The first game of the preseason is in the books for the Washington Wizards, who fell 111-106 to the Brooklyn Nets in overtime on Tuesday night. Expectations are higher than they’ve been for quite a while for the Wizards, so let’s see how they fared and what we learned from their first game.
John Wall is still very fast
John Wall and Bradley Beal will provide a lot of excitement for the D.C. area this season. Photo Credit: Keith Allison, Flickr.com
Wall is arguably the fastest player coast-to-coast in the league with the ball and he looked as fast as he has in his career in the Wizards first preseason game. He led multiple fast breaks where he was a blur with the rock. He finished a left-handed layup as he was getting fouled in the first quarter that was impressive. He even pulled up and hit a jumper at the elbow in transition, which is something you rarely saw out him in previous years. His ability to run the fast break at a blazing speed will allow the Wizards and himself to get easy baskets. However, he still needs to make better decisions and not play too fast in the open court. But his speed is there; there is no doubt about that.
John Wall has confidence in his jump shot
Wall has been one of the worst jump shooting guards in the league since he was a rookie (42.3% career FG and 24.3% career from three), but his shot looked much improved and it appeared he was shooting the ball with confidence, which can often be the biggest step in improving a player’s jump shot. He was hitting off the dribble and in transition with hands in his face. This is a good sign for the Wizards. However, he ended 5-14 from the field and was antsy on offense on some of those misses. It was the first preseason game of the year and he was most likely overanxious on the offensive end. That is typical for players, especially one who is out to prove himself this season. If Wall can get his jump shot going combined with his speed, he will be tough for opposing defenses to guard.
Jan Vesely cannot be the Wizards starting power forward
He is weak and can’t hold his own in the post. He poses as no offensive threat at all which allows defenses to pay very little attention to him. He ended up with 12 rebounds, but his inability to score or hit free throws makes him a huge liability to play big minutes. If he is starting against Kevin Garnett on November 8th when these teams match up in the regular season it is going to be a long, long night.
Wizards lack rim protection and low post defense
12-19 for 29 points. Those were the combined stats of big men Brook Lopez and Andray Blatche who only played a combined 32 minutes. That says it all. Those two bigs got whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. When an aging Nene and Jan Vesely are anchoring your frontcourt it is never a good sign and that was confirmed against the Nets. Lopez was 6-7 for 15 points in 12 minutes and was never even uncomfortable in trying to score. He hit multiple jump hooks over Nene with ease. Nene was often lost down low, which turned into wide open layups for the Nets. Hopefully, Okafor can return in the near future because poor low post defense could hinder the Wizards’ season.
Andre Kirilenko was a huge pickup for the Nets
I know it is not Wizards related, but this really stood out to me. In my opinion, he was the best player on the court of the people who played significant minutes. He scored on nifty drives, made nice cuts, facilitated the offense, and was everywhere on the defensive end. AK47 will be a huge asset for the Nets moving forward.
Josh Childress is going to have a hard time making the roster
The former 6th overall pick in the 2004 draft did not see action in the first preseason game of the year. That is never a good sign.
Glen Rice Jr. could be a nice spark off the bench
Will Glen Rice Jr. ever reach the levels that his father did? (NBA.com photo)
The rookie guard who dominated the D-League last season looked comfortable in his first preseason game of the year and made the biggest play for the Wizards against the Nets. With .5 seconds left, he threw down a put back dunk to send the game into overtime. But besides that, he scored 12 points in 16 minutes. He also added three rebounds and played solid energetic defense. While Rice still has maturity issues and forces shots on offense giving him a role where he can provide energy, good rebounding for a guard, and the ability to knock down open shots would be a good start to his NBA career and could be a big key for the Wizards this season.