
The result was the fourth straight game in which the Wizards dropped low into their defensive stances and made life difficult for their opponent — including at the threepoint line, where the Wizards have reversed their previously horrendous long-range defense. In the past four games, the team allowed opponents to hit threes with just 32.1 percent accuracy, compared with 41 percent in the first seven games of February.
To be sure, Washington started the month in a place where improvement was practically the only option, with the second-toworst defensive rating in the league.
But the Wizards’ progress shouldn’t be discounted, especially against teams with offensive might such as Denver and Portland. The Wizards now sit 25th in defensive rating. In February games alone, they are 12th in the league.
“It’s letting the other team know that we’re here, that we’re going to be physical, we’re going to stand our ground and make it tough for them,” Russell Westbrook said Saturday about the differences between now and earlier in the season. “I know we did a hell of a job of that tonight. I mean, they ended up shooting 35 percent from the field. We can’t ask for better defense than that. I thought we did a hell of a job.”
Defense also generated strong offense in the first bout of a four-game road trip out west. Beal led all scorers with 37 points and added seven rebounds and three assists.
Westbrook had one of his most efficient performances of the season with 27 points on 11-for-17 shooting and had 11 rebounds and 13 assists for his eighth triple-double of the year. The point guard is now in sole possession of second place on the Wizards’ all-time triple-double list, surpassing John Wall and Wes Unseld, who each had seven. Darrell Walker, who played in Washington from 1987 to 1991, had 15.
Hachimura added 17 points and seven rebounds, and the Wizards shot 50.6 percent from the field.
For Portland, Damian Lillard led five scorers in double figures with 35 points and still couldn’t best these more locked-in Wizards, who shrouded him every time he saw the ball.
Next up, Washington takes its on-themend defense to run a gantlet through Los Angeles, facing the 2020 NBA champion Lakers on Monday before playing the Clippers on Tuesday.