WASHINGTON — The NBA hasn’t even begun its preseason yet, but the Washington Wizards are already off to a promising start.
After limping into the NBA Playoffs last season on the back of a stagnant offensive scheme seemingly designed to create low value shots, something suddenly changed for the Wizards. They spaced the floor better, using faster, more athletic lineups with an extra perimeter shooter (mostly Otto Porter slotted at small forward, pushing Paul Pierce to the four) to surprisingly rise up and smash the favored Toronto Raptors in a four-game sweep in the first round.
And even though they were eliminated by the Atlanta Hawks in six games in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, three of Washington’s four losses in the series came by five points or fewer. They shot a better percentage from deep than the Hawks (37.5 to 32.9) and had one fewer turnover, despite their best player fighting through injury and logging just 121 minutes.
After ranking 22nd in the NBA in Offensive Rating and 13th in Effective Field Goal Percentage (eFG%) in the regular season, Washington posted the best eFG% (.497) of any Eastern Conference playoff team. For a team often mired in slow developing offensive sets that led to lots of long two pointers away from the rim, the shift to a more economical offense paid immediate dividends.
So when the Wizards reported to Verizon Center for Media Day on Monday, it was a pleasant surprise to hear the rhetoric from both players and coaches alike supporting the notion that the team has turned a corner in understanding how to become the most effective version of itself moving forward.
Beal said he isn't eliminating the long 2 from his game entirely. Instead, he said, he'll just tone it down and focus on rim shots and FTs.
— Michael Sykes, II (@MikeDSykes) September 28, 2015
Wall says he made 1,000 3s per day when practicing this summer. Also worked on posting up, something we saw glimpses of last season.
— Todd Dybas (@Todd_Dybas) September 28, 2015
The loss of Paul Pierce in the offseason hurts, but the maturation of one “Junior” — Otto Porter Jr. — and the acquisition of another (Kelly Oubre, Jr., the club’s first-round draft pick), provide Washington with two young, similarly-built players. And the addition of key veteran pieces like small forward Jared Dudley (career 39.6% 3-PT shooter) and Towson grad Gary Neal (career 38.1% 3-PT shooter) should help further transform the team into one that can space the floor and allow Wall to be his best.
“The most important thing that they’re going to bring is shooting ability,” said Marcin Gortat of the new acquisitions. “Each one of these guys can shoot threes, and that’s really good for us. We’re going to open up the court for small guys to drive the paint and get easy buckets.”
Clearly, the players understand the leaguewide shift in approach, given the breakthrough success of the Golden State Warriors’ championship run last season. The defense and effort level has been there under coach Randy Wittman, who now may have an offensive mentality to complement them.
“I think small ball is definitely where the NBA is trending right now,” said Garrett Temple, but he was quick to clarify exactly how he perceived the shift. “Not necessarily just small, but position-less. Having one, two, three, four guys that can play a lot of different positions and guys who can spread the floor. With a point guard like John (Wall), having four guys outside, being able to open up the lane, and him being able to penetrate and kick it is something that really can work for us.”
Temple made specific mention of the Spurs, the team where Neal has spent the bulk of his five professional seasons thus far. After all, to win a title, Washington will have to do more than just keep up with the East. While the Wizards’ postseason eFG% was better than all other Eastern Conference competitors, it still trailed four Western Conference teams: the Houston Rockets and LA Clippers, and of course, the Spurs and Warriors.
With a full season of efficient offensive sets under their belts, they may just be in position to go toe-to-toe with the top teams in the league this year.
