In their second matchup in less than a week, the Washington Wizards got sweet revenge over the Oklahoma City Thunder with a 102-96 victory in their first home game in 15 days.
On Tuesday, in their second matchup in less than a week, the Washington Wizards got sweet revenge over the Oklahoma City Thunder with a 102-96 victory in their first home game in 15 days.
The day didn’t start out so great for the Wizards as they learned All-Star point guard, John Wall will miss the next six to eight weeks as he undergoes a “cleanup” procedure to the left knee that has plagued him most of the season.
The day ended with the Wizards winning their second in a row and snapping the Thunder’s eight-game winning streak.
Last week’s contest against the Thunder was filled with scintillating offense from both teams. This game wasn’t as aesthetically pleasing as that, but the Wizards were able to overcome some bad shooting combined with tough Thunder defense to pull out the victory.
Let’s get to the takeaways.
Sharing is Caring
For the second game in a row the Wizards racked up a high assist total, indicative of the way they must play with Wall out.
After collecting 40 assists Saturday night in Atlanta, the Wizards piled up 27 assists on 34 made field goals.
They had assists on their first six field goal attempts to begin the game setting the tone for a 30 point opening quarter.
After one period all five starters had at least one assist and four, Bradley Beal (9), Tomas Satoransky (6), Markieff Morris, (4), and Otto Porter Jr. (3), had at least three assists.
Throughout the season both coaches and players have lamented the need for more ball movement. The Wizards are at their collective best when they share the ball, constantly moving the ball and making the extra pass.
Against a stifling defense as good as the Thunder, it was imperative that the ball move. The Wizards didn’t shoot it well, just a shade over 38%, but the willingness to share the ball is a good sign moving forward.
A Much Better Job Defending Russell Westbrook
A week after getting absolutely torched by Russell Westbrook to the tune of 46 points, the Wizards, and specifically Satoransky, were able to hold Westbrook to only 13 points on 5-18 shooting.
Satoransky drew the primary responsibility on Westbrook, but it was a total collective effort in keeping him in check.
Too often in the contest last week Westbrook was off to the races in transition where he is at his most dangerous. The Wizards didn’t value the basketball in the game committing way too many turnovers and Westbrook capitalized.
This time, the Wizards only turned the ball over 12 times. Forcing Westbrook and the Thunder offense to operate in the halfcourt is a much better proposition than in transition.
With that the Wizards were able to frustrate Westbrook. He took wild shots at the rim and was loose with the ball committing seven turnovers.
The frustration for Westbrook boiled over leading to a lot of barking at the officials from Westbrook. He wound up picking up a technical foul. Like Wall, Westbrook is the straw that stirs the drink for the Thunder. The Wizards should be pleased with their performance defensively.
A Balanced Attack
Another important aspect to watch over the next six to eight weeks is who will step up offensively in Wall’s absence. Beal is clearly the focal point of the offense moving forward, but the Wizards can’t be too reliant on the All-Star shooting guard.
They need balance and they need others stepping up. Against the Thunder that’s exactly what happened and it will need to happen if the Wizards are to weather the storm with Wall out.
The Wizards had six players score 9+ points in the victory. Porter had 25 points, his most since December 29th against the Rockets. Beal had 21 points while also grabbing six rebounds and dishing out nine assists. Morris had 18 points and was active and engaged from the start. Marcin Gortat had 11 points. Kelly Oubre Jr. had 10 points and Mike Scott had nine.
spreading the scoring load around is what is going to be needed while the Wizards await Wall’s return.
One final takeaway from last night, the City edition uniforms the Wizards debuted are fire.
The Wizards host the Raptors on Thursday.