{"id":714106,"date":"2026-04-19T18:33:57","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T18:33:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/714106\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T18:33:57","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T18:33:57","slug":"bub-carringtons-anomalous-plus-minus-finish-is-a-broader-wizards-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/714106\/","title":{"rendered":"Bub Carrington&#8217;s Anomalous Plus\/Minus Finish is a Broader Wizards Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6f\">Plus\/minus results are far from the most reliable figure on traditional NBA box scores. The amount of points that a team wins or loses by during a specific player&#8217;s minutes says just as much about context as it does about an individual&#8217;s performance, leaving tanking operations like the Washington Wizards and their hapless on-court contributors particularly vulnerable to unimpressive totals in this metric.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6i\">This is where someone like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nba\/wizards\/onsi\/washington-wizards-news\/washington-wizards-bub-carrington-prepare-trae-young-shift\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Bub Carrington<\/a> gets in trouble. He&#8217;s the Wizards&#8217; Iron Man, having yet to miss an NBA game since he was drafted two summers ago, meaning that he&#8217;s been present for each and every outing in which his rebuild-oriented squad rolled over against a more driven opponent over their last pair of campaigns.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6l\">The Wizards allowed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statmuse.com\/nba\/ask?q=worst+%2B%2F-+2025-26+nba\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">746 more points<\/a> than they scored during Carrington&#8217;s time on the court, good for the worst mark of anyone who checked into this past regular season by over 150 points.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Worst Plus\/Minus In The 2025-26 NBA Regular Season :<\/p>\n<p>1.  Bub Carrington  \u2014  -746<br \/>2.  DeMar DeRozan  \u2014  -588<br \/>3.  Nic Claxton  \u2014  -515<br \/>4.  Will Riley  \u2014  -484<br \/>5.  Maxime Raynaud  \u2014  -461<br \/>6.  Jarace Walker  \u2014  -459<br \/>7.  Russell Westbrook  \u2014  -456<br \/>8.  Ace Bailey  \u2014  -448<br \/>9.  Drake\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/n2tUSEGMZk\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/t.co\/n2tUSEGMZk<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/JFDfsxbPQx\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/JFDfsxbPQx<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Stat Defender (@statdefender) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/statdefender\/status\/2045608657061351580?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">April 18, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6r\">This isn&#8217;t to say he&#8217;s the worst player in the league, as Washington&#8217;s willingness to overlook nightly losses in favor of player development must be taken into account, but this is growing into a trend for the Wizards guard. He reigned supreme in this regard as a rookie, too, when his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statmuse.com\/nba\/ask?q=worst+%2B%2F-+2024-25+nba\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">-798 finish<\/a> led the 2024-25 league. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6u\">The question has to be asked: how much of this disparity can be directly attributed to the Carrington-shaped common denominator?<\/p>\n<p>In Defense of Carrington<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"70\">The Wizards have been openly willing to ease their litany of fresh-drafted prospects into the NBA as soon as they can, a strategy based off of their relative-lack of veterans and one that enables the franchise to see who&#8217;s capable of swimming with the big fish.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"73\">No Wizard has quite embodied this element of the rebuilding formula quite like Carrington, who&#8217;s averaged <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/carrica01.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">28.8 minutes<\/a> across back-to-back 82-game seasons. He never seems to get hurt, a nice advantage of his perimeter-oriented shot diet and aversion to contact, and his continual improvement as a 3-point marksman makes it difficult for head coach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nba\/wizards\/onsi\/wizards-gm-reinforces-belief-in-brian-keefe-01kpc0zh2tjb\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Brian Keefe<\/a> to turn down the former first-round pick&#8217;s floor-spacing potential.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/01kpk9zbnn36yjefccgq.jpg\" alt=\"Washington Wizards Guard Bub Carrington\" title=\"Washington Wizards Guard Bub Carrington\" width=\"5573\" height=\"3134\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"7d\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Mar 29, 2026; Portland, Oregon, USA; Washington Wizards guard Bub Carrington (7) is introduced before the game against the Portland Trail Blazers  at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-Imagn Images | Soobum Im-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7h\">And a quick scan over some of the peers beneath Carrington on the dishonorable roundup reveals the same tank-tastic usual subjects. Brooklyn Nets and Sacramento Kings similarly litter the wrong end of the plus\/minus standing &#8212; even Carrington isn&#8217;t solely representing his team, with fellow young Wizard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nba\/wizards\/onsi\/three-winners-of-the-wizards-season-s-final-chapter-01kp6q16evw4\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Will Riley<\/a> listed just a few pegs below his locker room counterpart.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7k\">Anyone bashing the steadily-available guard must account for these two factors before going in on Carrington&#8217;s game. The loss-centric agenda comes from well <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nba\/wizards\/onsi\/how-the-wizards-benefitted-and-lost-from-the-western-play-in-01kp8vs643r1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">above the players&#8217; heads<\/a>, and their most dependable nightly ambassador has had to accept a disproportionate amount of exterior lashings for the dark side of Washington&#8217;s teardown period.