Washington Wizards: 3 Players who will benefit the most from Russell Westbrook

No. 3 – Davis Bertans

The motto has always been, ‘surround Russell Westbrook with shooters.’ That won’t be a problem in Washington. The Wizards finished the 2019-2020 regular season ranked eighth in three-point percentage (36.8) and were around the middle of the pack — 13th — in attempts per game (32.6). Westbrook is joining one of the better three-point shooting teams in the league last year in terms of efficiency. The Wizards have some good shooters, but there’s one player in particular that fans are anxious to see him play with: Davis Bertans.

Davis Bertans was the sixth most efficient three-point shooter in the NBA last season! Bertans shot an incredible 42.4 percent from behind the arc on an outrageous 8.7 attempts per game. James Harden, Damian Lillard, D’Angelo Russell, Buddy Hield, Trae Young, Devonte’ Graham, and Luka Doncic were the only players to attempt more three-pointers per game last season. And all of them started at least 40 games. Bertans came off the bench in 50 out of the 54 games he played in but still averaged almost nine three-pointers a game in less than 30 minutes of play.

The Latvian Laser has a quick trigger and will let it fire from deep without hesitation. He has unlimited range! Last season, Bertans made 12 of 20 attempts from 30+ feet. Playing alongside Russell Westbrook, the drive and kick opportunities will be endless. Scott Brooks still hasn’t chosen a starting small forward for the first regular-season game, but he named Bertans as a potential candidate. He’s more than capable of filling this role, but I believe he’s better suited coming off the bench like he did the majority of last season. Brooks will need to give Westbrook extended minutes with the second unit so they can truly thrive together. Westbrook will create a ton of open looks for Bertans, and the Latvian Laser is almost automatic when you give him an inch of space to fire.