Washington Wizards’ Young Core THRIVES in Ball Movement System | Why This UNLOCKS Talent!

Washington Wizards’ Young Core THRIVES in Ball Movement System | Why This UNLOCKS Talent!

The Washington Wizards have made one thing very clear so far through the first two preseason games is that the ball is going to move on offense. No more ISO ball. The Wizards are all about ball movement and playmaking and it’s going to be a big help for them offensively in 2025. You are Locked On Wizards, your daily Washington Wizards podcast, part of the Locked On Network. your team every day. DC family, you’re locked on to the Washington Wizards, where you’re part of our family. We thank you for making Lockdown Wizards your first listen every single day. We’re part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, where it is your team, the Washington Wizards. Every single day, we’re free and available wherever you get your podcast. Subscribe and join the DC family. Alongside the DC Sports content creating, Savant Abdullah Aubi. I am Ben Stro and I cover all things DC sports for 1067 the fan and the team 980. We got a lot to get to today. AB, how we doing? Preseason game number three tonight, Ben. That means one more final preseason game. That means regular season basketball next week. Yeah, only the Wizards would play all three preseason games. Only three that they get. I think that’s the least compared to pretty much everyone else. Uh the Pistons have already played in three. Uh and they wrap up so with the fourth game today and the Wizards would of course play all three of those games within a fiveday span. So uh that’s just that’s just Wizards basketball for you. Nothing ever makes any sense, does it AB? Yeah, of course not. Always getting disrespected. Today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use code lockdown NBA for $20 off your first purchase. Today I want to get into the ball movement. Uh we noticed through the first two preseason games the Wizards really had an ample amount of opportunities where you could see playmaking on full display. I think it made the offense look better and I think ultimately it’s going to improve the way they look efficiency-wise on offense this year. I’m going to tell you exactly why uh that’ll be the case in 2025, who’s going to benefit the most from it. Uh and then in the third and final segment, we will get into tonight’s matchup between the Wizards and the Pistons at 7 p.m. We do plan on potentially going live during the game. Maybe just a little watch party. If you guys want to come chill, join, interact with us. We can do something like that and then we will be live after the game with our reaction uh to whatever happens. I’m I’m really hoping to see good competitive basketball the way we have seen the first two games, Abdullah. But I want to start with the ball movement and what I noticed with Chris Middleton and there’s a reason I put him in the thumbnail today and he’s a veteran. And I know a lot of guys are a little bit more reluctant to seeing him play on the floor for this Wizards team this year. But I think one thing we need to understand about Chris Middleton is how important he will be for this team developing offensively. The pedigree he has as a championship level player. He knows how to get it done while not being the top scoring option or or whatever. He is going to be one of the best offensive players on this team behind CJ McComem. But he has such a high basketball IQ when it comes to playmaking and creating for other players. And it was on full display in that first preseason game against Toronto. just the way he moves without the basketball and how he operates even out of the pick and roll. You need a guy like that to create for other players on this team. And I think back to the second play of the game, they went on the short roll to Alex Sar. He gave him a nice bounce pass and Sar was able to take one dribble, go up and finish. You need guys that consistently make plays for this team like that because last year, and not trying to slight Jordan Pool or Kyle Koosma, maybe Kyle Kosma a little bit, uh, but not to slight those guys in this situation because, you know, they were doing whatever here. Um, a lot of isolation basketball. The Wizards at times were trying to create too much without moving the basketball efficiently. And head coach Brian Keef of the Washington Wizards team said they want to move the ball more this year because it’s going to allow for opportunities for other players to get open and really have opportunities to score the basketball. The Wizards are going to have to be like that in 2025 because what they have on the roster right now, they’re not going to get any buckets if you have guys just trying to create their own shot. I mean, maybe you could say right now McCullum and maybe Trey Johnson if he he develops that way or George, you could say those are maybe your three guys and then Cam Whitmore coming off the bench. uh you say, “Hey, we give you the basketball. We need you to go score. Go do it right now. Isolate and score.” The Wizards just aren’t going to be that type of team. They need to be a team that prioritizes moving the ball this year. Abdullah, and that’s what we wanted for so long. Last year, it was a lot of Jordan Pool, like you mentioned, Jordan Pool isolation ball, Kyle Kosma chucking up a crazy shot, and it was just so frustrating because we were trying to also worry about the development of the big three of Keshan Bub and Alex Sar. And going back to what you were saying, I agree. Chris Milton, very, very smart veteran in this league. at one point during his prime was a top five shooting guard in this league. And him and CJ are the guys on this team, Ben, that if this team is on a scoring drop for four to five minutes plus, they’re going to be the ones to end that