Four takeaways from the Wizards' opening night rotation

The Washington Wizards started their 2024-25 campaign with a 122-102 loss to the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics. The Wizards, especially guard Jordan Poole, got off to a hot start and kept the game competitive for a quarter-and-a-half before eventually falling behind by more than 30. 

The rebuilding Wizards were not expected to win this game, and more interesting is how the newly permanent head coach would handle a rotation filled with young players and other new pieces. Here are four observations from the team’s rotation on opening night. 

The Wizards go young

The Wizards trotted out the youngest starting line-up among the league’s 30 teams and the youngest opening day starting five in franchise history (since at least 1970). 

They started two rookies, second-overall pick Alex Sarr and fourteenth-selection Bub Carrington, along with second-year pro Bilal Coulibaly. Veterans Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma absorbed most of the offensive possessions as the three youngsters struggled with their shooting. Carrington, Sarr, and Coulibaly combined to shoot 3-15 from the floor and 0-7 from three.

Coulibaly in particular showed flashes of athleticism on defense and getting to the rim, but often drove to pass rather than looking to score. He also passed up a couple of open looks from downtown and finished with only two field goal attempts in 30 minutes.

The Wizards’ played a third rookie, Kyshawn George, 20 minutes off the bench. Though he finished with only four points on 2-of-6 shooting, George provided a nice off-ball element, and the team’s offense looked most dynamic when he was on the floor. 

The Wizards go small

The decision to go with rookie guard Carrington over veteran center Jonas Valanciunas also meant that the Wizards downsized from an anticipated starting line-up whose second shortest player would have been the 6’8’’ Coulibaly. Instead, Carrington and Jordan Poole started in the backcourt alongside Coulibaly, Kuzma, and Sarr. 

It’s possible that coach Brian Keefe’s choice to go with this smaller lineup was partly inspired by their opponents. Boston’s starters are the best unit in the league at spreading the floor and forcing opposing defense to guard in space, a place where Valanciunas historically struggles.

Keefe primarily tried to match Valanciunas up with backup bigs Neemias Queta and Xavier Tillman instead of starter Al Horford. Having the big Lithuanian as a reserve also gave the team somewhere to go when the second unit. He finished with 13 shot attempts in 20 minutes of play.

The lineup choices should have given Sarr more space to operate inside the arc, but five of his seven field goal attempts were from three, and he showed signs of rookie nerves on the offensive end. 

The Wizards did go to a Sarr/Valanciunas frontline at the start of the second and fourth quarters. Washington was outscored by nine points in the seven minutes the two bigs played together.

Given the lack of shooting, particularly off-ball shooting, in the Wizards’ starting lineup aside from Jordan Poole shot a combined 0-12 from three.

If Keefe does opt to make a change, he may also choose to insert George or Corey Kispert over Carrington, who seems most comfortable with the ball in his hands. George and Kispert also could not hit a shot on Thursday, but they have a stronger track record as off-ball shooters than anybody else on the Wizards roster. 

Johnny Davis may not have much time to prove himself

The 2022 lottery pick is at risk of becoming an all-time bust. According to Dan Feldman of Dunc’d On, Davis currently has the third lowest box score plus/minus of any top-10 pick before their fourth-year rookie-scale option — an option which the Wizards are expected to decline. 

If the rotation on Thursday is any indication, Davis may not have many chances to give himself a second chance this season. Poole and Carrington both started, but Keefe also mostly made sure that one or the other was on the court at all times.

Jared Butler, who was recently brought back on a two-way contract, played a brief stint in the first half as the third guard and looked solid running the offense in garbage time. George, Corey Kispert, and perhaps even Patrick Baldwin Jr. seem to be ahead of Davis in the wing rotation. Davis played only four minutes late in the fourth, and missed his only field goal attempt. 

Richaun Holmes the odd man out

After drafting Sarr and signing Valanciunas, Washington’s big man rotation seemed clogged coming into the season. Especially if Sarr won’t be spending the majority of his time playing at the four, there will be limited opportunities for veterans Marvin Bagley and Richaun Holmes to rebuild their value on the rebuilding Wizards. 

Bagley got the first crack at being the third big, playing a couple of minutes in the first half and much of the fourth quarter. He was typically productive from a box-score perspective during his 10 minutes, finishing with eight points and six rebounds.

Holmes, meanwhile, was the only Wizard not to see the court in the blowout loss, and there doesn’t appear to be much of a path to playing time for him this season.