Five Things We Learned About The Washington Wizards So Far In The Season

Five Things We Learned About The Washington Wizards So Far In The Season by Greg Gottfried

It wasn’t the prettiest win ever, but a win is a win.

Both the Washington Wizards and New York Knicks struggled early on and it looked like the first team to get into a rhythm offensively would eventually pull away with the game. Carmelo Anthony scored just 18 points on 23 shot attempts thanks to the Washington Wizards’ defense, and the Knicks simply don’t have anyone else on their roster that could generate offense. Once the Wizards’ bench set the tone on the defensive side of the floor, resulting in multiple easy baskets, they went on to win the game, 98-83.

John Wall has torched the Knicks in the past, but that wasn’t the case tonight. He missed three point blank layups and made just one of his four free throw attempts. Although he struggled to score, finishing the game with just 11 points, he did create a lot of opportunities for his teammates. The Washington Wizards pulled away with the lead after Wall found Paul Pierce wide open from three on a drive-and-kick.

Speaking of Paul Pierce; today’s number one key to the game was containing Anthony. Pierce, who’s not known for his defense, did a terrific job guarding Anthony. Anthony didn’t get any easy baskets tonight and the Knicks’ offense was miserable at times. Pierce also scored 17 points tonight in 28 minutes of playing time, including a trailing three point shot that resulted in a four point play.

Garrett Temple also benefited from Wall’s passing, scoring 17 points, including 4-7 from three. Temple has worked on his three point shooting all summer long and it’s finally beginning to pay off. With Bradley Beal out, the Washington Wizards need Temple to knock down threes on a consistent basis and he’s done just that. He finished the game with a +/- of +20.

Washington’s starting big men, Nene and Marcin Gortat, scored a combined 12 points on 16 shot attempts tonight. Both players were coming off spectacular games against the Milwaukee Bucks, but failed to carry the momentum over tonight. Luckily for the Washington Wizards, Randy Wittman got some good production from his backup big men.

Drew Gooden and Kevin Seraphin scored a combined 25 points on 10-13 shooting from the field. Washington struggled offensively in the first quarter and Wittman decided to put Seraphin in the game. Like most Washington Wizards fans, I was confused that Seraphin was playing over Kris Humphries and DeJuan Blair. Seraphin has shown an ability to score in the post, and after a few boneheaded mistakes, Wittman continued to play Seraphin against Cole Aldrich. Seraphin led the Wizards on a run in the second half and I honestly don’t think they win the game without his help tonight. Drew Gooden also helped extend the Wizards’ lead late in the fourth quarter with a tough three point shot.

Andre Miller also gave the Washington Wizards some good production off the bench, scoring 12 points and dishing out 3 assists in 17 minutes of action off the bench. Miller had struggled mightily in the first three games, so it was good to see him bounce back tonight. Wittman talked about wanting Miller and Seraphin to play with more assertiveness, and they did so tonight.

The Washington Wizards will take on the Indiana Pacers tomorrow night on national television. They’ll have a chance to improve to 4-1.