Wizards-Heat: Takeaways

The Wizards lost their opener to the Heat 113-112.  Here are a few takeaways.

1.  It’s hard to win when the opponent gets 22 offensive rebounds.  The Wizards went small a lot but box-outs were more the issue than size disadvantage.
2.  Kelly Olynyk’s put-back game-winner off Wade’s miss was too easy.  Morris was guarding him and never put a body on him.  A shame because Wall played great defense on Wade forcing a very tough shot.
3.  The Wizards’ final offensive possession wasn’t good enough but something we’ve seen before.  John Wall was the only player to touch the ball. He apparently got the switch he wanted with McGruder but McGruder played off and gave up the 3-point attempt.  The shot looked good and it would’ve iced the game but that’s not what the Wizards should be looking for in that spot.  I’m not asking for a play or a set, just would like to see some ball movement to make the defense move.  Settling for a Wall 3-point attempt (he was 1-6) with the game on the line has never worked.  Perhaps Brooks wants Wall to get it to the rim in that situation but still, moving the defense with some ball movement to start the possession would make that easier to accomplish.  Two of the final three possessions featured Wall as the only player to touch the ball.
4. I thought the effort defensively was decent minus the rebounding for much of the night but they still aren’t consistent enough possession by possession.  They gave up some easy back-doors overplaying and denying with no paint help.  The Heat shot 39.2% from the floor which Scott Brooks will take every night but the offensive rebounds just killed them.  Wall at times looked super interested in defending.  I liked his intensity tonight.  Obviously it should be there for the opener but he had 3 blocked shots and at least two more close-outs that affected the shot attempt including Wade’s last one.
5. 10 missed free throws (29-39) didn’t help.  They have too many good shooters to be less than 79-80% from the FT line as an average.
6. Otto Porter didn’t attempt a 3-pointer.  The analytic geeks will throw a tantrum over it but won’t be able to explain why.  Porter played well tonight.  I didn’t have a major problem with his overall game.  He did a ton of things that help a team win.  I would like him to get more offensive opportunities but the Wizards don’t and shouldn’t run too much for him.  They don’t really run many sets for anybody.  Scott Brooks shouldn’t be angst-ridden over Otto Porter’s 3-point attempts.  It’s a numbers/stats take from people who wouldn’t know how to screen a screener for cash.  If they rebound which they didn’t tonight, they’ll get more chances in transition which is one of the places Porter has gotten good 3-point chances in the past.  When they get Howard back, he’ll play less at the 4-spot when they go small and that will give him more chances. Otto Porter has shot a high percentage from the 3-point line in the past because a) he’s a good shooter b) he takes “good” threes which for him are attempts with feet set, catch, shoot, and very often unguarded on the catch.  If he starts passing on those threes, then I’ll have a problem.
7. I like Jeff Green.  High IQ player who will contribute a lot to this team.
8. I still like how hard Kelly Oubre competes.
9. Still too many turnovers in key spots like Wall’s errant pass up 4 with 4 minutes left.  McGruder hit a three on the other end….that was a big swing.
10. To hear my interview with Scott Brooks yesterday, click here/go to the 12:45 mark.  https://thekevinsheehanshow.com/2018/10/17/scott-brooks-and-mike-wilbon/