Which Washington Wizard is going to have the biggest post break growth?

(Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)
(Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images) /
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Washington Wizards Isaac Bonga
(Photo by Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images) /

3. Isaac Bonga

Isaac Bonga is still raw, but when someone calls an NBA player “raw” that usually just means they have the potential to take a giant leap. And that’s probably true of second-year forward Isaac Bonga.

He came into the league known for his insane wingspan and his ability to get out in the open court and run with the ball in his hands, utilizing above average court vision. He can’t quite shoot the ball just yet, but he’s improved from year one and I suspect we will continue to see an improvement, perhaps seeing him take a leap sooner rather than later.

He’s not exactly an explosive leaper, so developing a shot is a MUST for Isaac Bonga, but it isn’t at all unheard of. While he may never develop into a star player, he can certainly sit at a nice ceiling being a solid two-way substitute.

His size allows him to slot into a team defense and switch everything, guarding the point guard through center positions (admittedly to varying degrees of success), and he can be a wing creator for a team taking the pressure off the primary ballhandler.

What would a jump look like? If he starts playing well, he’ll see more floor time. Probably between 22-23 minutes a game instead of just shy of 18. I’d like to see him develop his three-ball some more and increase his three-point attempts per game from 0.9 to 1.5, as he’s shooting a decent 41.9 percent from there.

Lastly, he needs to make Point Bonga happen, dang it. We all want to see it, so he needs to get up to 3 assists per game and prove that his court vision is all it’s cracked up to be. He needs a lot of work, folks, and this is probably the least likely of jumps.

Who else made the jump? Ersan İlyasova, in the 2011-12 received about 5 extra minutes per game after the all-star break. He shot 49 three pointers in 32 games before the break and managed to chuck up 63 in just 28 games after, improving his shooting from range from 38.8 percent to 50.8 percent.

His assists also went up from 0.6 to 1.5 in just five additional minutes. Bonga should try to emulate this post-break increase.