drought. So, I think and I think it was a stat with six and eight with Chris Milton in the lineup. A guy like him, he knows what he’s doing on the court and off the court. He’s a great mentor as well. And I’m hoping that this ball movement that this team has because at this point I want to see Trey Johnson score 20 to 25 points a game. But I also want this team to play team basketball. For so long in DC during the Bradley Bill era up till now it’s it’s that one guy create a shot for himself. What can he do? And then if he can’t find anybody pass it to someone in the corner and maybe he’ll make a three. And for me it was just it was frustrating because that’s just not team basketball. But now when you have a team that can pass the ball, uh, setting down screens, back screens, getting guys open, versatility, a lot of these guys can do a lot of things, that’s when you start winning games. And on top of that, you’re being competitive night in and night out. And Kyle Kosma last year just taking terrible shots off isolation or where he’d post up, get his back to the basket, take a fade away. Like my guy, come on. First of all, there’s no eye in team. And it’s a cliche saying, but there’s definitely no eye in team when you don’t even have a superstar player. Kyle Kosma was never a superstar. He never will be a superstar level scorer. So some of the shots that he was taking straight up ridiculous to think that he was going to create offensively and the team was going to better himself around it. But we know that Koosma didn’t really care about the whole developmental thing. He wanted to do his own thing and that’s why Will Dawkins told him to kick rocks. And now you have Chris Middleton who is essentially the polar opposite of that right now. A mentor who has bought in to what this rebuild is all about. He has bought into the idea of being a playmaker that can create for others on this team. Just think about how much everyone else can benefit from it. And I think actually back to the first preseason game back on Sunday, first play where the Wizards get the basketball, first offensive possession, Alexar gets the ball on the right wing and he’s a seven-footer, but we know he can put the ball on the floor. He can move a little bit. He penetrates toward the bucket. He drives down the right elbow. The defense collapses on him and he dishes it out to the right corner. Keshan George was wide open. He didn’t make the shot, but those are the kind of shots that you want to see for Keshan George. And at times last year, you really felt like this offense was lacking the ability to find guys open. I think the Wizards really do have enough talent offensively on this team that if they play team oriented basketball and they move the ball well, they can keep themselves in some games uh just by pure offensive talent alone. I think they have some guys, especially if you get plenty of minutes from Mcome and Middleton, they’re going to score enough to hopefully keep themselves competitive in some of these games. It’s going to come down to what they do defensively, if they’re able to put in enough effort night in night out in in order to really fully compete with some of these teams. But hey, look at how they played offensively the other night against the Knicks, who albeit had nobody out there playing. The basketball was moving well. They were pushing it in transition. They were knocking down open looks. Trey Johnson looked aggressive. That’s the style of basketball that this Wizards team needs to play in 2025 if they want to have any kind of success in terms of being competitive. And those looks, Ben, where you’re throw um throwing the ball around, swinging it around the perimeter, finding people inside. It’s a miss good shot. I 100% rather have that than someone having isolation doing isolation ball having taking a contested fadeaway three-pointer. It’s just you don’t want to see that. And I’m hoping that this team basketball, it just we it’s a common theme because we don’t want it to be like a couple game stretch. We want to see this from game one to game 82. So, we’ll just have to see how the Wizards look this upcoming season. I think it would definitely look different because you don’t have guys like Jordan Pool who all be they wanted to shoot the ball. They want to take those shots in game. Yeah, 100%. It’s going to be something where we’re going to see blips. We’ll see bumps in the road for sure in terms of the team offensively night in night out. Uh hopefully defensively we’ll be able to keep them in the game, but you just want to see them prioritize team basketball, move the basketball. That’s going to be the biggest thing. When we come back, we’ll tell you who benefits the most from team oriented basketball this year. All right, guys. The NFL season is here and FanDuel has an offer that you do not want to miss. Right now, new customers, that’s you, can bet just $5 and you’ll get $300 in bonus bets. That’s right. Pick a bet, put down $5 bucks, and if it hits, you’ll unlock $300 in bonus bets to to use across the app. I love how FanDuel gives me so many ways to play. Parlays, teasers, player props, uh follow the live lines. You can do it any way on FanDuel. It makes watching football even more exciting than it already is. is when you’ve got a little something riding on the action, it just makes it that much better. Whether you’re a casual fan or you love diving into the stats, FanDuel makes the game day experience so much better. So, what are you waiting for? Visit fan.com or download the FanDuel app today to get started. Who’s going to benefit the most uh from this team oriented basketball? The Wizards prioritizing ball movement playmakers on this team. Chris Middleton, Keshan George, you hope Bub Carrington can develop into that type of player at some point over the season. That’s