Luka Magic vs. (Bench) Wizardry
The Washington Wizards (5-6) start their six-game homestand against the Dallas Mavericks (6-4) on Thursday, and there’s no other way to phrase this: it’s going to be a competitive and probably difficult game. The Wizards went 2-0 against the Mavericks last season but have had their share of difficulties this season, and I expect the Mavericks to be one of their more challenging opponents.
Luka Doncic (77) attempting a shot for the Dallas Mavericks | Elías Valverde II, The Dallas Morning News
Luka Doncic (G) has scored 30-plus points in nine consecutive games, also known as every game the Mavericks have played since their season started on October 19. Is this current Wizards team enough to keep Doncic below 30 points? The best answer I can give is a maybe.
The Wizards have had some pretty solid defensive performances recently, but stopping Doncic sounds more difficult than stopping James Harden or Ja Morant. No disrespect to Harden or Morant. It’s just important to bring up the Wizards’ defensive efforts because defense will be one of three things the Wizards will need to win (or avoid a blowout loss).
Defense is an issue for most of the Wizards’ roster, with very few players stepping up/playing aggressively enough to make much of an impact. There’s plenty of room between getting into foul trouble and standing in wait for a player to guard, but most of the Wizards tend to err on the side of caution and wait until the last second to do much of anything defensively.
If there’s any hope of keeping the Mavericks, especially Doncic, from running away with an early lead, the Wizards will have to start playing harder defense. Of course, they’ll also have to stop turning the ball over, but I think it’s best to focus on one issue at a time.
Deni Avdija (F) is probably the most qualified of his teammates to guard Doncic, regardless of whether he starts or comes off the bench (either outcome is possible). He’s proven his defensive skill against top talent on every team the Wizards have faced so far and might be the most aggressive defender on the team right now, with Delon Wright (G) still recovering from a hamstring strain.
Avdija is likely to get into foul trouble if he guards Doncic because NBA referees seem to love hating him and side with whoever he’s guarding (he drew three fouls in 10 minutes while guarding Donovan Mitchell in Cleveland), but that might be a necessary risk if nobody else is going to defend with any urgency.
Washington’s offensive stats also leave a lot to be desired.
Three-point shooting is a big issue for most of the Wizards’ roster, if not the entire team. The Wizards shoot 30.6 percent from three and have a 47 percent field goal rate due to incomplete passing, bad layups, and inexplicably consistent air-balling. Most players can dunk, but a dunk feels less impressive when it comes after a few too many missed layups. At that point, a dunk is more confirmation that a player can shoot and less of a spectacle.
Rui Hachimura (F) is one of few players who can shoot with any form of consistency, and he’s become an offensive leader from the bench. Hachimura can dunk, quickly drive to the rim, shoot from three, and thrives from midrange. He can also power through defenders quickly and is one of the most valuable assets on the team.
Rui Hachimura (8) with possession of the ball for the Wizards | Retrieved from nba.com/wizards
It’s no secret that the Wizards’ roster is less-than-balanced right now, but it’s far enough into the season for the coaching staff to figure out how to make the most effective rotations with the available players.
There’s little to nothing that’s been as frustrating as watching a bad substitution cost the Wizards their lead, if not the game itself, and that’s already happened one time too many this season. While consistency is lacking on offense and defense, the Wizards have no shortage of talent.
Both Kyle Kuzma (F) and Hachimura could start at power forward, Will Barton (F) could start at small forward, and Anthony Gill (F) has already started at small forward in addition to Avdija. And when Bradley Beal (G) exits health and safety protocols/recovers from COVID, he’ll probably reclaim his starting spot from Corey Kispert (G) even though they’re both qualified to start.
Things get confusing when two small forwards or two power forwards are on the court simultaneously or when the entire starting lineup is subbed out for a bench unit that relies on Hachimura or Daniel Gafford (F/C). Hachimura, Avdija, Jordan Goodwin (G), and sometimes Gill have been effective at the close of a game, but it just doesn’t make sense to have two players in the same role on the court at the same time. That’s when the Wizards give up their leads the fastest.
To sum up: I’m not saying the Wizards can’t beat the Mavericks again because I believe they can. I’m just saying that to do that, the team (including coaches) needs to do three specific things: trust Avdija on defense, trust Hachimura on offense and clean up the lineups to best play to everyone’s strengths. Or, if you want to put it even more simply, they just need to play smarter, more consistent basketball.
