(Photo: Fernando Medina via Getty Images)
Wizards 115
Magic 98
February 3, 2018 | Amway Center | Orlando, FL
The Washington Wizards simply continue to roll despite the loss of John Wall’s (but do not mistake that was them being better without the five-time All-Star point guard). Without Aaron Gordon (strained left hip flexor), the Orlando Magic were no match for the Wizards who were without Mike Scott (flu). Washington applied the same tools of their recent success to pick up their 17th win against teams currently sub-.500.
Assist Rate Remains Unreal
Washington had 35 assists on 46 made field goals on Saturday night, which takes them up to 132 assists on 172 made field goals over the last four games without Wall. The 76.3 percent assist rate is the best in the NBA over this stretch, which is impressive given they are without the second leading assister. Four players had five-or-more assists against Orland. The Wizards have shot 50.2 percent (173-of-344) over the last four games including 54.1 percent (46-of-85) on Saturday, which goes to show that when he pass the ball to the open man, you get a higher percentage shot.
“Everybody eats,” Bradley Beal said for the second game in a row. “It has been working for us. We figured it out I think. We haven’t been playing our style of basketball earlier in the year. Now over the course of the last four games we have been playing really well moving the ball. It starts with our defense. Our defense is what credits us with being able to get out in transition and get easy shots. Offensively, we don’t care who scores the most points, who takes the most shots, or who has the most assists, who has the most rebounds. We don’t care about that. We just come out and have fun. We have been having fun the last couple games and it has been showing. We have been staying consistent with it.”
No Teammate Is Taking Shots at John Wall
Much has been made over the past week about the Wizards looking much better without Wall. Some though Beal’s “everybody eats” comment after the Raptors game was a dig at Wall. It was not so stop reading too much into things because people are being irrational on Twitter. While on the topic, I would wager that the same goes for Marcin Gortat.
“I didn’t understand that,” Beal said about outsiders thinking he was taking a shot at his backcourt mate. “I nipped it in the bud early. For us to say that we’re a better team without John it’s, like, that’s comical in a sense. Come on, let’s be real.”
“The guy’s the head of our franchise, a five-time All-Star,” Beal continued. “Let’s be realistic. I think what benefits us is we figured out how to play without John. Reality is reality. He’s injured. We don’t want him injured but he is … we have to figure out a way to play without him. We’re not sitting here saying we’re a better team without him, by no means. On top of that, I was quoting a movie. I don’t know if anybody saw ‘Paid In Full’ but I was quoting a movie. Everybody eats. Everybody has success. Everybody gets a touch. Everybody shoots the ball. Everybody plays defense. Everybody rebounds.”
Bradley Beal Fills the Stat Sheet
Were it not for the blowout nature of the game, Bradley Beal had a real shot at recording his first career triple double. Despite not playing in the fourth quarter, Beal finished with 18 points, eight assists, eight rebounds, and two steals in 31 minutes of play. The All-Star shooting guard was one assist short of tying his career-high of nine. He is starting to play his game, not trying to be John Wall in his absence, and that is leading to such a potent offense. Beal tallied his fifth-consecutive game with at least five assists, the longest streak of his career, surpassing his four-game streak from Nov. 28-Dec. 4, 2015. Washington is now 14-5 this season when Beal has 5+ assists in a game.
Tomas Satoransky’s Career Night
After starting just three games in his NBA career prior to the past week, Satoransky has entered the starting lineup and the team is not missing a noticeable beat. He plays good defense, makes high IQ decisions, and is even doing a nice job of knocking down his own shot. In 25 minutes, Satoransky had a career-high 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting including 3-of-3 from deep, which ties his career-high in both three-point makes and attempts that he set earlier this season. Maintaining his usual point guard self, he had six assists against just one turnover.
“I think lately I have been playing really confidently and today it was one of those games that everything was going well for you from the beginning,” Satoransky said. “I felt very comfortable after that first plays of the game. Defensively, I think it is always my responsibility to bring something to this team and play good in my matchups. Team defense is the key for us.”
Starters Were Elite
Despite averaging under 29 minutes on the court, Washington’s first unit put up numbers. Combined, they went for 83 points on 34-of-56 (60.7%) shooting, 29 rebounds, 23 assists, 8 steals. Probably most impressive, even though it is not the best stat metric, was their combined +122. All five of the Wizards' starters scored in double-figures for the tenth time this season, pushing the Wizards record in those games to 9-1. Otto Porter had a game-high 20 points to go along with five assists, Markieff Morris had 16 points, and Marcin Gortat had 10 points as wel as 11 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season.Again, do not take this to mean they are better off without John Wall, but for the time being, it will only help their playoff seeding as they trail the No. 3 seed Cleveland Cavaliers, who have lost 12 of their last 18, by just a half a game.
Next Game: Washington will begin a back-to-back set starting on Monday in Indiana against Victor Oladipo’s Pacers. The Wizards are looking for their first five-game winning streak of the season.