probably the biggest question mark for me. But offensively, who’s going to benefit the most from it? Maybe for me, it’s Alex Sar. I was going to say that too, Ben. I’m going to let you break it down first then. I just feel like when you have the the versatility that this team has and we’re going to be playing fast and the three-point shooting that Keshan George and Trey Johnson, CJ McComem are going to offer, teams are going to be so like, oh, guard the three-point line, guard the three-point line. Then when you have a guy like Alex Sar who can run on a fast break and at times can bring up the ball, teams are going to forget about him. The athleticism that you bring when you penetrate the defense, you’re going to have to step up opens up lobs for a guy like Alex Sar who who’s going to eat in the paint. We saw in the first preseason game against the Raptors, he was aggressive in that paint. That’s what he want to work on going into this year two of his NBA career and and the sky’s the limits for this kid. He got taller and stronger this offseason. His three-point shot, I think, is going to be better, too. The shot selection is going to be better. I think that’s all Wizards fans are thinking right now for Alex. So, um, I got to go with Alex. Ben, exactly. The shot diet was really one of the biggest problems for Alex Sar and why his efficiency was so poor on the offensive side, under 40% from the field and almost better as a three-point shooter than he was in general. Only taking 17% of his shots from zero to three feet from the basket. A big reason for that is because he didn’t have guys around him making plays to get him the basketball. They weren’t operating enough out of the pick and roll. His best game against Denver, he was feasting out of the pick and roll. He had a mismatch in terms of his defensive matchup with Joic even though he is like the best player in the world. That was a matchup that Alexar was able to expose when he was able to create separation for himself out of the pick and roll, get to the bucket or even stretch the floor to the top of the key and shoot three-pointers. But with Alex, so many of the times where he missed, he was shooting so many of those shots from like the 10 to 18 foot distance where you’d have on the basketball in his hands. He would kind of you take a couple dribbles and maybe fade away from the basket and shoot a midi. That’s just not his game. I don’t see that being his game long term and I think that’s a reason why he struggled with offensive efficiency and so many people were reluctant to say this guy can definitely be a center for this Wizards team in the future because it seems like he doesn’t want to play down low. But I think a big part of the reason why is because he didn’t have guys that could get him the basketball down low and give him opportunities to make these plays. I think the shot selection is going to be way better for Alexar this year. And of course the 17 minutes played in the first preseason game. I don’t know if he’s going to play tonight or not. I doubt it. I Yeah, if I had to bet, I don’t think he ends up playing. So, it’ll probably just end up being a really strong preseason overall for Alex Sar in the limited action. He only took five shots and only one of those a three-pointer. The other shots he took very high percentage shots around the rim. And you can make the argument the one shot he missed, he probably should have made it. So, goes to show you that if Alex really takes the shots that are going to be beneficial to his game, his shot diet can change to be something that’s a little more healthy instead of some more empty calories, taking shots from too far the outside or in the mid-range. It’s going to make him that much better. It’s going to increase his efficiency as a scorer and maybe change the way people feel about his outlook in the future. But that all starts with playmaking. I loved the way Keshan George and Will Riley have really stepped up in this role as guys that can play a point forward position for this team. Yeah, Will. I was going to say, Ben, Will Riley, like I’ve seen people already I mean, this is Bub Carrington. I think he’s going to be fine at the point guard position, but I want to see what you have in Will Riley as a playmaker with his size and IQ at such a young age. Why not see if he can play that guard role? I think he could. And I think in George as well. George was a point guard at Miami. He won the starting point guard job in his last year at Miami. Like Keshan George is more than capable of playing in a point guard type role for this team. And you might see minutes where you actually see him running the point this year. That’s going to be really interesting to see because he has such a high basketball IQ. He is good with the basketball in his hands and the ability to beat somebody off the dribble to to work your defender into a position where you have others collapse on you and you’re able to get the ball to somebody down low that’s open or then in turn they’re able to skip it one more time because you think about you go three quarter middle to skip when you’re running kind of like this little style of offense where you’ll have a a center portraying the middle. um that’s gonna allow for jump shooters to get open on the opposite wing whether it’s Trey Johnson or Bal if he comes back to see him try to work on that jump shot Cory Kispert when he gets minutes for this team. If you have guys like Riley and George who are out there who can operate as a point forward and I’m not to say Will Riley is going to play a lot of minutes for this team. I think that’s going to happen later in the season. If anything, you’d probably like to see him play some minutes with the go- go so he can just get opportunities to play entire games and really work on his uh scoring ability, which