There's no denying that the start to Bub Carrington's sophomore season has been disappointing.
In fact, the way things have unfolded with the guard's bizarre start to the year has been the exact opposite of the hopes for the Washington Wizards and their entire fanbase entering the year.
Carrington seem poised to take advantage of the freshly opened spot to become the team's primary ball handler following the offseason trade of Jordan Poole.
After a solid rookie season, the Pittsburgh product had a major opportunity to prove the Wizards made the right bet when they took a swing on his potential with the No. 14 overall pick in the 2024 NBA DRaft.
Instead, Carrington's confusing shooting woes sent a wave of concern through the team's fanbase that not only may he not be the future playmaker Washington can move forward with, but at best he may just be a solid bench reserve,
Bub Carrington may finally be turning things around
Averaging 8.0 points, 4.4 assists and 3.0 rebounds, while shooting 36.7% from the field and 41.2% from beyond the arc, the guard's shooting woes have been the root of the problem for his struggling start to the year.
With his shooting splits flip flopping from his rookie season, where he shot 40.1% from field goal range and 33.9% from three, the 20-year-old's confidence seemed to be impacted by his poor play. and in a major way.
However, following the team's mini break courtesy of NBA Cup play, Carrington's ability to stay the course may have finally turned things around for the better.
Carrington put together his best performance of the season against the Cleveland Cavaliers over the weekend, finishing with 27 points, eight assists and six rebounds, while shooting 50% from the floor and knocking down five threes.
The guard looked confident, and he simply looked like a player who was refreshed with his shot finally starting to fall.
Obviously, confidence plays a major role in producing consistently and with Carrington's trying start to the year, the outside noise could have simply put him in position to let things slip away for him.
Now, he looks like a player who's finally starting to find his groove and with the Wizards recent struggles, his ability to finally start contributing at a high-level could be a major boost for Brian Keefe's squad, especially as the team continues to search for a winning formula moving forward.