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<\/a><\/p>\nWait a minute, Wizards guard Tre Johnson is generating basketball gravity. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n
The game was replete with some of the same-old-same-old. They had plenty of defensive breakdowns. They got dominated on the glass. And yet, I saw some things in this one that I think are positive signs for the future.<\/p>\n
Throughout the night, Sarr\u2019s combination of length, agility, and skills were way too much for the Hornets to handle \u2014 at least on the offensive end. He was too strong and long for Moussa Diabate and Miles Bridges. He was much too quick for Ryan Kalkbrenner. He shot over defenders whether big or small.Jamir Watkins was a defensive menace. He tallied five steals and two blocks, including an open-court strip of Collin Sexton (which resulted in a breakaway dunk) and alert plays in passing lanes.Repeatedly in my notes are entries about the team\u2019s well-designed offensive system. Some examples:At 9:11 of the second quarter, the Wizards ran a high screen action to get an open look out top. If you\u2019ve watched any game this season, you\u2019ve seen this action. In this example, Sarr screen for Johnson, who immediately went into a three-point shot upon receiving the pass from George. He got fouled and ended up at the free throw line. This is an example of Washington\u2019s offensive design \u2014 it\u2019s a difficult action to defend and comes with a set of options if the primary action is covered. Brian Keefe\u2019s challenge: getting his exuberant youngsters to consistently execute the system.Probably my favorite observation in this one was noticing something new: Tre Johnson producing gravity. In transition during the third quarter, the threat of Johnson at the three-point line drew a hyper-aggressive closeout. He attacked the closeout and drove middle. Charlotte\u2019s defense collapsed on him, he kicked to George, who got a wide open three, which he missed. He drew defensive attention beyond the three-point line throughout the second half, which helped give his teammates more space to operate.In the fourth quarter, the Wizards defense was actually good. The results (108 defensive rating) weren\u2019t all-time great, but their communication was excellent, their switches were seamless, and they worked together as a unit to keep Hornets players from driving. They forced Charlotte deeper into the shot clock and forced them to take difficult shots. Charlotte made enough of those shots to secure the win, but the defensive process was mostly what it needed to be.Sturdier perimeter defense \u2014 meaning preventing or cutting off drives \u2014 is important to Washington\u2019s defense. Even in that fourth quarter, Charlotte paint touches led to open threes. They shot just 1-8 from deep in the period.Champagnie and Sarr both had terrific fourth quarters.I don\u2019t know the numbers, but my eye tells me Sarr is superb when switching onto smaller players on the perimeter. His ability to get low and move was key to Washington\u2019s fourth quarter defense.Another great example of Johnson\u2019s gravity came with about 4:10 left in the game. The Wizards set stagger screens to bring Johnson up from the corner. Charlotte covered the initial action well, so Johnson cleared to the weak side, and Carrington dribbled to the right. Sarr immediately re-screened for Johnson to come back to the middle, who caught the pass on the move and drove into the lane. Four (4!) defenders reacted to him. He kicked to Champagnie in the corner, who swung it to Carrington out top for a wide open three.One more example of Keefe\u2019s good play design \u2014 with 2:30 left in the game, the Wizards ran a devilish baseline out of bounds play. Washington gets a surprisingly high number of layups and dunks on BLOB plays, and this was one of them. In this version, Champagnie ran a fake screen action \u2014 it looked to the defense like he was going to set a back screen for a teammate to cut to the basket. At the last second, he slipped the screen and made the cut himself. He came open for a dunk. Superb design.<\/p>\n
The Wizards have a long ways to go with players executing the scheme, getting stronger, and getting smarter. They really need George to become a consistently better decision-maker\u2026if he\u2019s going to retain a significant on-ball roll. Still, I think there\u2019s reason to be encouraged. They\u2019re showing improvement and there\u2019s room for plenty more.<\/p>\n
Below are the four factors that decide wins and losses in basketball \u2014 shooting (efg), rebounding (offensive rebounds), ball handling (turnovers), fouling (free throws made).<\/p>\n
The four factors are measured by:<\/p>\n
eFG% (effective field goal percentage, which accounts for the three-point shot)OREB% (offensive rebound percentage)TOV% (turnover percentage \u2014 turnovers divided by possessions)FTM\/FGA (free throws made divided by field goal attempts)FOUR FACTORSWIZARDSHORNETSLGAVGeFG%55.7%60.8%54.4%OREB%22.7%33.3%26.1%TOV%12.9%20.9%12.8%FTM\/FGA0.0830.2910.210PACE10099.6ORTG114118115.6<\/p>\n
PPA is my overall production metric, which credits players for things they do that help a team win (scoring, rebounding, playmaking, defending) and dings them for things that hurt (missed shots, turnovers, bad defense, fouls).<\/p>\n