Coming off a disappointing loss to the Charlotte Hornets, the Washington Wizards are just praying that AJ Dybantsa is coming back soon. The offense so far has simply not been cutting it. Anthony Davis, Trae Young, and Kyshawn George have all given stable production, but that's about it.
One of the primary reasons the offense is constantly bogged down is that Bilal Coulibaly continues to start despite how negative he's been on that side of the ball. This season, Coulibaly is averaging 8.0 points and 4.3 rebounds on 44 percent shooting from the field and an abysmal 18.2 percent from three.
Continuing to start Coulibaly alongside Davis and Alex Sarr, who both aren't elite spacers, is completely tanking the starting lineup's offense. If they want to right the ship on that end with Dybantsa out, starting more spacing over Coulibaly is the right move.
Bilal Coulibaly's offense is hurting the starting lineup
Fortunately, it should be any game now before AJ Dybantsa returns, which will naturally push Coulibaly back to a bench role where he should be able to thrive. However, even before then, Coulibaly shouldn't continue to start.
Teams are completely ignoring him on the perimeter, which forces Davis and Young to play in crowds with little space to operate. Coulibaly still has a valuable skill set; he's arguably the best perimeter defender on the team, and he thrives in transition. Sadly, his skill set, combined with what the starting lineup needs from him, just doesn't match.
Instead, the Wizards should go in a different direction and start Tre Johnson in his place. No, Johnson isn't the same level of defender, but he still has some length that can help in that area, and he is 10 times better as a shooter.
The Wizards have plenty of positive defenders in their rotation, so having a solid defense shouldn't be an issue. Davis, Sarr, George, Dybantsa, and Coulibaly are all rotation guys who are, at the bare minimum, above-average defenders. Johnson being in the starting lineup, though, not only gives him a better chance to become a focal point in the offense but also makes things easier for everyone else.
If the Wizards are serious about winning, continuing to start Coulibaly is borderline malpractice. The defense isn't nearly elite enough to justify him being a black hole on offense on every possession, and it's holding the entire team back from reaching its offensive ceiling.
Add us as a preferred source on Google