Washington Wizards’ Bojan Bogdanovic Hits Slump After Fresh Start

Washington Wizards forward Bojan Bogdanovic couldn’t miss early into his fresh start with the team, but now he’s lost his rhythm.

Growing up, Bojan Bogdanovic idolized the late Drazen Petrovic – a fellow Yugoslavian known for his sneaky scoring.

Watching him play now, it’s easy to see the similarities between the two.

During his time with the Brooklyn Nets, Bogdanovic became known as an under the radar threat – someone who could swing the outcome of a game, but was rarely the focal point of a scouting report.

His scoring, though, became more and more irrelevant as the Nets found themselves sinking to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. Bogdanovic’s 44 point game last March received virtually no coverage, despite it being a total that most never reach in their careers.

Before last month’s NBA trade deadline, the Washington Wizards acquired Bogdanovic for Andrew Nicholson and a first round pick, giving him the chance to thrive on a national stage.

Bogdanovic became a go-to option for Scott Brooks off the bench, as the team’s second unit was 29th in scoring all season long. Within the first few weeks of his time in the nation’s capital, Bogdanovic had already scored 25-plus points on multiple occasions, showcasing his versatile skill set.

His shooting, in particular, made him deadly alongside John Wall or Brandon Jennings, who’s averaged double digit assists per-36 minutes since arriving to Washington.

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Whenever one of his teammates drove to the basket, Bogdanovic made himself available for a pass on the kick-out.

Once the ball hit his palms, it almost immediately went up – and in.

Bogdanovic single handedly bailed the Washington Wizards out of a loss to the Orlando Magic at home, scoring 27 points off the bench. He made 8 of his 10 tries from three, leading the Wizards to a one-point win.

Two days later against the Phoenix Suns, Bogdanovic scored 29 points in 29 minutes of action.

At that point, some began wondering if the Wizards’ best shooter wasn’t Bradley Beal or Otto Porter, after all.

But like anything that’s seemingly too good to be true, Bogdanovic began regressing.

In the past five games, Bogdanovic has only scored in double digits once – 17 against his former team, the Nets.

He sat out against the Cleveland Cavaliers due to back pain and returned against the Los Angeles Lakers with just 6 points. In Washington’s most recent loss to the Clippers, Bogdanovic scored 3 points.

Over the past six games, Bogdanovic has made just 2 of his 18 threes. But for him to break the slump and return to form, there’s only one solution: keep shooting.

It’s difficult to pinpoint the reason why Bogdanovic’s production has dropped off so significantly. Some of it might be due to his back pain, but after essentially being automatic for weeks, a natural dip is also expected.

There’s only a few weeks remaining until the beginning of the postseason. For the Washington Wizards to make a serious run, they need their top players to perform and that includes Bogdanovic.

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Most players would be advised to find their rhythm naturally – maybe get to the free throw line more and practice the shooting stroke. But there’s always an exception. That’s why Bogdanovic should keep firing away.