was like the biggest thing coming out of the draft for him is that he was a guy that could score in super tough moments and get his jump shot over really skilled defenders. So, you see him work on that. But, it kind of brings me to the other point with uh one player on this team, Abdul. But I know I’m getting kind of sidetracked here for just a second, but has Cory Kisper become kind of obsolete in this offense? Yeah, you were we were talking about it. Uh I think you brought it up when we were watching the game with against the Raptors where you were like, “Yeah, I can’t see a world where Court gets a lot of minutes this upcoming year.” And you know, it’s it’s it’s just like what he offers. It’s just not enough if we’re comparing him to other guys on this team, man. I mean, three-point shooting, we love it. We love to see a Cory. He was a sniper from at Gonzaga and and in the NBA he’s gotten better as a three-point shooter and he’s been more aggressive uh taking to the basket from his rookie year to now. But outside of that defensively, Ben, I mean, I’m calling a spade a spade a liability, especially since this team wants to get better defensively. You’d rather have guys out there like Justin Champany who hustles and gets those 50-50 balls. I think maybe even Will Riley can go in there and take some minutes from him because again, Ben, this team’s going to play fast and if Cory Kissper can’t keep up. If you’re Coach Keef, you got to say, “Hey, let me play with the young guys.” And Cory Kissper wasn’t part of this Will Dawkins regime. He wasn’t a W Dawkins draft pick. So, you put all those things together. I’m not rooting against the guy. I love Cory Kisper, but look at the other guys you have on this roster. I think Justin Champagne is going to be ahead of him. I think he should because he just provides that versatility. I think what you have, you have to see what you got in Will Riley. I mean, Keshan George is already ahead of him. a lot of these wings on this roster. It’s just it’s we have a surplus and Cam Whitmore who is going to be um accumulating this roster really really quickly come the regular season time in less than a week. It’s just it is what it is for Cory Gizpford and I’m surprised man we this whole offseason we were thinking about okay when are we when is Cory Gper gonna get dealt but he’s still on this with his roster and we’ll see if he’s here post trade deadline and I kind of wonder even though I don’t really think he should play minutes over any of the young wings this team has and I’ve seen a lot of uh discourse about that on Twitter and Reddit saying that there’s really no reason for him to play. I wonder if he’s going to be a guy that you see play minutes though because they’d like to somehow, you know, garner some type of value for maybe a second round pick because if we’re being honest right now, uh CJ McComem, Chris Middleton, Cory Kisper, like those are the three guys you would you would say definitively like you think those guys have the highest percent chance of getting traded because the organization would want to trade them for whatever value can get. Maybe Marvin Baggley will enter that conversation at some point if he actually plays the way he has been playing in the preseason and continues that in the regular season. Uh that’ll remain to be seen. We’ll probably see a pretty healthy dose of him tonight. But with Cory Kiss after the trade deadline, even if you don’t move him, I don’t really want to see much of him just because I I know what kind of player he is. And I think Cory Kiss is actually a good player. I have no ill will toward him. I don’t think he’s bad. I think he actually is pretty good offensively. He can shoot the ball really well as you mentioned and I think he actually could be a good piece on a team that could use him. I know we flirted out the idea of him going to Golden State at one point because they could use an extra three-point shooter again. They could always use an extra three-point shooter. I guess I guess they can. But Cory Kissper genuinely could be a valuable player to a team that’s contending that is looking for somebody that can provide a three-point spark off the bench. Kind of like the way Kyle Corver was toward um well Corver is Corver playing now. No, no, no, no, no. That’s not That’s not Corver. There was It’s There was another guy that was being compared to Cor. Corver’s been retired for a while, so I don’t know. I even know why I said that for a second, but like think about the way he was at one point in his career where he was a guy that you put him off the bench and he could snipe it from the 2018 Cavs team. I mean, he was a three-point shoot. So maybe the Lakers, maybe you trade Cory Kisser to the Lakers, they could all use a three-point shooter. I I feel like somebody could use him right now uh in that type of role and maybe we’ll see that happen during the trade deadline because of injuries. Uh, let me ask you this, Ben. Those four guys, Marvin Bagley, CJ McCullum, Chris Milton, Cory Kisper, how many of those guys, doesn’t matter which, do you think is going to be on this team post trade deadline out of those four? Um, at least two of them will be gone. I think I was thinking I was thinking the same. At least two, if not more, maybe all four. Who knows? Um, but M McCullum will not be here. I’m almost certain of that. As long as he stays healthy, if CJ McCullum can stay healthy, I think he’s going to get you a first round pick because he’s that good. I saw some people say, Ben, after that Toronto game, the preseason game, that he’s going to net you two sec two first round picks. It’s a little bit of a stretch. I’d say that’s definitely a stretch at his age in his contract right now, but he’s consistently averaged 20 points per game throughout his entire career. He’s as consistent