Shot selection has burned the Washington Wizards multiple times this season already.
For whatever reason, the Washington Wizards love to take contested jump shots with nearly every one of their shots early in games. Kyle Kuzma is especially guilty of this but has hit these shots at a somewhat decent clip.
The Wizards settle for bad shots far too frequently to make their offense a consistent weapon. Whether it be from the mid-range or from beyond the three-point arc, they take a lot of contested shots.
This goes back into ball movement and defense, as many good tendencies tend to work together really well. If they play good defense, they will get better shots, if they move the basketball, they will get better shots. It’s not rocket science.
Still, the Wizards don’t do any of these things with consistency. Instead electing on fade away threes from Kuzma or jumpers with two players in Porzingis’ jersey. It’s a cycle of bad shots that drives fans insane.
This issue is the biggest reflection of Wes Unseld Jr’s failures as a coach as this is the best way to get more wins, yet the Wizards are incredibly bad at choosing good shots.
Going back to the Clippers game as the latest example, the end of the game turned into a shootout and as the opposing players started closing out on threes, rather than pass to another player, Kuzma took a heavily contested corner three.
Later, in a critical moment late in the game, Porzingis elected to take a ridiculous shot with around 20 seconds left on the shot clock and Kawhi Leonard practically on top of him.
Shots like these with plenty of time on the clock need to stop. They will continue to lose games because of these kinds of shots if they do not stop.
If the Washington Wizards can improve on even one of these areas, they can be a great team in the NBA, if they can fix all three, they will be serious contenders for the NBA championship this season.