Washington Wizards: Season Opener, Wizards Shut Down the Promising Sixers

The Washington Wizards successfully started their run to Eastern Conference supremacy Wednesday night, defeating the promising Philadephia 76ers,120-115.

On Wednesday, the Washington Wizards hosted the Phildelphia 76ers for their season opener. It was a closely contested matchup that came down to the wire. Although, Washington struggled a bit on the defensive end, they were able to shut down the Sixers, 120-115.

Though the Wiz kids impressively defended their home court, there’s clearly room for improvement. Both teams displayed early season rust, but it was the Sixers that eventually proved why they’re among the NBA’s youngest teams. They ended the game with 16 turnovers, including two costly ones in the late stages, only down by one possession.

Here’s what you need to know about the team after collecting their first win of the season.

Beasts of the Backcourt

The backcourt tandem in Washington needs no introduction. John Wall and Bradley Beal continue to dominate opposing guards. They combined for 53 points, while the Sixers starting trio, rookie Ben Simmons with veterans Jerryd Bayless and J.J. Redick, combined for just 43 points.

Wall led his team with 28 points and was unstoppable. He sped past anyone in his way and finished with authority on multiple occasions. Including this monster dunk that shook all of Washington.

This aggressiveness opened up opportunities for his teammates as he dished out a game-high eight assists. Center Marcin Gortat was the main benefactor of Wall’s generosity and finished with 16 points, most of which came from perfect passes at the rim on pick-and-roll plays.

Gortat owned the rim, he pulled down an astonishing 17 rebounds. That and the fact that he recorded a double-double, shows that the Polish Machine fears no big. He’s ready to steamroll over anyone, and he already looks playoff ready.

Beal had 25 points and was active on both ends, grabbing six rebounds and collecting three steals. He shot 12-for-16 from the field. The most impressive part of his stat line, however, was the game-high 16 free throw attempts. Though he uncharacteristically missed four from the line, it’s encouraging for fans to see the sharpshooter attempt four times as many foul shots than three-pointers. Teams will have to respect his driving ability, which inherently allows more room to get off that sweet jumper.

The Vault is Open

By now, Washington fans are familiar with the new nickname for Capital One Arena,
“The Vault.”  The concept behind the name implies the team’s ability to lock down opponents at home.

Philadelphia (and their loud supporters who made the trip) showed no respect for the new moniker.

All five starters scored double figures, led by wing Robert Covington who led all scorers with 29 points in just 29 minutes. Washington was unable to cover Covington, and he went 7-for-11 from the three. Perimeter defense is still the Wizards’ main weakness.

Joel Embiid was on a minutes restriction, where he was scheduled to only play 16 minutes, but ended up playing 27. He managed to wow those in attendance with his guard-like skills while posting a double-double, 18 points and 10 rebounds.

The young Sixers thrived in transition. Led by Simmons (18-10-5), Philadelphia pushed the ball after every rebound. Washington was careless in transition defense, losing 19-4 in fastbreak points. Unfortunately most of the transition buckets were of the three-point variety.

The Sixers hit 15 three-pointers on 43 percent shooting. Philly had a chance to tie the game at 116 with 15 seconds left in the fourth, but Redick left a long-distance attempt just short despite a great look.

Solving the Four

Coming into the contest, one of the biggest storylines was who would Wizards coach Scott Brooks start at the power forward position, with Markieff Morris out. Brooks chose veteran stretch-four Jason Smith, but it’s evident that a change will come sooner than later.

Smith played just seven minutes, failed to score on his lone shot attempt (that was blocked) and pulled down one rebound. He ended up leaving the game and didn’t return, after suffering a shoulder sprain.

The emerging forward Kelly Oubre is the likely replacement. He logged 32 minutes, scored 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting and started the second half.

Hopefully, Smith is able to return soon, as the team looks to solve the power forward equation in Morris’ absence.

Jodie Meeks also proved that he’s ready for primetime, the shooting guard had an impressive 14 points.

On Friday, the Wizards host the Detroit Pistons at 7 p.m.