Washington Wizards: Current road trip could be the season’s turnaround point
The Washington Wizards kicked off a four-game road trip with a 110-107 win on Monday night. It looks like the beginning of another turnaround, or so it seems.
The Washington Wizards got their four-game road trip off to a roaring start on Monday night against the New York Knicks with a 110-107 victory.
The Wizards used a big third quarter to create some distance between them and their opponent, outscoring the Knicks 34-19 in the frame. They got a season-high 15 assists from point guard John Wall in the end and it was enough to get a victory.
Shooting guard Bradley Beal filled up the stat sheet with 27 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and two steals to go along with Wall’s performance. After all the distractions and reports, it looks like the Wizards are putting it back together once again. The team has won four of its last six games and it looks like they’re playing to the same tune in the last two contests.
They have three more Eastern Conference foes coming up on the schedule across the next five days before returning home on Dec. 12 to face the Boston Celtics. Washington hasn’t been the greatest team on the road in 2018-19. So far, they are 3-9 away from home this year.
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In their first five-game road trip of the season back on Oct. 22, the team went 1-4, falling to the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings and Memphis Grizzlies.
Opponents are shooting 39.2 percent from behind the arc and 47.6 percent from the field on the road against the Wizards this year. At home, their opponents are shooting 34.3 from 3-point range and 45.6 percent from the field.
Another big struggle for the Wizards has been team rebounding with a rather depleted frontcourt. Big man Dwight Howard, Washington’s biggest offseason acquisition, is out for an extended amount of time after having surgery to deal with a gluteal nerve issue.
On the road, they’re surrendering 51.8 rebounds per contest. At home, they’re only allowing 45.7 rebounds per game. The good thing about their upcoming road trip is all the teams the face are in the East. They’ve also beaten two of their three upcoming opponents already.
Previewing their remaining road opponents
On Wednesday, the Wizards will be up against rookie Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks for the first time this year. The Hawks haven’t been very good this season, with a record of 5-19. Winning this game should be a given for Washington here, but the Wizards will need to continue to be consistent on both ends.
Washington has already beaten the Cleveland Cavaliers and rookie Collin Sexton once this season back at home on Nov. 14. Sexton had 24 points in the 119-95 loss. The Wiz will face Cleveland again on Saturday, Dec. 8. With roles reversed, results could be different this time around. John Wall and Bradley Beal will need to provide masterful performances in this one, as Sexton will be looking to get the better of them in this one.
The Indiana Pacers are another team the Wizards have yet to face this season. That’s who the Wizards will face next Monday, Dec. 10, to close out their road trip. The Pacers are 13-10 this season with shooting guard Victor Oladipo averaging 21.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.6 steals per game in the lineup this year, but he has been out since Nov. 19 with a knee injury.
The Pacers have lost two games in a row coming off a road trip of their own. With four of the next five games coming at home, a shift in their record could be on the way, or Washington could keep their losing streak going.
The Wizards have been a team plagued by the same old issues game after game — slow starts, bad rebounding and reverting to bad habits. With a depleted roster, their All-Star point guard has talked of coming together. Now he needs to continue leading the way.
Is the turnaround sustainable?
With a 10-14 record on the season, things are beginning to turn around for the Washington Wizards, but for how long? Head coach Scott Brooks adjusted the starting lineup for the second time last Saturday against the Brooklyn Nets, inserting Tomas Satoransky into the starting lineup and moving Kelly Oubre Jr. back to the bench.
Satoransky posted seven points and three assists in 26 minutes of action in his first start of the season. He also started on Monday night against the Knicks, putting up three points and three assists, but a lot of what he does doesn’t show up on the stat sheet.
In his last two starts, he’s posted an offensive rating of 109.5 and defensive rating of 90.1 while in the rotation. In all his other appearances, Satoransky’s offensive rating is 103.3 and defensive rating is 107.1 on average. It looks like Scott Brooks may have found a formula for success.
Oubre has struggled in the starting lineup this season and his upside has been utilized best off the bench. Veteran forward Markieff Morris is one player Brooks has gotten more out of off the bench in 2018-19.
Morris has produced 15.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game off the bench while shooting 48.5 percent from the field and 37.2 percent from 3-point land. As a starter, Morris was averaging 9.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game and shooting 43 percent from the floor and 34 percent from behind the arc.
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Brooks hopes some of Morris’ energy can extend itself to Oubre off the bench. On Monday night, it did just that, as Oubre put up 21 points and five rebounds on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 shooting from behind the arc. He looks comfortable back in his reserve position and on the road, he’ll really have a chance to find his groove again.
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The Wizards are on another winning streak, this time of the two-game variety. They have a very favorable road ahead of them to reel off a nice set of wins before their first meeting of the season with the Celtics on Dec. 12. This road trip will be something to keep an eye on as it looks like Washington is playing to a different beat.