as they come and it looks like he’s poised for that type of year this year. As long as he stays healthy, which he didn’t last year, that’s the biggest caveat here. Um, he’ll get you plenty that you need. All right, one final segment to go. we can just tap into this matchup tonight and and talk about some things we expect. Wizards and Pistons at 7 p.m. We’ll have the preview for it next. The holidays are going to be here before you know it, which is exciting, but getting your home ready for guests and celebration feels like a ton. Maybe your serve wear needs a refresh or the guest room could use new bedding. Wayfair has everything you need to get the home holiday ready. From Christmas trees and reefs to bedding, cookware, and outdoor inflatables, it’s your one-stop for every room in the house. Wayfair makes it easy to personalize your home for the holidays. With a huge selection for every style and budget with free and easy delivery, even on the big stuff, you can get everything you need without the hassle of huge delivery fees. I recently ordered some new holiday decor from Wayfair, and it completely transformed my living room. The reefs and throw pillows instantly made the space feel warm and festive. Get organized, refreshed, and ready for the holidays for way less. Head to wayfair.com right now and shop all things home. That’s w afir.com. Wayfair, every style, every home. Basketball season is officially here and nothing beats being in the arena for those opening games. But let’s be real, getting tickets can be a total headache. Between waiting in cues, surprise fees, and prices that jump right before checkout, it’s easy to get frustrated when all you want to do is cheer for your Wizards. That’s where Game Time comes in. The app that gives fans the advantage. It’s your ultimate life hack for scoring amazing NBA tickets fast, easy, and stressfree. I recently used game time to grab seats for that Wizards Raptors preseason game. I got them for my family and my girlfriend cuz they were looking to go. Abdullah and I were credentialed. So, the best way I was able to hook up my family with a really good deal was through Game Time. I love that what you see is what you pay. No hidden fees at the checkout. Plus, I could see exactly what my view looked like before I bought the tickets with their inapp seat view feature. Take the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets with Game Time. Download the Game Time app. Create a co create an account and use code locked on NBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms supply. That’s code L O C K E D O NA for $20 off. Swipe. Tap. Ticket. Go. AB. I hope all those people that decided to impulsively buy Lakers tickets when LeBron had his uh decision coming up. I hope they use game time at least because they they wasted a lot of money thinking that he was actually retiring or something. Yeah, that was the the greatest pump fake ever. Ben, poor Poor I hope they have a couple shots of that Hennessy that he released so they can forget about that. Uh anyways, moving on. Wizards and Pistons tonight. Final preseason game. We plan on being live in some capacity, maybe during it, but definitely after the game, so be tuned for our live reaction following Wizards and Pistons tonight. Third and final preseason game for the Wizards. Fourth and final for the Pistons. We’re getting so close to the regular season. AB, what are you looking for tonight the most? I want to see guys like Jir Watkins take advantage of his minutes. Ben, he I think is not talked about enough because I’m a young talent on this roster. But if he can go out there defensively and show this coaching staff that I can go and get one to two steals a game, get some rebounds, I think he’s going to get minutes early on. I know he’s going to be a big part of the capital city go, but I mean his wingspan at 611, at 6’5, I mean it’s very very impressive. And this team, if they want to get better defensively, they want to they need guys like him that can get their hands in the passing that can run fast. And to be honest, man, I mean, I think it’s going to be similar to the game against New York where we don’t see Alex Sar play, we don’t see Chris Moton, we don’t see CJ McCullum. I wonder if even Marvin Baggley will play. Tristan Vujovich, can you take advantage of your opportunities that you have right now with Marvin Bagley and Alexar potentially being out? Let’s see if you can go out there and be better offensively, defensively, be more aggressive. I want TV to take that jump year three offensively. We saw we saw what Chase Hughes was saying, Ben. He was there this past summer with Nicole Yokic learning from one of the greatest of all time and I’m hoping that he can apply it to what he learned to on the court this season. So, just the young guys in general. Share Cooper, does he get a role? would be fun to watch because I was a big fan of him coming out of high school. Let’s see how these young guys do. I know Detroit, they’re not going to have Kade and and all those other players that they have or core players, which by the way, side note, Ben, I think K Cunningham is going to have an MVP type year. But he was seventh last year in voting. So, I would I’d imagine he’s top five this year. I think he actually is going to break out even more than he did last year. That’s going to be exciting to watch. It’s an open east, Abdullah. Like, who knows? Yeah, who knows? Actually, I wanted to make a point because I was thinking about this. you’re watching this game and the Pistons aren’t playing core guys because the Pistons kind of know who they are. They expect to actually contend this year in the Eastern Conference. If you’re a Wizards fan, look at it this way. If the Detroit Pistons could get out of the absolute basketball hell that they were in for so many years, so