Washington Wizards briefly break winless spell

Conjuring defeat

You can’t lose them all.

It was starting to look otherwise for the Washington Wizards, who suffered a franchise-record eight consecutive defeats to start the season.

The Wizards were a mess from their opener, after which forward Andray Blatche griped about not getting the ball closer to the basket. Six games in, the team held a players-only meeting, only to keep losing.

Things bottomed out with a 21-point defeat against Minnesota, another last-place team. The Wizards were derided as young (average age: 25), talentless (only two draft lottery picks on their roster) and immature (Blatche told fans to shut up on Twitter).

One Eastern Conference executive told The Washington Post that “no team in the league, if the environment was good, would be 0-for-the-season. Whatever the optimum each guy has, it’ll never be realized when it’s dysfunctional. The talent on that roster can’t win.”

Alas, Washington finally did, beating Toronto, 93-78, on Tuesday. Wizards forward Nick Young said he felt like jumping into the stands.

The next day, Washington was back to losing, and Wizards fans might have felt like making a different kind of leap.

Diplomacy matters

Scores of NBA players went overseas to play because of the lockout.

A few probably wish they never left.

Former Portland guard Patrick Mills was released by the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Assn. earlier this month when the team alleged he was faking a hamstring injury. Mills must obtain clearance from the Chinese league to return to the NBA.

The Zhejiang Golden Bulls presumably wouldn’t have any qualms about parting ways with ex-Nugget J.R. Smith, whom the Chinese team claimed fabricated a knee injury to try to get out of his contract.

That was just the start of the trouble. Smith’s sister reportedly threw a bottle onto the court during a game this week after Smith was fouled. She allegedly then choked a woman and shoved an 80-year-old, prompting Smith to go into the stands to restrain his sister.

Afterward, angry fans of the opposing team demanded an apology and wouldn’t let the Golden Bulls’ bus leave for 45 minutes.

It could be time for Smith to go.

The first fan

Barack Obama cannot get through a meet-and-greet with the defending NBA champions without dropping a Chicago Bulls reference.

Two years ago, when the Lakers visited the White House, the President mimicked Michael Jordan’s famous layup in which the Chicago guard switched hands with the ball midair in the 1991 NBA Finals, won by the Bulls over the Lakers.

Last year, the former senator from Illinois reminded Coach Phil Jackson that his five championship rings with the Lakers were one fewer than he had won with the Bulls.

On Monday, the tradition continued. Obama praised the Dallas Mavericks before saying, “It’s too bad that next year, it will be the Chicago Bulls here.”

If the Bulls fall short, might they receive a presidential pardon?