Why the Same Problems Are Still Haunting the Wizards

     The Washington Wizards have now lost seven in a row, including 11 of their last 13. Their star player has been unavailable recently, an ongoing theme of this season. Their best bench scorer, Rui Hachimura, has now missed nine straight games with a bone bruise in his foot, causing the bench to get outscored by fifteen to twenty points per night. Things are getting bad really quick. And now, as if things couldn’t appear worse, they head out west for a six-game road trip, hoping to improve on their poor 3-10 road record. 

     What’s so crazy is that as bad as we’ve been this year, only 3.5 games separate us from a top 6 seed. The East isn’t great this year, which could keep us jogging along this never-ending line of mediocrity once more. Our owner will be content with playing out the season if it means a shot at the play-in game, so get ready for that! 

     In all seriousness, the season is salvageable. If some close games go our way, we’re 14-14 and not in panic mode. However, tight finishes haven’t been in our favor, and for good reason. The Wiz constantly collapses in late-game situations, causing games to slip away. They nearly blew the season opener at Indiana, threw the game away against the Clippers and Heat, should’ve beat OKC, and failed to score on the final five possessions at Charlotte to lose that one. These tight losses are not just “unlucky.” They’re a combination of errors and decisions that have plagued Washington all season. If they wish for real change, these mistakes must be limited. 

     What issues have caused this losing streak? Below I will answer that question, highlighting three areas in need of vast improvement. 

 

1. Defense 

     During the six-game home stand in which they went 5-1, Washington allowed just over 100 points a night. Guys were in the right spots on rotations and communication was sound. Individuals stepped up to guard their 1v1 assignments. Wes’s defensive scheme was working. After that trip to Miami, however, the defense collapsed. Boston dropped 130, followed the next night by 127 from Minnesota. Even the Lakers, a poor shooting team, shot 45% from deep en route to 130 points and the win.  

     Now, I get that we’re injured. But it’s not like Beal, Rui, and Monte are incredible defenders. Teams have simply figured us out. Sometimes they hunt for a switch on Monte, and other times they want Kispert. We don’t do a good enough job of avoiding these situations. When teams like Brooklyn run a high pick & roll to get Monte onto KD, we need to do a better job of fighting through the screen to avoid the switch. If KD gets the edge and hits a tough jumper, so be it. He’s freaking Kevin Durant. He’s going to score. What I do take issue with is the zone defense we ran. WUJ allowed him to shoot over 6’1 Devon Dotson and Anthony Gill, essentially just hoping he missed. That defense isn’t going to fly in a league of the most talented shooters in the world. 

     What I liked is the two-center lineup comprised of KP and Gafford. Not only does it create matchup problems for the opposing defense, it also allows us to dominate the glass. Gaff grabs a ton more offensive rebounds, creating multiple possessions for a team that desperately needs them to score. Moreover, we have more of a focus on perimeter defense because of the newfound ability to funnel teams into the paint. There, they meet our two greatest rim protectors. It eliminates the open three and forces them to take tough two’s. I’d like to see much more of this lineup out west. 

 

2. Pace 

     While teams are flying down the court any chance they get, Washington is not. They rank bottom ten in pace of play, and dead last in fastbreak points at just 11 per game (Teamrankings.com). Instead of creating easy baskets with the defense scrambling, the Wizards prefer to let the defense set before running a play. They clear out for a KP post-up and let him work. Now, I’m all for getting as many looks for Porzingis as possible. However, this style of play has been outdated since Duncan retired in 2016. 

     The new era of the NBA has arrived. You push the ball, drive for the layup, and if it’s not there, kick out to an open shooter to knock down a three. That’s what teams have been doing to us all season, yet we haven’t caught on. Wes must realize his philosophy of slowing the game down isn’t going to work every time. Sure, it may be successful every few possessions, but when your offense is this stagnant, you should be looking for every easy bucket you can get. 

     In our current offense, we milk the Porzingis post up until they adjust. Once the double team comes, he’s forced to kick it to open shooters who can’t knock it down (hence why they’ve been left open). This won’t cut it.  

 

3. Turnovers 

     In a season where they rank amongst the best in turnovers per game at just 13.8, they’ve turned the ball over an average of 16.5 times over their last four. Now, Monte being out for two of those games is a big reason why. However, even with him in, he can’t break down the defense. The turnovers are a result of not having a true starter at PG. Monte is solid, but he’s a backup. No shame in admitting that. We’re asking him to do too much and it’s costing us.  

     His absence has caused Kuz to be a primary playmaker. Sure, he’s had some flashy assists and moments of terrific vision, but those are outshined by his 5 turnovers per game. Again, he’s an example of a player being forced into a role that’s too large. Kuz should focus on getting downhill and scoring points. However, with this roster’s poor construction and no true PG to set the table for him, he must be his own playmaker. And to this point, it’s not working. 

     With a brutal six-game trip starting tonight in Denver, Washington must get things right. I would expect another loss here with Brad, Monte, and Rui still ramping up. They should be back Saturday. If the Wizards want to get back to their winning ways, they must stop beating themselves before they focus on beating their opponent. 

