Washington Wizards: 4 takeaways from the 113-107 season-opening loss to the Philadelphia 76ers

Despite impressive performances by Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook, The Washington Wizards came up short in their regular-season debut on Wednesday, falling to the Philadelphia 76ers, 113-107.

With a ten-point lead at the end of the third quarter, the Washington Wizards looked to be rolling past an extremely talented Philadelphia 76ers squad. Newly acquired Wizards point guard Russell Westbrook had already achieved a triple-double, superstar Bradley Beal had been finding mid-range shots with ease all night, and the Latvian Laser was fresh off of a 3-point barrage in the second quarter. Despite this ten-point cushion and a boatload of momentum entering the final frame, the Wizards simply could not stop Joel Embiid late in the fourth.

During the last 12 minutes of the game, Embiid had 15 of his 29 points and the 76ers exploded for FORTY points altogether. That was enough to sink the Wizards by a score of 113-107. But there’s still a lot of basketball to be played this season. Here’s what we learned from Washington’s regular-season opener.

The Russell Westbrook Effect

There’s a new point guard in town, and his name is Russell Westbrook. Finishing with 21 points, 15 assists, and 11 rebounds, Westbrook became the first Wizard ever with a triple-double in their franchise debut. Included in his explosive arsenal were impressive finishes at the rim, lobs to center Thomas Bryant, and an overall intensity that seemed to translate to the rest of the squad throughout the contest. As NBA fans have come to expect when watching Westbrook throughout his career, Westbrook brought attitude and fire to the District in his first outing in the red, white, and blue. After a powerful drive to the hoop to tie the game with an “and-one” finger-roll midway through the fourth quarter, Westbrook barked at former Wizard Dwight Howard on the bench, puffing his chest and high-fiving his teammates on the way to the free-throw line. Just seconds later, Westbrook handed the ball off to Bradley Beal, who splashed a three to give Washington a late lead.

Although his debut was promising, Westbrook still seems to have rust to shake off as he transitions to his new squad. He committed six total turnovers in his first regular-season start in D.C. and missed 13 of 22 shots. Despite these miscues, Westbrook’s introduction to the District was generally a positive one.

Second Unit Struggles

As much energy as Russell Westbrook, Bradley Beal, and Thomas Bryant brought to the starting lineup on Wednesday, the second unit did the exact opposite. Aside from Davis Bertans’ 14 points off the bench, nearly every member of the Wizards’ bench had nights to forget. Troy Brown, the Wizards’ former first-round pick, had three points with a -23 plus/minus, and backup point guard Ish Smith put up seven points on 28.5 percent shooting in 23 minutes of play.

Each of these players has proven to be a capable scorer in the NBA and by no means will this season-opener be a complete representation of the Wizards’ bench for the rest of the season. However, head coach Scott Brooks’ decision to restrict Russell Westbrook’s minutes and pull him from back-to-back contests means that it is imperative that players like Brown and Smith provide a spark off of the bench. Against the 76ers, there was no spark from the second unit. Especially not when Brooks sent out the oddly configured line up of Westbrook, Smith, Raul Neto, Brown Jr, and Robin Lopez.

With Russell Westbrook now on the team, seeing Smith get 23 minutes in the opener is a bit odd, especially when he played fairly poorly. This storyline will certainly be something to monitor as the season progresses and bench players get more experience in their rotation spots.

Bradley Beal’s New Role

When Russell Westbrook arrived in D.C., he told the media that he wanted to make Bradley Beal’s life “easier.” With Beal dropping 31 points on 50 percent shooting from the field against Philly, it’s safe to say Beal had a much easier go-around on Wednesday than he’s had on the basketball court in recent memory. With Westbrook in play, the 76ers’ defense wasn’t able to swarm Beal with double and triple teams, which became the norm during the 2019-20 season for Beal. Beal’s new freedom not only generated more high-percentage looks for the 27-year old superstar but also allowed Beal to exert more energy on the defensive end. As impressive as Beal looked from an offensive standpoint, his four steals and high-intensity effort on the defensive end was far more impressive, and a promising sign for the Washington Wizards. Statistically, Beal was one of the most prolific scorers last year, but also one of the biggest liabilities on defense. It was a weird shift for a guy who had been an above-average defender up until that point. Hopefully last season’s struggles were a one-year blip. Beal looks to be more motivated on the defensive end now that his offensive load has been lightened.

A New Defensive Intensity

As was well documented over the course of the 2019-20 season, the Washington Wizards’ defense last season was flat out awful. Aside from Mo Wagner’s impressive knack for taking charges, the Wizards had absolutely no defensive identity last season, something head coach Scott Brooks vowed to change over the offseason with the additions of Russell Westbrook, Deni Avdija, and Robin Lopez. Holding the 76ers to under 60 points in the first half, the Wizards looked to have stepped in the right direction on the defensive end.

While all-star center Joel Embiid wreaked havoc down low, finishing with 29 points and 14 rebounds, the Wizards still looked much improved from a defensive standpoint overall, forcing 18 turnovers as well as seven total steals. Rookie Deni Avdija looked extremely comfortable in Washington’s defensive scheme, and Bradley Beal put up one of his best defensive performances in recent memory. Additionally, the Wizards opened the second half with a stifling defensive sequence, leaving Philadelphia scoreless for nearly the first six minutes of second-half play as the Wizards’ lead ballooned. Overall, the Wizards had a near nine-minute stretch from the end of the second quarter to the middle of the third where the 76ers did not make a single field goal, just five foul shots. That’s something that was simply unimaginable with last season’s team.

Unfortunately, the defense fell apart in the fourth as the 76ers erased Washington’s lead with a 40-point quarter. Still, they looked considerably better on the defensive end than they did all of last season. If the Wizards can continue to improve as they did on Wednesday, the team has the potential to shock people as a decent to good defensive force.