<\/p>\n<p>Doling Out Personal Blame<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7q\">With that out of the way, it&#8217;s fair to note how Carrington&#8217;s specific style lends itself to such a mountainous discrepency.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7t\">His jump to a 40% 3-point shooter is certainly worthy of recognition, but his worsening reluctance to go to the hoop has sapped much of his early intrigue as an impactful point guard. A measly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/carrica01.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">10.2%<\/a> of his field goal attempts as a rookie were within 0-3 feet, and he somehow cut that already-tiny clip in half over his further commitment to a perimeter-oriented shot chart as a sophomore.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/01kpkbfcvgtz5ng7m8tf.jpg\" alt=\"Washington Wizards Guard Bub Carrington\" title=\"Washington Wizards Guard Bub Carrington\" width=\"2959\" height=\"1664\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"83\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Apr 10, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards guard Bub Carrington (7) shoots the ball as Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) defends in the second half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-16\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"87\">And it&#8217;s not as if he&#8217;s finishing strong whenever he completes his occasional trips to the cup. Carrington ranks as the <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/automaticnba\/status\/2044125603977146451\" rel=\"nofollow\">league&#8217;s worst finishers<\/a> by some estimations, suffering from the Wizards&#8217; institutional lack of strength against paint protectors in routinely flinging his rare layup attempts off of the backboard.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Worst (most detrimental) finishers. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0urwEsN9E0\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/t.co\/0urwEsN9E0<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IrdYc1AIUw\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/IrdYc1AIUw<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Automatic (@automaticnba) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/automaticnba\/status\/2044125603977146451?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">April 14, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-18\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8d\">The book is already out on Carrington whenever he makes his move to slash; he&#8217;d rather dish than take the driving shot himself, which saps much of his potential as a kickout passer. There&#8217;s not much use loading up to stop a smaller scorer who&#8217;d rather pass out of a shot than go up strong himself, especially when he lacks the touch to convert on those theoretical looks.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-19\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8g\">It&#8217;s fair to assume that he won&#8217;t be on this same list next year, with the Wizards having made their intentions of taking the next step into contention fairly clear. They&#8217;ll be better than this 17-win result with healthy debuts out of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nba\/wizards\/onsi\/trae-young-reveals-excitement-toward-wizards-defensive-potential-01kp6jjvhb6r\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Trae Young<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nba\/wizards\/onsi\/washington-wizards-news\/wizards-have-yet-to-earn-anthony-davis-full-trust-01kp686t2m8s\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Anthony Davis<\/a> and the rest of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nba\/wizards\/onsi\/tre-johnson-s-defense-among-next-wizards-season-s-make-or-break-factors-01kpc8wpbqha\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">battered young corps<\/a>, a team with better chances of accumulating wins without requiring nearly 30 minutes per game out of Carrington. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-20\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8j\">Still, doubts about how his playstyle has contributed to his growing reputation have yet to wane, and fairly so. He&#8217;ll have to take a step forward as an all-around playmaker to give himself another chance to play as many minutes as he has to this point, and the opportunities he&#8217;s enjoyed as a rotational regular will be at more of a premium than anything he&#8217;s previously seen entering the fall.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-21\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8m\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nba\/wizards\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Make sure you bookmark Washington Wizards on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\" class=\"shrink-0\"\/>Add us as a preferred source on Google<a aria-label=\"Follow si.com on Google News\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=si.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"flex h-[30px] w-[30px] shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-full bg-primary font-group-large text-sm font-medium text-white transition-colors hover:bg-secondary focus:bg-secondary md:w-auto md:gap-2.5 md:px-4 md:py-[5px]\">Follow<\/a><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Plus\/minus results are far from the most reliable figure on traditional NBA box scores. The amount of points&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":714107,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3780],"tags":[7,6,682,468,3892,683],"class_list":{"0":"post-714106","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-washington-wizards","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-nba","10":"tag-washington","11":"tag-washington-wizards","12":"tag-washingtonwizards","13":"tag-wizards"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116432816474045199","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=714106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714106\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/714107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=714106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=714106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=714106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}