can the Wizards. You got to be patient. Think about how often they heard the word patience in Detroit, just hoping that something would happen in the Motor City and they would stop being an embarrassment. And last year was finally the year for that Pistons team. And now in an Eastern Conference that’s wide open. Legitimately Pistons fans are, you know, optimistic that they can actually make some noise this year in the Eastern Conference. Wizards fans, if Detroit can get out of it, anybody can. I’m telling you. Remember, Ben, it was less than two years ago when Kyle Koosma made those comments with their It’s like don’t be that team. Yeah. Yeah, and they were on that crazy losing streak. So, if they can get out that get out of that hole, I think Wizards fans will be just fine. You got to find the star player. I’ll say that Kate Cunningham is the star player, the cornerstone for that Pistons team. And obviously, he was drafted at the top of the draft for a reason. So, that, you know, it panned out. It worked out eventually. I mean, hopefully for the Wizards, you see that a couple years down the road from either a guy like Alex Sar or Trey Johnson or whoever else, maybe one of these later first round picks like George or who knows, Will Riley at this point who’s turned heads throughout this preseason. It’s going to be fun. I just was keeping that in mind. Another thing I wanted to bring up for tonight’s game, can we get a little bit more of Cam Whitmore, please? Like, I feel like you think we will. I feel like we’re being teased right now. Maybe they know what they have in him and they don’t feel like they need to play him that much, but you like to see him get a little more comfortable, but the offense, he’s seven of 11 on the shot attempts that he’s taken uh throughout this preseason. He’s been pretty efficient. He hasn’t been forcing anything. The way Greg told us uh yesterday, that was the thing that impressed him the most about his offensive game. Cam Whitmore is an absolute dude on the floor offensively, and he only played 10 minutes in the last one. I kind of like to see him play a little bit more. Give him an opportunity to get some more shots up and to continue continue working with these other guys offensively. Trey Johnson as well, same thing. I want to see him continue to look aggressive the way he has, get his confidence going from beyond the arc, especially. I was going to say, Ben, how serious is AJ Johnson’s injury? Because I for I didn’t even know about that. Well, they had mentioned at uh Will Dawkins press conference that it was something that was going to likely keep him out for most of camp. They didn’t think he’d miss time into the regular season. Uh but maybe they’ll have to monitor and re-evaluate that. Uh it’s been kind of a bummer to not see him throughout the preseason. I know some other Wizards fans have commented about that as well. So wishing the best for AJ Johnson. Bal Kulabali. We expect to be back probably a week or two into the season. Saw some videos of him getting shots up yesterday with Alex R. So it looks like that thumb that he got surgery on has been recovering pretty well and it looks like he is pretty close uh to playing again which is good news for Balo entering year number three. Yeah. And I was also going to say side note, um, Malcolm Broadin, did you just see he announced his retirement, the former Wizard, so congrats to him. Mhm. Congratulations to him. Really great career, a rookie of the year. Six man six man of the year guy, right? Yeah. Yeah. You know, it’s insane. LeBron won uh six, it was some crazy award, rookie of the year at 2003 and then he won rookie of the year in 2017, right, Malcolm Brogden? Yeah. Yeah. It was something like that. and he still lasted longer. It’s just longevity. Another LeBron stat. But I’ll also say, Ben, Ish Smith is now a scout on the Wizards. Did you hear about that? Yeah, I did. It’s crazy. That guy, we we you can’t escape Bish Smith. But I actually do like this role for him. Ishmmith was kind of like fun and frisky when he was here. That was when the Wizards were just like mediocre. So you’d have Ishith out there. I never forget I went to a game where he scored like almost 40 points against Denver at home. It was like really weird. I was like, why is why is just giving everybody buckets right now? But he was kind of that player. He randomly would just pop off like that. Uh I think he’s a good dude to have in the building right now. So I’m actually going to be interested. Honestly, Ben, can we get him on the podcast, Ben? That would be great. I I hope maybe I’ll ask uh I’ll talk to Matt Quinn about that. Maybe see if uh he could pull some strings for us or something like that. Um Wizards fans, we want to hear from you guys. Let us know what you thought about today’s episode. What you think about the idea of this team prioritizing ball movement. No more of this isolation nonsense. Let’s have playmakers make plays for others on this team. Who is that going to benefit the most? Tell us. And what are you watching for tonight? If you’re interested in a potential live stream tonight, let us know as well so we can make that happen. But either way, we will see you postgame uh probably 15 to 20 minutes after the game is over tonight. We will be live for our reaction to Wizards and Pistons. So, do not miss that DC family. All right. We want to thank everyone for making Lockdown Wizards your first listen today and every single day. If you’re not subscribed already, come on, join the DC family. Your best Wizards coverage Monday through Friday all year round. Big one tonight. Wizards and Pistons at 700 p.m. Let’s see our young guys go at it. Let’s see them compete. Uh for now, we’re going to get out of here. For my co-host, Abdullah Aub, I’m Ben Strober, DC Family. Talk to you later tonight.