 

Hope you enjoyed today’s blog! As always, feel free to leave a comment or send me a DM on Twitter @GregFinberg if you have any questions or simply just want to talk Wizards basketball!

 

All stats and info found on these sites:

https://www.teamrankings.com/nba/stat/turnovers-per-game

https://www.statmuse.com/questions

     At the quarter mark of the season, Washington finds itself at 11-13, good enough for (you guessed it) the ninth pick! It’s shaping up to be another season of mediocrity. And the worst part is that the same issues are continuing to plague the Wizards. This team still can’t match up in transition. The perimeter defense is consistently in the bottom 10. And now, our defensive rebounding has taken a hit.  

     You would think that with two All-NBA caliber players, a rising star (Kuz), and decent depth that this team would be better. But here we are, 24 games in and under .500. So, why are we so behind other teams? The answer: coaching. 

     Outlined below are multiple reasons as to why our head coach’s failure to adapt to the modern NBA is inhibiting our success. 

 

Three-point Shooting 

     If you’ve watched this league for the past five or so years, you would see just how much things have changed. For starters, three-point shooting has taken over, all thanks for Steph Curry. It’s become the primary shot for most teams, launching 34.1 threes per game this season (basketballreference.com).

     The Wizards rank 18th in attempts, which isn’t too bad. However, my concern isn’t that they don’t shoot enough. It’s about WHO we’re asking to shoot these threes, that’s a problem. 

     Take Deni for example. He can’t shoot, yet he’s taking 3 threes per game at a 26% clip. It’s the reason that teams have purposefully left him open from deep. The bottom line is that Deni is not a shooter. He’s at his best when attacking the basket and creating shots for others. Instead, our head coach is putting him in situations to fail. I mean the Lakers literally left him open from 3 and Wes didn’t pull him until he missed his first five.

     I’m not sure what the best solution is, but maybe a move to the bench is the correct decision. With Delon out, he can play alongside Goodwin and be the primary playmaker like he was in Israel when he won Finals MVP. At this point, anything is better for him than his current role. 

     Another player who I believe is being incorrectly used is Kuzma. He’s best when attacking the basket in transition and creating for others. When he plays to his 6’10 frame, he’s unstoppable. His vision has vastly improved since last season, leading to a career-high in assists per game. In this offense though, he’s subject to the corner and does a lot of ball watching. WUJ needs to realize he’s our best playmaker and put the ball in his hands every possession.

     It would allow Brad to play off-ball and focus on scoring. In the six games we’ve had of “Point-Kuz,” he’s averaged 22.2 pts, 9 rbs, and 3.2 assists (statmuse). Washington is 4-2 in those games, with close losses in Memphis and Miami. The success is there. It’s not the 2000’s NBA where all forwards just set screens and play off ball. Now they can handle the ball and make decisions on offense, something Wes must realize. 

 

Pace 

     You see a ton of it on the college level, but pace is making its way into the NBA. Teams, typically younger ones, are starting to push the ball every chance they get to continuously apply pressure to their opponent. The main advantage is that it doesn’t allow the opponent to set their defense, creating easy baskets.

     The flip side of this modern-age pace is a slow, methodical offense where you elect to run sets and plays instead of going with tempo. This works if you have a true PG that can get in the paint and break down a defense. We don’t have that, which is why these sets tend to fail. 

     Washington simply doesn’t push the ball enough. In terms of fastbreak points, the Wizards rank dead last at only 10.3 per game (Teamrankings.com). The Raptors lead the league at 18 per game, with eight of the top ten teams in fastbreak points having winning records. It further proves my point that a faster pace of play, which in turn leads to more fast break opportunities, would help this team. 

     As of now, we get a rebound, slow it down, call out a down screen for Brad or feed KP in the post, and allow the other team to get set. They usually double KP, force a pass by Brad to an open shooter, and that shooter misses a three. It’s a constant cycle. If we push off the miss, you get Kuz or Brad going downhill and drawing fouls. It’s quite a simple fix.  

     The days of the big man dominating the post are over. Sure, you have your Embiid’s and Jokic’s that are still getting it done. They’re the best in the game. However, those guys have adapted in the sense that they can both shoot the three, handle the ball up the court, and create shots for others.

     They should be examples to Wes that even with a dominant center in KP, you can still play with pace. Although Denver runs the offense through Jokic, they still rank 7th in fastbreak points (teamrankings.com). Just because KP initiates the offense doesn’t mean he must get a post touch every possession.  

     Wes coaches like it’s the 2000’s with guys like Duncan and Shaq dominating. He’s gotten a rude awakening to the Steph Curry “three-point” era and must adapt soon. If not, he may find himself on thin ice. 

 

     Thanks for reading my blog! As always, if you have any questions or just want to talk Wizards basketball, feel free to comment here or send me a message on Twitter @GregFinberg.  

All stats and info found on these sites:

https://www.teamrankings.com/nba/stat/fastbreak-points-per-game

https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask?q=kuzma+without+beal+2022-23

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/avdijde01.html