Washington Wizards Three Takeaways: Kelly Oubre and the Wizards Respond in Detroit

Earlier this season, coach Scott Brooks used the phrase “roller coaster” when describing the up-and-down play of the Washington Wizards. Friday night in Detroit was a perfect illustration of the Wizards riding that ride as they defeated the Detroit Pistons, 122-112.

Earlier this season, coach Scott Brooks used the phrase “roller coaster” when describing the up-and-down play of the Washington Wizards. Friday night in Detroit was a perfect illustration of the Wizards riding that ride as they defeated the Detroit Pistons, 122-112.

Washington trailed by as many as 15 points early, led by as many as 20 points in the second half, and yet needed to hang on for dear life down the stretch.

The Wizards were led by a career-high 26 points from Kelly Oubre Jr., and Bradley Beal who also poured in 26. This win snapped a stretch of four losses in six games for the Wizards and moved them to 1-1 on their longest road trip of the season. It was also the Wizards third victory over the Pistons, sweeping the season-series.

Let’s get to the takeaways.

So about those changes

It did not start out so great for the road team as the Wizards fell behind by 15 points in the first quarter. There was bad offense and even worse defense early on and on the heels of Brooks promising “changes,” after they were embarrassed by Charlotte two nights prior.

However, Brooks was a man of his word and pulled Marcin Gortat after four ineffective minutes. He also inserted Jodie Meeks and Tomas Satoransky halfway through the period. A lineup of Meeks, Satoransky, Mike Scott, Oubre, and Beal helped close the deficit to 29-19 after one quarter.

Then in the second quarter it was that lineup—with Otto Porter replacing Beal—who helped the Wizards stem the tide and give the Wizards a lead midway through the second quarter. They forced Detroit into turnovers, hustled after loose balls, and moved the basketball offensively. They saved the Wizards.

Interesting enough, with the exception of Oubre, none of the bench guys played heavy minutes in the second half, even as the Wizards built up their lead.

Hot Shooting From Otto and the Consistency of KO

Since returning from his hip injury, Porter has struggled mightily with his shot. He had been averaging less than 10 points per game over the past five games coming into last night. During the broadcast, it was revealed that Brooks had a conversation with Porter. Brooks instructed Porter not to let his offense effect the rest of his game.

Porter responded with excellent effort from the opening tip and showcased that dead eye shooting his coaches and teammates have become accustomed to.

He had 16 points, shooting 4-for-5 from three-point range. But almost as important, Porter had seven rebounds and four steals. He looked like himself for the first time in a while and led the Wizards with a plus-14 rating.

After shooting less than 30 percent from the three-point line combined in his first two seasons, Oubre has bumped that number all the way up to 40.5 percent so far this season. He was deadly from behind the arc in Detroit making 5-for-9 on his way to a career-high night scoring.

Over the past four games, Oubre has hit 14-for-23 from deep. That’s almost 61 percent. His development on the offensive end to pair with his effort and skill defensively has made Oubre Jr. into one of the most important players on this team. Think back to last year in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against Boston, the Celtics were happy to sag off of Oubre Jr. which clogged up driving lanes for Wall and Beal. Teams are still forcing Oubre Jr. to beat them from deep, but this year he has put the time in the gym and we can all see the results.

John Wall’s Big Second Half

John Wall was not very good in the first half. He was held scoreless on 0-5 shooting and although he had seven first half assists, he also had five turnovers. Wall was much better in half number two finishing with 16 points. Wall was the catalyst for the third quarter that saw the Wizards score 45 points, helping his team build a 20 point lead.

He was more aggressive in the third quarter, admitting post game he let the lack of foul calls impact his play in the first half. The most important stat for Wall is that he didn’t have a second half turnover.

In a postgame interview with ESPN, Wall also shed some light into why he maybe thinks the Wizards haven’t been playing consistent enough this season.

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On Monday, the Wizards continue their road trip in Dallas taking on the Mavericks.