Washington Wizards: 3 Goals for Jerome Robinson next season
By Jamal Bedell
Goal #2: Defend at a higher level
In order for Jerome Robinson to be a more dependable player moving forward, he has to improve defensively. Yes, he can score the basketball at a high clip, but the Wizards need more than scoring. Last season Washington finished the year with a 114.7 defensive rating, which ranked 29th in the league. On the offensive end, however, they were 16th in the NBA with an offensive rating of 110.2. The Wizards scored 114 points per contest last year, so clearly putting the ball in the basket is not the issue. If they want to make it back to the playoffs then they must defend at a higher level. The bench in particular has to be better.
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For Robinson to get consistent minutes on the second unit, he cannot be a liability on the defensive end. He doesn’t have to be an elite defender next season, but he has to stay in front of his man and limit penetration from the perimeter. As long as he’s engaged and active, he’ll put himself in positions to succeed. There were times last year when Robinson would lose focus and get beat off the dribble or on backdoor cuts. He needs to limit the number of easy baskets he gives to opponents before the coaches lose faith in him on the defensive end.
Production on the offensive end alone will not be enough to keep Robinson in the game. He needs to be impactful on defense, as well. Whether that’s deflections, steals, drawing charges, whatever. He has to find a way to make plays on that end of the floor because the Wizards don’t have many reliable defenders at the moment. Washington needs growth from its entire roster to fix their bottom-ranked defense from last year.