With all of the moves the Washington Wizards made in the offseason, it was easy to see how Bub Carrington got lost in the shuffle among the rest of the young players. However, in his first game playing for a non-tanking Wizards team, he provided exactly what the team needed.
In 19 minutes off the bench, Carrington finished with 10 points and four assists. He shot three of six from the field and two of three from three. What's extremely notable, though, is that he was the only player on the team with more than one 3-point make.
If there's one thing to nitpick about this Wizards team, it's the lack of spacing. Carrington is one of the best 3-point shooters on the team, and despite his inside-the-arc flaws, his shooting will be needed frequently this season if the Wizards are to reach the heights they believe possible.
Bub Carrington will play key role in the Wizards reaching offensive ceiling
When it comes to plus-shooters from deep, the Wizards don't have a ton. Trae Young is obviously a good shooter, but he's not extremely efficient from deep. Kyshawn George and Tre Johnson are two other solid shooters that the Wizards will rely on, and Khris Middleton will provide spacing value, although given his age and injuries, he's not a lock to play every day.
Then there's Carrington. He's a bit polarizing when it comes to his shot diet, but it's been fairly effective so far. He doesn't get to the rim, like, at all, and the vast majority of his looks are from the perimeter. Other than that, he often settles for mid-range jumpers instead of trying to get to the rim or draw fouls.
Last season, Carrington shot an extremely respectable 40.8 percent from three on five attempts per game. On the other end of the spectrum, he shot an impressively low 7.9 percent (!!) of his shots at the rim, while only converting those rare looks at a subpar 49.1 percent clip.
The rim finishing and paint penetration flaws are noticeable and occasionally loud, but his outside shooting value is just too important to leave him out of the rotation.
On a team with Anthony Davis, Alex Sarr, AJ Dybantsa, Deandre Ayton, and Bilal Coulibaly all receiving significant minutes and being below-average or negative 3-point shooters, players like Carrington, who have a strict 3-point diet, are even more important.
His role on the team going forward looked slightly murky this offseason with the addition of Tre Mann. But it's clear that his 3-point ability is what gets him on the court each night, and it's a skill the Wizards would have a tough time thriving without.
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