(Photo: Washington Wizards)
While a few Metro stops away the Washington Nationals were losing in Game 1 of the NLDS, the Washington Wizards had much less important business to take care of with the New York Knicks in their second preseason game. The Wizards came away with a 104-100 victory over the Knickerbockers, but their game was far from perfect.
Starters Look Good On Offense
First the good. The four guaranteed starters against Philadelphia on October 18, John Wall, Bradley Beal, Otto Porter Jr, and Marcin Gortat, were efficient and looked to not skip a beat in their first game together. The foursome combined for 20 of 36 shooting (55.6 percent) in a combined 92 minutes of play. Wall and Beal led the way with a combined 32 points and seven assists.
“He looked good. He looked good,” head coach Scott Brooks said about his point guard’s debut. “Obviously, his speed, his ability to create points, easy transition buckets -- he does it at a high level, like he's never missed a beat. He's out there, playing hard.”
“Well the big thing was that there was a stretch there where John just ran it down our throats,” Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek assessed. “Our bigs weren’t getting back and making it look crowded back there and if John is coming at you, at full speed, and you’re a guard back there you have no chance. He’s big, he’s strong, that’s what he specializes in and our guys weren’t doing a good job.”
But About That Defense …
A Knicks team without Carmelo Anthony (traded to the Thunder) and Kristaps Porzingis (rest) should not be able to score 62 points in the first half of any game. Washington’s defense was lacking in the first half as they allowed New York to shoot 52.4 percent from the field including 7 of 12 (58.3 percent) from beyond the arc.
“We gave up offensive rebounds which they do a great job at that, and then we missed shots and they were getting out in transition,” Wall said. “We were over helping too much. They were able to knock down shots. They have a lot of shooters out there so they space the floor.”
“Sixty is way too much,” Beal explained. “That's 30 a quarter. That's unacceptable, from everybody that was out there on the floor. It was important for us to get back on track and to get stops as best we could.”
Washington’s defense from Friday night can certainly be fixed, but it seems they are currently running into some of the same problems that caused them to struggled at times last season.
“Just a focus on defense,” Beal answered when asked how they can improve. “It's never offensively. That's never the problem for us. We always score 100 points, which is terrific, but it's just a matter of our defense. Maybe we need to talk a little bit more. Just take pride in it. That's all it comes down to. It's not hard. It's just a matter of wanting to guard your guy, wanting to help your teammate, and doing it collectively.”
Mike Scott Improving His Stock
For the second straight game, Jason Smith started at power forward, but he struggled with his shot in his 15 minutes of play as he missed all five of his shots including four from deep. Scott, on the other hand, seemed to take the next step in his integration in Brooks’ system. The former UVA star was 5 of 9 from the field for 12 points including two triples to go along with four rebounds and three assists. “Taking what the defense gave me,” Scott explained.
Here is what the House of Guards had to say about their free agent signing.
“Another person that can spread the floor, shoot the ball,” Wall said. “Good thing is if they switch and put smalls against him, he can score on the post. He showed that and his toughness. He backs down from nobody and that is something we need on our team.”
“He can give you the inside game or outside game,” Beal said. “I always call him Mr. Efficient because he's a bucket. I played him in college before too so he's just automatic. I love his drive and focus in the game. He's all about his teammates and being locked into the game. He can score. He can score in a variety of ways. He can shoot threes, give it to you in the post, put it on the floor, he's a great pick and roll player too. he's everything that we need him to be. He's proven it.”
Beal added that Brooks has a tough decision ahead of himself deciding between Smith, Scott, or Kelly Oubre Jr. with Otto Porter Jr. sliding to the four. This is what the head coach had to say less than two weeks away from the season opener.
“Jason, he's scrappy -- he creates energy with his effort,” Brooks began. “Kelly does the same thing. Mike Scott has just shown that he's really like steady head out there and he knows how to play, makes the extra pass, makes open shots when they were there for him. I thought it was good.”
Washington will host LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in their third preseason game on Sunday afternoon at Capital One Arena.