Washington Wizards: 3 Goals for Isaac Bonga next season

Goal #2: Keep shooting

Isaac Bonga did not join the Washington Wizards as a proficient three-point shooter. The team didn’t take a flyer on him because of how well he can knock down shots from distance. During the 22 games Bonga appeared in before joining the Wizards, he took eight three-point attempts. He made none of them.

If the Wizards want to turn Bonga into a competent 3&D wing, though, there’s two parts to that. He’s got the defense, but the three-point shooting still needs work. Luckily, the Wizards were willing to let him fire away last season. At some point, Bonga got the green light. Or at least a greener light than before. Here’s how his three-point shooting looked each month of the season.

• October: 4 games; 0.75 three-point attempts/game
• November: 8 games, 0.67 three-point attempts/game
• December: 15 games, 0.6 three-point attempts/game
• January: 15 games, 1.13 three-point attempts/game
• February: 11 games,1.27 three-point attempts/game
• March: 5 games, 1.2 three-point attempts/game
• Bubble: 8 games, 2.0 three-point attempts/game

Somewhere around the middle of January, Bonga started letting it fly. He shot nearly twice as many threes each game during January, February, and March than he did during October, November, and December. In the bubble, he must have been trying to replace Davis Bertans.

In 66 games, Bonga only made multiple threes in a game five times. But Bonga started shooting better when he started shooting more often. From October through December last season, Bonga went 5/18 from three (28 percent). From January through March, he went 17/37 (46 percent). The bubble was a bit of a disaster as Bonga went just 3/16 (19 percent) in those eight games in Orlando.

Bonga isn’t a lethal sharpshooter, but he showed steady improvement last season and is good enough that he can make teams pay if they leave him open. Keep letting it fly, Bonga. The Wizards could sure use another competent and confident shooter.