Actual conversation tonight after the Washington Wizards beat the Sacramento Kings 73-69 in a spectacular Summer League game:
myself: Alex Sarr made some shots tonight.
son (does the typical “hey, how about that” nod, turns back to his phone, then suddenly looks up): Wait, one?
myself: Yes, it's 1-6.
son (After a moment's thought): So this is one of his last 21. Should I take some shooting practice?
If you're recording it to watch later, my advice to you is: DON'T DO IT. It was a terrible game. The Wizards shot 34.7% from 2-point range and 31.6% from 3-point range. WinnerThey somehow managed to do it with the same number of offensive rebounds, more They had more turnovers than the Kings.
For those keeping track at home, free throws are the only element of the four that remains to say the Wizards won the game: Washington made 21 of 21 shots, while the Kings were 13 of 20.
Yay, free throw.
Nobody the Wizards really wanted to play well did. Taylor Funk and Erik Stevenson were the best players per possession. They both made some 3-pointers and Funk grabbed some rebounds.
Jules Bernard shot decent shots and got to the free throw line, but he also committed six turnovers.
At the start of this page, I came not to spew the negative, but to notice some positives, and there were some positives.
Sarr did exactly what Matt Moderno, Osman Baig and I discussed during our last post-game livestream: he played a pretty positive game overall despite his poor shooting. He grabbed 11 rebounds, including a game-high six offensive rebounds, had four assists, one steal and one block, committed two turnovers and committed five fouls.
All of this rated below average but above replacement level in my PPA metric, which is pretty impressive when you factor in his shooting. His contributions were evident in the game's most crucial moment, when he corralled the offensive boards after Carrington's shot was blocked, then smashed the ball out to a totally unattended Patrick Baldwin Jr., who drilled a three-pointer to give Washington the lead.
His poor shooting last night wasn't due to his obsession with 3-pointers. All six of his shots were from inside the paint. Maybe a couple of them fall into the “bad shot selection” category (his final shot, for example, was a contested 12-footer with 10 seconds left on the shot clock). But, man, he just missed. A lot. Even if it was just a missed shot. just Summer League.
Still, I thought he played pretty good overall. He rebounded well, he passed well, and he played solid defense. His athleticism is already at the NBA level. Of course, he needs to get stronger. This is true for all 19-year-olds who enter the NBA, with the possible exception of LeBron James. He's gotten a lot stronger.
Babb Carrington had a poor performance with poor shooting (2 of 11 field goals), three turnovers and three assists, but he still played well: Like in the first three games, he competed both defensively and defensively and found ways to contribute even without taking a shot: five rebounds, one steal and two blocks.
I didn't get the same reaction from KiShawn George's game. He shot poorly (like most of the players in this game) and had a couple of blocks, but his overall performance was sloppy and disjointed: four turnovers, four fouls, and just two rebounds in 26 minutes. Nothing I saw from him in Summer League made me think YODA's (low) rating was off the mark.
Baldwin managed to dish out five assists.
I was hoping Colby Jones would do well for the Kings. Let's say it together: Although his shooting was poor, he was active on both ends of the floor with 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals. I would have him as a first-round pick in the 2023 draft, but I still think he's worthwhile. He's a player the Wizards should acquire. Just thrown in When they traded Kyle Kuzma.
Wizards Summer League head coach Cody Toppert engineered a clever play for Carrington to run to the rim on Baldwin's turnover 3-pointer mentioned earlier. It started with a fake action from the top to allow the defender to set up a nice crossover for Carrington. The 18-year-old Carrington was blocked at the rim (he needs to practice finishing against bigger players), but the play was designed for Sarr to get the rebound, who made a pass.
My point is not that the play worked exactly as Toppert envisioned it (it didn't), but that it worked because he thought through contingencies and built them into the design.
- A fake action from the top allowed Carrington to get into the lane.
- The team's best offensive rebounder (Sarl) charged in from a trail position in case Carrington missed.
- Coach Toppert placed shooters in strategic spots on the court to facilitate kick-out passes to Carrington and Sarr.
This is a good design and when you look at the execution you can see they put the effort in. It didn't go as well as they hoped (opponents make plays sometimes) but it put players in position to make plays. This is solid coaching.
