Washington Wizards vs. Milwaukee Bucks Preview: Getting Insight On The Bucks (Q and A) by Ben Mehic

The Washington Wizards were one of those teams that struggled to close out games, even though it looked like they had it in the bag. Now, they’ve grown up. They have two stars — John Wall and Bradley Beal — who’ve become beasts, to put it bluntly. These players are no longer deferring to the veterans; they’ve become the go-to players in the clutch.

Milwaukee Bucks 113 Washington Wizards 118

Washington couldn’t have played worse tonight if they tried.

Their defense, in particular, was dreadful right out of the gate. Given their new additions and the change in offense, you can expect the Washington Wizards to find a way to score. However, they failed to get stops on the other end.

Giannis Antetokounmpo was unstoppable in the first quarter and the Wizards had no answer. Otto Porter couldn’t stay in front of the rising star and Milwaukee scored at will.

With Greg Monroe inside, the Wizards insisted on double-teaming. That opened up the perimeter for Milwaukee and they went on mini-runs all game long.

To make matters worse, the Wizards were giving the ball away like turkeys on Thanksgiving (it’s that time of year, so please excuse the reference. It was too easy.)

Washington turned the ball over 10 times in the third quarter and a total of 21 times in the game. That’s…not good. Some of these turnovers were a result of poor offense, but many were unforced.

The Wizards have to do a better job of controlling the ball. Elite teams are going to capitalize on their mistakes. No disrespect towards the Bucks, but championship contending teams will punish the Wizards for not valuing the ball. This was an issue in preseason too, so the Wizards have to find a way to clean it up.

Thankfully, the team remained aggressive and go to the free throw line. They didn’t settle for deep twos, for the most part, and the guards benefited as a result.

Ramon Sessions led the way off the bench with 23 points on 8-12 shooting. He set the tone with his aggressive play and often times forced his way into the basket. It’s weird ’cause Sessions finds a way to botch layups in transition, but somehow makes the most ridiculous contested shots in the half-court. We’ll take it.

Nene and Jared Dudley were also huge factors in the comeback as well.

The big Brazilian scored 9 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and dished out 4 assists off the bench. He’s not the player he used to be, and quite frankly, there’s times when he’s completely useless. Nene takes plays off and that’s not a secret anymore. But, when he’s engaged, he’s still very effective.

Nene morphed into Angry Nene in the fourth quarter and sparked the comeback with a dunk and charge. Dudley took a charge as well and the defense was suddenly awake. Dudley played 25 minutes off the bench tonight after not playing at all in the first game against the Orlando Magic.

Going forward, expect Dudley to play a bigger role. When Otto Porter isn’t contributing, like tonight, Dudley’s role is going to increase. He’s never going to wow anybody, but he makes timely plays — like that charge in the fourth quarter, for instance.

Randy Wittman made the right decision by playing Wall, Sessions, Beal, Dudley and Nene together at the end. All four players were the main reason Washington was cutting into a double-digit deficit. Wittman has a tendency to keep Marcin Gortat out for too long, but tonight wasn’t an error. He made the right call.

Once the lead became within reach, Wall and Beal took over.

Both players hit clutch shots down the stretch, but Beal really put the team on his shoulders. We saw him play this way in the NBA Playoffs, but this is what you’re going to get from Beal during the regular season. He’s no longer the timid, passive Beal that we saw in his first few years in the league.

The new offense has given Beal the freedom he desperately needed. Beal hit a step-back three to tie the game up in the fourth quarter and followed that up with a dagger from the corner off a Wall dime. Beal finished the game with 26 points. Wall added 19 points and 10 assists.

Washington needed a miracle to win tonight and they have two. John Wall and Bradley Beal have become legitimate stars. It’s only been two games, but we’re already seeing an extraordinary amount of growth in both players.

Neither Wall nor Beal are afraid of the moment. The Bucks lack what the Wizards have — stars. When the time comes to close out games, the Washington Wizards have two guards they can consistently depend on.

There’s no time to celebrate, though. The Wizards will play their home opener tomorrow night against the New York Knicks.

It wasn’t a perfect victory, but it’s a victory nonetheless. Just another reminder of how lucky we are to have those two guys in the nation’s capital.