Wizards shake up offense: Ball movement takes center stage in preseason. Is this the key to unlocking their potential?

Ben Strober and Abdullah Ayubi break down the Washington Wizards’ new offensive strategy, highlighting Khris Middleton’s playmaking and Alex Sarr’s potential resurgence. The duo analyzes how team-oriented basketball could transform the Wizards’ fortunes, contrasting it with last season’s isolation-heavy approach. They also debate Corey Kispert’s future and preview the final preseason matchup against the Detroit Pistons, discussing young talents like Cam Whitmore and Jamir Watkins.

Tune in for expert insights on the Wizards’ evolving game plan and its impact on key players as they prepare for the 2025 NBA season

Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-wizards/

Locked On NBA League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, WNBA & More
🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/leagues/nba/

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!
Gametime
Today’s episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply.

Wayfair
Get organized, refreshed, and back to routine for way less. Head to https://Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home.

Peloton
Let yourself run, lift, flex, and push forward. Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread+ today at https://www.onepeloton.com.

Monarch Money
Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNBA at https://monarchmoney.com/lockedonnba for 50% off your first year

FanDuel
Right now, new customers can bet just FIVE dollars and if your bet wins—you’ll get THREE HUNDRED dollars in bonus bets to use across the app. Download the FanDuel app now by visiting https://FanDuel.com to get started

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

#WashingtonWizards #NBA #Wizards