Hachimura, Wright are transforming Wizards' bench originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
WASHINGTON — Kyle Kuzma called it one of the biggest reasons the Wizards have won four out of their last five games after losing their previous 10. For the first time in what seems like a long time, they have a bench that can change the momentum of games.
Central to that has been the return of a collection of players from injuries, but two in particular have stood out, especially in the Wizards’ win over the Suns on Wednesday night. Rui Hachimura tied a career-high with 30 points, while Delon Wright had three steals in 15 minutes and keyed a 10-2 rally at the end of the third quarter which was an important turning point in the game.
Hachimura gives the Wizards instant offense as a threat to score at all three levels. Wright brings disruption to their defense, particularly in passing lanes, and steadiness to their offensive execution.
They helped the Wizards outscore the Suns 35-to-24 in bench points one night after edging the Sixers 43-to-16 in the category.
“If you look at our scoring over the 10-game losing streak or whatever, we didn’t really have a bench or bench scoring,” Kuzma said. “Having those guys back has helped tremendously. So many nights our bench was getting outscored. Having Rui out there, he’s always looking to score. Delon, he’s controlling the game and controlling the game defensively. It helps out. It’s been great.”
This season, the Wizards have seen their most common starting lineup of Monte Morris, Bradley Beal, Deni Avdija, Kuzma and Kristaps Porzingis outscore opponents by 13 points per 100 possessions. Their bench for the season has been outscored by 2.1 points per 100 possessions.
One big problem has been a revolving door of players in the second unit due to injuries up and down the Wizards’ roster.
“We’re getting guys back and it bumps certain guys down a little bit, they go back to their natural position. It allows us to shorten some of those stretches where there is a fatigue factor. But when you have depth, you can kind of play teams in waves,” he said.
Wright provided a wave late in the third quarter with a pair of steals and an and-1 basket. The Suns had trimmed a 19-point lead all the way down to one, but Wright helped the Wizards make a push to close the quarter and build some momentum entering the fourth.
Wright is only playing about 15 minutes per night on a restriction due to a severe hamstring injury that made him miss nearly two months of games. He is still working his way back into game shape and developing an offensive rhythm, but his defensive timing has been expertly tuned.
Part of that, he says, is natural instincts. But it also deals with how he approached his injury rehab.
“As I was watching the games, I’ve been seeing little things the team can do better. Playing the passing lanes and being active in the passing lanes. I feel like I picked up on what we need to do better and I just feel like I’m doing it,” he said.
Wright is the Wizards’ best player at getting deflections on the defensive end. He leads the team with 4.0 deflections per game, nearly double the second-best guy on the roster, Bradley Beal (2.3/g).
Kuzma said the way Wright creates havoc on the defensive end rubs off on the rest of the team. It makes the rest of them want to play harder in part because it creates easier shots for everyone in transition.
Hachimura lifts the team in a different way, with his scoring. The wave he provided came in the fourth quarter when he dropped 14 points to help the Wizards build a lead so big they emptied their bench for the final two minutes.
Hachimura is proving capable of tilting games with instant offense. While he was a full-time starter the first two seasons of his career, he has been locked into the second unit the past two years. This year, he has really taken to the role.
“I’ve been starting most of my career, so it’s a little different. It is what it is. These guys, everybody can play. The coaches decided it. It is what it is. I’ve just gotta keep playing my role,” he said.
The Wizards are 6-1 with Wright and 8-20 without him. They are 12-8 with Hachimura and 3-13 when he’s out.
Those two numbers tell a major storyline of the Wizards’ season, one which was on display in Wednesday’s win.
