Washington Wizards haven’t put a consistent bench together this season, but with Brandon Jennings leading the way, it’s shaping up before the playoffs.
70 points.
That’s how many points Devin Booker scored against the Boston Celtics on Saturday night. But that’s also how many points the Washington Wizards‘ bench scored against the Brooklyn Nets.
Averaging 25.7 points per game, Washington’s second unit is 29th in scoring and has been for most of this season.
Ernie Grunfeld failed to add consistent scoring in the summer and revamped the bench midway through the season by adding Bojan Bogdanovic and Brandon Jennings.
Bogdanovic has scored 25-plus points on three separate occasions for the Wizards already and Jennings has averaged 13 assists per-36 minutes, the most in the NBA.
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For an entire unit to gel, though, a team needs more than two contributors.
Slowly, Washington’s second unit has begun to form its identity, centered around their scrappy defense and length.
Ian Mahinmi, returning to form and finding his legs after being sidelined for months, has anchored the team inside, with Kelly Oubre patrolling the perimeter.
Jennings and Mahinmi have built chemistry together, often connecting on drop-off passes leading to easy baskets in the paint.
Jason Smith continues to provide a lift with his outside scoring and energy.
When the second unit is clicking, they seem to have the formula for sustaining and even building on leads. Everybody on the court is competent defensively and makes an effort to score.
On Saturday, it culminated into their best performance of the season – 70 points in a blowout victory over the league’s worst Nets.
Jennings scored 18 points and dished out 9 assists in just over 20 minutes per game. Mahinmi added 16 points and 7 rebounds on 5 of 6 shooting from the field. Bogdanovic also scored 17 points with 7 rebounds.
Washington’s bench caused havoc, forced turnovers and finished Sportscenter worthy plays all game long. Jennings dazzled the crowd with his ball handling, passing between his legs and lobbing the ball up to Oubre on a fast break.
When his teammates got it going, Jennings took advantage of the Nets’ hesitant defense, lighting the team up from deep himself.
“Our bench played hard,” said Scott Brooks after Saturday’s win. “They played hard and it made them miss a lot of shots in that first half and gave us an opportunity to get the lead. Ian has been a factor at the rim – his catches around the rim ability to make plays around the rim”
Instead of lauding the team’s explosiveness on the offensive end, the defensive-minded Brooks praised his guards for their activity.
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“Brandon was all over the floor Kelly’s hands were active,” Brooks said. “That second unit did a great job. It’s a good overall win for us. The defense was pretty solid – take away that third quarter, we kind of relaxed – I’m pleased with the way the guys played. They competed and played a lot of good basketball for each other.”