Washington Wizards: Saturday night’s win over Denver just a sign of what’s to come
The Washington Wizards shocking win over the Denver Nuggets should make fans hopeful moving forward.
This season hasn’t been easy for the Washington Wizards. There’s been no John Wall, a poor man’s version of Bradley Beal, and now their 2019 first-round pick Rui Hachimura is missing games with a groin issue.
The Nuggets came into the game with the West’s second-best record at 24-10. The Wizards came into the game just 10-24 and missing three straters (Beal, Hachimura, and Thomas Bryant)
Whether it was a good night for the Wizards (it was), or a bad night for the Nuggets (also yes), this win should be enough to make Wizards fans optimistic about the future. The win over Denver is just a sign of things to come.
Point Guard Troubles No More
If Saturday night’s game proved nothing else, it’s that John Wall doesn’t have to be 100 percent right when he returns. Ish Smith has shown, last night especially, that he’s capable of facilitating an offense.
The veteran point guard finished with a career-high 32 points, 8 assists, and 3 steals in 34 minutes. It was his best game with the Wizards to date, and couldn’t have been any more timely. Smith’s caree-night fueled the Wizards’ second-half effort against Denver, ultimately sealing the unlikely victory.
Smith is signed to a two-year deal in Washington and is no doubt better than any backup that Wall has had to date. So whether the Wizards’ point god comes back 100 percent, or 75 percent, he won’t have to do everything all by himself.
Learning to Win
Washington will walk into next season with just seven fully guaranteed contracts on the books: Beal, Hachimura, Wall, Bryant, Troy Brown Jr, Smith, and Moritz Wagner.
And per Shams Charainia, the Wizards have their eyes on retaining restricted free agent Davis Bertans come July. That core may be missing games as a unit now, but individually, they’re contributing in their own ways.
Look at Brown, who dropped 25 points and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds in the win over Denver.
In his postgame interview, Brown acknowledged Smith’s takeover in the second half, saying he was just hoping to get out of his way and instead focused on rebounding. Learning how to navigate these kinds of games will help both Brown and the Wizards as they continue to develop their 2018 first-round pick.
Brown and Smith weren’t the only Wizards in the limelight. Isaac Bonga scored a career-high 15 points in the win, playing a huge role down the stretch.
Bonga’s salary for next season may be non-guaranteed, but this season (and last night’s win) gives the Wizards a chance to see where the incredibly raw Bonga fits on their roster. Don’t forget, Bonga is just 20 years old.
The Wizards’ bench scored a franchise-record 92-points in their victory over the Nuggets. Most, if not all of the faces that contributed against Denver will be shifted to a bench role once the natural starting lineup returns from injury.
But subjecting them to heavy playing time now? Well it’s clearly paying off.
For a top-5 team to walk into Washington and have to fight for their lives (poor effort or not) and fall short, well that’s as positive a sign as ever. There wasn’t a single point in Saturday night’s game that felt like Denver had the game where they wanted it, and that’s a win in itself.
No matter who you remove from this Wizards team, starter or not, they continue to score at a high level. The league hasn’t seen a team like this in some time, and they’re not going anywhere.
Next. Ian Mahinmi reminding Wizards fan what could have been. dark
The Wizards front office will want this core ready to compete, in hopes of returning to the playoffs upon Wall’s return next season. And all this individual and team exposure now, well it’s only preparing them for the inevitable postseason run to come.