The Wizards' Crystal Ball

By Wes Bowers

When dissecting pre-season games I tend to stay away from any overreactions or bold claims but there are always a few things I look for. Especially when there are a few new faces and some players who were already on the roster but had not played with others due to injury (Beal not playing with Porzingis last season is an example).

Before I take a bit of a deep dive there are a few things to consider: players are possibly jet lagged due to their 14-hour flight to Japan, they are not treating it as a regular season game and the rotation will be different as well (you will be seeing those all bench lineups much less often).

Here are my main takeaways:

A Starting Hachimura Looks Ready

With Deni Avdija and Will Barton missing game one and with Bradley Beal and Avdija missing game two it was a no brainer for coach Wes Unseld Jr. to start the 4th year forward in Hachimura at the 4 while moving starting power forward Kyle Kuzma to the 3.

What stood out the most was the defensive activity Rui displayed in the first game, accumulating multiple deflections early in the game. A steal against the offensive supernova Stephen Curry after deflecting it across the court and a dive to maintain possession caught my eye. He was showing a level of effort and awareness on that end that we have rarely (if ever) seen from him before, all in a pre-season game.

You are free to speculate if his improvement on the defensive end was due to him being ready to shine in front of his home country. It could also be him trying to earn a starting spot in the regular season by proving that he will deliver on that end. Lastly, he is entering a contract year which could be motivating him.

Offensively, what impressed me the most from Hachimura was that all of his scoring was self created. Whether it was him backing down his defender in the low post, finishing through contact in transition or getting to his spots in the mid-range he looked more assertive and demonstrated he can be a potent scoring option for this team.

The (Apparently Open) Starting Small Forward Spot and what it could Entail

Not to get ahead of ourselves too much, let’s remember it is far from a guarantee that Unseld will have Hachimura in the starting lineup in the season opener. Recently acquired veteran wing Will Barton was the projected 5th starter before the Japan games. Unseld, who was his assistant coach in Denver, is now his head coach and will most likely favor his former player, the experienced veteran in Barton. Combined with the fact that Unseld didn’t start Hachimura until Kyle Kuzma went down with knee tendinitis to end last season. It makes sense why most people see Barton being the starter.

Speaking of competition for the last starting spot, I personally wanted fellow youngster Deni Avdija to start, mainly to provide POA (point-of-attack) defense. This would help the Monte Morris/Bradley Beal backcourt defensively so they don’t have to worry about guarding the opposing team’s best perimeter creator. Granted, Avdija doesn’t bring the firepower of Barton and Hachimura offensively barring a huge breakout from the 21-year-old forward.

With all that being said, a starting lineup with Morris, Beal, Kuzma, Hachimura and Porzingis could pack quite a punch offensively with the spacing and scoring versatility it provides. Barton and Avdija as possible creators off the bench (along with Delon Wright’s table setting) to make sure the offense doesn’t fall flat in lineups with only one or two starters. It’s intriguing.

A Morris-Wright Point Guard Rotation Projects Consistency

Now I know you are probably thinking what most Wizards fans thought after they traded for Morris from Denver and after they used a majority of their non-taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Wright in free agency: “That’s it? Where’s the talent? Is Monte even a starting level guy?”. The talent part I can understand, with the point guard position being as stacked as it’s ever been. Morris seems to be a bottom five starting point guard and Wright seems to be one of the worst offensive players in the league on the outside looking in because of his four points per game scoring average last season.

But to that I say (yes I am about to heavily defend Monte Morris and Delon Wright) they are exactly the type of players Washington has missed over the years. Perimeter players that can shoot, play off the ball, defend at an at least average level, run an offense and stay healthy. Now they aren’t the same player. Morris is a better handler, shooter and scorer, while Delon has a huge defensive gap over Morris.

In the two games, Morris seemed more than comfortable taking control of the offense and getting guys to their spots. He struggled to defend Steph Curry due to his superb off-ball movement and a barrage of pin-down screens from Draymond Green and Kevon Looney. In the second game he intercepted a couple of flashy passes attempted by Curry.

Morris’ ability to control the game and get to his spots for a floater or a mid-range was apparent in both games. He knows what he is and is not capable of doing. I was quite surprised that off one of his steals from Curry, Morris took the ball from half court to the cup for an easy two in transition. Granted it was against a not much taller Moses Moody (who is so good; I wanted him in the 2021 draft) but it was nice to see after I had identified finishing as one of Morris’ weaknesses. He doesn’t have bad touch, it’s just hard for anyone of his stature to finish amongst the NBA’s trees.

Porzingis’ Role in the Offense

Seeing that the two best players for the Wizards, Beal and Porzingis, would play in Tokyo is the main reason I paid close attention to these exhibition games. Mainly because we have not seen them play together as teammates.

Unfortunately Beal did not play in the second game because of needing rest. It was nice to see an alley-oop connection from the two in the minutes they played together and a third quarter scoring run headlined by Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma resulting in a 16 point second half lead (that was later blown in the 4th quarter).

What I noticed at first is that Porzingis was mainly utilized as an off-ball screener to free up any of the four other starters in Morris, Beal, Kuzma and Hachimura. He is not known as an effective screener due to his lean frame but his technique is solid and much more disciplined than the younger backup center Daniel Gafford’s.

When screening the ball Porzingis opened up a few driving lanes for players like Morris, Beal and Kuzma but opted to fade out to the three-point line rather than roll to the basket more times than not. Which brings us to one of Porzingis’ main tendencies that Wizards fans got accustomed to last season. He prefers to be on the perimeter, if it’s the aforementioned pick and pops or the lack of low post opportunities (which could be due to either a lack of confidence or lower-body strength). He has done well when positioning himself on the low block for an entry pass but does not seem too keen on backing down his defender. Instead elects to do a short turnaround instead (which is still a useful move to have in his arsenal).

For the overall Beal-Porzingis pairing there was not enough action between the two to see how they will play off of each other in the regular season. However, these are two players that know how to pass the ball and be dynamic three-level scorers.