After coming to the Washington Wizards at the trade deadline, Jerome Robinson and Shabazz Napier have shown flashes of what they can do for this team.
The post trade deadline Washington Wizards have had a very explosive past couple of days. After trading for Jerome Robinson and Shabazz Napier at the deadline, the Wizards have had two of their more exciting games of the season including a game winner by Bradley Beal against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday.
In those games the Washington Wizards have continued to provide a lot of what their MO has been all year in that every game they will be lead by a young group of guys who are all going to come in and play hard. Tommy Sheppard was determined to come in and start a culture change and provide the Wizards with players who will come in and compete every single day.
Although it has been a small sample size, Tommy’s latest moves have already shown that they are going to fit right in. After not being able to play Friday, we finally got to see our first glimpse at Jerome Robinson in a Wizards uniform.
As a young prospect still trying to blossom, Robinson will need to ease his way in, but he did have some bright spots in his first game. Robinson only played in 16 minutes but those minutes provided some early flashes as to why he was a lottery pick.
He only shot 2-for-7 for the night but one of those buckets was a beautiful buzzer beater to end the first quarter. Off of a steal on the inbound, Troy Brown found Robinson who spotted up from the wing and drained a three to end the quarter. It was a very nice play and showed why Robinson was known as such a knock down shooter at Boston College.
Robinson will have a good chance to get some serious minutes with the second unit as the season continues. Although it was a small sample size, Robinson showed why the Wizards traded for him. With continued work, he is going to come in and knock down shots and provide some energy on both ends of the floor. Being able to grow with the rest of the young nucleus the Wizards have will be an added bonus for everyone involved.
Obviously besides Robinson, the other guy who the Wizards acquired at the deadline was Shabazz Napier. A hard-nosed guard who has been having a career year, Napier has been a blessing in disguise through two games with the Wiz. I wrote the other day about how Napier may not be in DC past this season, but his impact is already being felt after just two games.
In his first game on Friday, Napier came off the bench and scored 14 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and shot 4-6 from three. As you can see, Napier has been very active in contributing any way that he can. He provides a solid impact on the defensive end as well which is not something the Washington Wizards have seen much from the reserves this season.
In game two, Napier had a tough night shooting as he went 0-for-7, but once again provided a spark in other areas. Napier finished with 6 assists showing he can set up teammates even when his shot isn’t falling.
The biggest positive about Napier thus far is that, even if he is not with the team next season, his impact can be felt throughout the locker room. Napier is a seasoned veteran who has seen a lot in his NBA career. With a young group in Washington, Napier can lead by example as a guy who can provide a lot of grit on both ends.
The Wizards need as much guidance as they can as they continue to grow together and Napier has already provided some just two games in.
You cannot make a lot of judgments off of this short stint, but these two guys have done exactly what they need to do thus far.
With just under half the season to go, Robinson and Napier will get the chance to continue to show why they are good fits in Washington. With a team that is continuing to blossom together, these two will just be adding fuel to the fire.