The Washington Wizards misplaced to the Chicago Bulls 90-85 on Saturday night within the Las Vegas Summer time League. Listed below are 5 takeaways from what went down…
A lot of guys out
The Wizards performed out their fifth and ultimate recreation of the 2023 Las Vegas Summer time League and not using a lengthy record of key prospects who had earlier carried a lot of the offensive load by way of the primary week of video games. Bilal Coulibaly, Johnny Davis, Ryan Rollins, Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Xavier Cooks all sat out evidently because of relaxation on the second night time of a back-to-back and with the annual showcase coming to a detailed.
All of them had additionally for essentially the most half loved constructive showings in Vegas, to allow them to be ok with their progress getting into the second half of the offseason. Issues will decelerate by way of the league information cycle, however the subsequent two months are an important interval for particular person enchancment because the gamers ramp up for one more yr.
With all these guys lacking, the Wizards misplaced to the Bulls in a low-scoring recreation, dropping their Summer time League report to 2-3.
Extra Vukcevic
Second spherical decide Tristan Vukcevic picked up a lot of the slack with so lots of his teammates out and he got here in recent after resting in Friday night time’s win over the Thunder. Vukcevic was a central a part of the Wizards’ offense in opposition to Chicago, as he took 13 photographs en route to fifteen factors, eight rebounds and an help. His rebounding was a spotlight of the Wizards’ Summer time League.
Vukcevic shot in quantity, however not with effectivity as he knocked down simply 4-for-13 from the sector and 2-for-8 from three. He missed his first 9 photographs within the recreation earlier than lastly getting a tip-in to go down within the fourth quarter. The excellent news is that this recreation would not rely for a lot. Additionally, with Coulibaly, Davis and others out, the teaching employees in all probability needed him to be aggressive searching for his personal shot, as that’s usually the method on this setting. Generally it is good to play by way of errors.
Vukcevic has additionally executed a pleasant job this Summer time League of taking photographs throughout the rhythm of the offense and never forcing issues, an method that principally carried over to this recreation. That midset ought to assist him succeed over time. This simply wasn’t his night time.
Profitable Summer time League
All in all, the Wizards’ entrance workplace and training employees are seemingly happy with what they noticed within the Summer time League. Coulibaly, the 2023 seventh total decide, confirmed indicators his measurement and athleticism will translate to the subsequent degree. His pure instincts on the defensive finish actually stood out, whereas on offense he was very efficient in transition, hit a game-winning shot in opposition to the Celtics after which had a breakout efficiency in opposition to the Thunder.
Davis displayed an upward trajectory in that he was a lot better than he was final summer time in Las Vegas. Vukcevic flashed promise, notably on the offensive finish. In the meantime, Baldwin Jr. and Rollins every confirmed potential because of their measurement and skillsets. At a minimal, they’re price including to this system to see how they develop. Washington additionally checked off all of these bins whereas avoiding accidents.
Bernard had a recreation
On Friday it was Dejan Vasiljevic who gave the Wizards an enormous elevate off the bench and in doing so helped his inventory as an NBA prospect. On Saturday it was Jules Bernard who took benefit of the chance, going off for a team-high 17 factors on 5-for-8 taking pictures and 2-for-3 from three. He additionally had six rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Bernard is a well-known title to those that watched the Capital Metropolis Go-Go final season. A 6-foot-7 guard, Bernard performed for the Go-Go final yr after spending time with the Motor Metropolis Cruise. He is from Los Angeles and performed at UCLA earlier than going undrafted in 2022. Bernard is in an attention-grabbing spot as a holdover making an attempt to show himself to a brand new entrance workplace. He ought to be ok with how he closed out the Summer time League, whether or not he sticks in Washington or finally ends up elsewhere within the fall.
Robust night time scoring the ball
The Wizards had a fantastic recreation offensively on Friday, however actually struggled to get their offense going in opposition to the Bulls. That was in all probability largely because of all the fellows lacking and maybe particularly Rollins, who had impressed by way of 4 video games by getting downhill and setting the tone for others. With him and prime scorers Coulibaly and Davis out, the Wizards shot simply 41.7% from the sector and 22.2% (6-for-27) from three. Additionally they had 16 turnovers.
Yeah, it wasn’t the prettiest recreation for the Wizards. The Bulls deserve some credit score for his or her protection, however this recreation was arguably an instance of how essential level guards are in initiating the offense. On a associated observe, I had a entrance workplace official final season comment how essential it’s to have a dependable, table-setting level guard within the G League and the way invaluable gamers who match that archetype might be. It makes good sense, as getting gamers photographs in rhythm is a really fundamental facet of participant improvement.