Same opponent, different stadium, same result. After falling to the Atlanta Hawks Wednesday night in Washington, the Wizards traveled to Atlanta and got beat again, 139-132.
With Anthony Davis sidelined with a sprained ankle, the Wizards’ defense largely collapsed. The Hawks got free runs at the rim, open threes, offensive rebounds, and largely had their way against Washington.
How bad was it? The Hawks had 105 points in the first three quarters and added another 34 in the fourth. Atlanta had 37 assists
and 52 made field goals. Maybe it’s because Venus is in retrograde.
Trae Young played a solid offensive performance in his first game back in Atlanta since getting traded to Washington. His defense looked more like it did when he was with the Hawks, which is to say inattentive and ineffective. He’s a wizard on the offensive end though — a dizzying mix of passing, shooting, crafty drives, and world-class foul-drawing.
The Wizards kept things close to the end with offense powered by Kyshawn George, who played another strong game. George finished 33 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists. He carried the offense late, pouring in 18 points in a powerful fourth quarter.
Tre Johnson’s shooting heated up. He finished with 23 points in 27 minutes off the bench, and he drew at least three, “He’s not bashful” comments from Hawks analyst Dominique Wilkins. Wilkins and play-by-play man Bob Rathbun marveled at Johnson’s aggressive shot selection.
Washington got as close as three points in the final minutes after trailing by as much as 14 in the second half, but didn’t have enough to finish the comeback.
The Wizards fall to 4-5 on the season, and 1-1 in NBA Cup play.
From the Notebook
- Early defensive play will be a learning experience for rookie AJ Dybantsa. On the play, Atlanta’s Onyeka Okongwu got free for a lob dunk. The reason he got free? Dybantsa didn’t call out a screener, Deandre Ayton got picked, and Okongwu was wide open.
- The first quarter included one of the worst defensive plays I’ve seen from Young this season, Kingston Flemings made what was going to be a routine cut to clear out the side. Young lost track of him, so it turned into an easy backdoor layup.
- I’ve been frustrated by Bilal Coulibaly’s lack of offensive aggression this season. In the first quarter, he attacked in transition and drew a foul. He made both free throws. This is the way.
- Early in the game, I noted that it was the most active Alex Sarr has looked all season. His energy level seemed to dwindle later in the game, but he did finish with 13 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in 30 minutes. That’s a solid game.
- The Wizards started the game with Ayton in Davis’ slot. In the second half, they tried Coulibaly instead of Ayton. It didn’t seem to make a ton of difference either way.
- Bub Carrington’s defense is much improved this season. Example: late in the first quarter, he pressured CJ McCollum into a backcourt violation.
- Dybantsa kept doing a good job of getting into the paint and to the rim…and then not finishing. I’m confident the finishing will come.
- The Wizards kept setting ball screens for Young that would send him left and into the sideline. I’m not sure why they’re doing that other than it’s something Young likes. Which, I’m not sure why he’d want that — most teams want to keep the ball out of the middle and are perfectly happy to push it to the sideline. That’s what ice coverage tries to do.
- Back to Coulibaly for a second — his poor shooting is an issue. The Hawks declined to defend him at the three-point line. They were happy to let him shoot. He made one of three.
- George carried the offense in the fourth quarter AND made a terrific defensive play — staying with McCollum through a heady sequence of moves before rising up and blocking the shot. The possession ended with Lu Dort hitting a fading two over Tre Johnson. I thought Coulibaly should have been in the game for defense on that play.
- I really liked the simplicity and execution of Washington’s out-of-timeout play with 13 seconds left in the game. George inbounded the ball to Sarr and immediately ran a classic “get action” (meaning he followed the ball to get it back from the big). He ended up with a wide open three, which he hit. Good design and execution.
No PPA stats tonight.
