The Washington Wizards hit the road on Monday night for a battle with the Atlanta Hawks.
Washington entered the matchup looking for their first win of the season, while the Hawks had plans to protect their homecourt and stack another win to their record. Nonetheless, the Wizards went on the road to State Farm Arena and grabbed their first win of the season.
In a game not many expected Washington to come out on top of, the Wizards found a way to get the job done in what the team hopes to be the first win of many for the team’s young core. In the win, the team not only put their winless record in the past, but they were also able to catch a glimpse of what could be a calling card for one of the team’s cornerstones.
Bilal Coulibaly may be taking the leap
In the Wizards win over the Hawks, the team entered with the intent to win key matchups to come out on top. Head coach Brian Keefe made it a point of emphasis to slow down Atlanta’s superstar Trae Young, and understandably so.
Young is a game-changer and if he’s able to exploit a defense with his passing ability, it not only opens up his dangerous jump shot but allows him to get his teammates in a rhythm. If that were to happen, it would be a long night for the Wizards and Keefe knew that. As a result, he put his best defender on him which just so happened to be second-year man Bilal Coulibaly.
The French product took on the challenge to defend Trae Young on Monday and he did an exceptional job keeping the versatile guard in check. Atlanta’s star finished the night with 14 points, 13 assists, and eight rebounds. And while those stats are still impressive, it was Young’s worst outing of the season by far and his 2/15 shooting was forced by the hand of Coulibaly’s tight coverage.
Here is the final possession.
— Bijan Todd (@bijan_todd) October 29, 2024
Bilal Coulibaly was the primary defender on Trae Young all night and did an amazing job, forcing Young to miss his final 13 field goal attempts. pic.twitter.com/dKT8Kcu7SA
On the flip side, Coulibaly ended his night with 17 points, three assists, and two rebounds while adding on two steals on the defensive end. As a +4 on the night, it’s clear the guard impacted this game with his winning ways.
Through the first two seasons, the former lottery pick has shown flashes of his ability on both sides of the ball. If he can truly embrace the two-way mindset, he could be an absolute force for the Wizards moving forward with more time to develop.