Washington Wizards: 3 takeaways from 2019 NBA Summer League
By Ben Yokoyama
The Washington Wizards NBA Summer League team finished a solid showing at 2-3. Here are three takeaways from their performance in Vegas.
As the 2019 Summer League wrapped up for this Washington Wizards team, it is now time for interim general manager Tommy Sheppard and his staff to make their final evaluations on their players.
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Most of the players will not be seeing the NBA with the Wizards, but those who may see playing time impressed for the most part.
Here’s what happened in the five games for the Wizards:
- Wizards 84, New Orleans Pelicans 79
- Brooklyn Nets 88, Wizards 85
- LA Clippers 90, Wizards 72
- Wizards 76, Atlanta Hawks 71
- New York Knicks 103, Wizards 87
Game one against the Zion Williamson-less New Orleans Pelicans was a good start for the team. Troy Brown Jr. impressed with an 18-point, 15-rebound double-double and Justin Robinson also put in 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
In game two the Wizards were sloppy and could not quite put everything together as both teams struggled to make their 3-pointers. Troy Caupain had 15 points, seven rebounds and had a plus/minus of 17, while Rui Hachimura paced the team with 19 points.
Against the Los Angeles Clippers the team looked terrible. Hachimura sat out while Brown played just seven minutes. Robinson and Moritz Wagner combined for nine turnovers and nobody could guard the young Clippers, who also shot 56.0 percent from deep.
Despite shooting 37.9 percent against the Atlanta Hawks, the Wizards pulled out a victory thanks to a game-high 25 points and nine rebounds from Hachimura. Lipscomb product Garrison Mathews proved himself as a deep threat while Brown sat out.
https://twitter.com/WashWizards/status/1149664957694222336
In the consolation game the Wizards hung around with a Knicks team whose starters played most of their minutes. Wagner scored 20 points with eight rebounds while Caupain had 15 points with six assists, but it was not enough as the team faded in the fourth quarter.
The Summer League did not show much about the Wizards. Summer ball always has its ugly moments and there was no shortage of those this week in Vegas. However, there were also some good things that the Washington front office can take away from these games.
Here are the three biggest takeaways, both good and bad, from the past week for the Wizards.