News Wizards Team Notes

[Washington Wizards]

Mystics vs. Aces preview: Washington hosts Las Vegas on Saturday

The Washington Mystics host the Las Vegas Aces on Saturday night. Here is the preview.

Game info​

When: Saturday, Aug. 13 at 3 p.m. ET

Where: CareFirst Arena, Washington, DC

How to watch: Monumental Sports Network

Injury report: For the Mystics, Jacy Sheldon (ankle) and Georgia Amoore (knee) are out. For the Aces, Cheyenne Parker-Tyus is out.

Game notes​

I won’t lie. these last two Mystics games were unforgettable, and not in a good way. They lost two straight games to the Connecticut Sun, the worst team in the league. The Mystics aren’t eliminated from playoff contention just yet. But they are the next team to hit that fate.

The Aces are the third seeded team in the WNBA standings, and they have won nine of their last ten games. Though the Mystics are hosting them tomorrow afternoon, the Aces also have the momentum for their playoff push. The Mystics? Not so much.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/myst...gton-mystics-las-vegas-aces-wnba-game-preview

 

[Washington Wizards]

John Wall announces retirement from NBA

Former Washington Wizards star John Wall announced his retirement from the NBA via an Instagram post on Tuesday.

Wall, 34, was selected by Washington with the No. 1 pick in the 2010 NBA Draft and spent nine seasons in D.C.

Wall led the Wizards to four playoff berths and advanced to the second round three times, with the farthest run coming in 2017 when Washington lost in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Wall’s Wizards resume is a decorated one:

• 5x All-Star
• All-NBA Third Team
• All-Defense Second Team
• All-Rookie First Team
• Franchise leader in assists (5,282) and steals (976)
• 573 games played
• Averaged 19.2 points and 9.0 assists for Washington

Wall’s most iconic moment in a Wizards uniform came in Game 6 of the 2017 Eastern Conference semifinals against the Boston Celtics, when, with just 3.5 seconds remaining, he rose up and sunk a go-ahead 3-pointer to give Washington a 92-91 lead. The Wizards won that game to keep their season alive, and after the final buzzer, Wall climbed onto the scorer’s table and pointed down, saying, “This is my city.”

Wall’s best season in Washington came during the 2016-17 campaign, in which he earned All-NBA Third Team honors after averaging 23.1 points and 10.7 assists per game. Wall finished 7th in MVP voting that year and made his fourth All-Star game.

Injuries plagued the ladder part of Wall’s career. The speedy guard missed 41 games in 2017-18 with a left knee injury before undergoing heel surgery in December 2018 that caused him to miss the remainder of that season. One month later, while recovering from heel surgery, Wall suffered a torn Achilles, causing him to miss all of the following 2019-20 season.

The Wizards traded Wall to the Houston Rockets in 2020. Wall spent one season in Houston and another playing for the Los Angelos Clippers in 2023.

Wall left a lasting impact on the D.C. community with the John Wall Family Foundation, hosting community events such as turkey drives for Thanksgiving as a member of the Wizards.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/washington-wizards-news/64856/john-wall-announces-retirement-from-nba

 

[Washington Wizards]

Mystics vs. Storm preview: Washington hosts Seattle for second end of back-to-back

The Washington Mystics host the Seattle Storm on Sunday afternoon. Here is the preview.

Game info​

When: Sunday, Aug. 24 at 3 p.m. ET

Where: CareFirst Arena, Washington, DC

How to watch: Monumental Sports Network

Injury report: For the Mystics, Jacy Sheldon (ankle) and Georgia Amoore (knee) are out. For the Storm, Katie Lou Samuelson is out.

Game notes​

Tomorrow, the Mystics will welcome back Brittney Sykes, who began the season with them but got traded midseason because, well, Michael Winger prefers tanking even if it means hurting the Mystics’ hopes for being a perennial contender starting in 2026 — MY opinion of course.

All that said, the Storm are currently the No. 7 seed in the WNBA playoff standings. If the Mystics can pull the upset off the perhaps the end of this season will be a bit more interesting than anticipated.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/myst...ngton-mystics-seattle-storm-wnba-game-preview

 

[Washington Wizards]

The Machine Points Upward: Bub Carrington’s Optimistic Stat Comps

Washington Wizards guard Bub Carrington

After a trip through guesstimating old-time NBA stats, we now return to a Bullets Forever August tradition: running players through my Statistical Doppelganger Machine.

The Machine compares a reference seasons to all the other player seasons through NBA history across 14 stat categories including age, playing time, box score stats (pace adjusted), and PPA (my overall production metric). The idea here is to identify players with similar on-court production while moving beyond superficial traits like size, perceived athleticism, or skin color.

Let’s turn to today’s “reference season” — the rookie year of Bub Carrington.

I won’t rehash what I wrote about Carrington back in May. The TLDR:

At times, Carrington looked great. At others…well…not so great. But, he was the 14th pick in the draft, and he’s just 20 years old. His 59 PPA indicates he was well below average last season, which is perfectly normal for any rookie, and especially normal for a teenager.

Also, he was inconsistent, which is perfectly normal for a teenaged rookie.

Carrington’s was relatively strong getting defensive rebounds and generating assists while avoiding turnovers. His offensive efficiency was poor — a bit more than 10 points per possessions below league average. Again, that’s fine for a teenaged rookie. It’s something that should improve as he physically matures and gains NBA experience.

The Machine’s results are a fairly optimistic underscore of how “normal” Carrington’s rookie year was. Here we go:

1. Kevin Huerter, Atlanta Hawks, 2018-19 — This was Huerter’s rookie year, and it was pretty good (PPA: 71). His production crept up to around average until he got traded to the Sacramento Kings where it jumped to 132 (in PPA, average is 100 and higher is better) in his age 24 season (2022-23). Since then, his performance dipped as he dealt with regular injuries.
2. Lonzo Ball, Los Angeles Lakers, 2018-19 — This was year two for Ball, and I consider this a highly optimistic comp. He was a) good, and b) improving before his career got wrecked by repeated injuries. He’s a bit bigger than Carrington (6-6 vs. 6-4), but the Wizards would be fortunate if Carrington can be as good as Ball and stay healthy.
3. Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs, 2001-02 — Yes, this is the 19-year-old rookie season of the guy who became an elite guard and was a key driver of several Spurs championship teams. Parker’s rookie season was more impressive than Carrington’s (still a below average 80 PPA) but the pattern of production is similar.
4. Luther Head, Houston Rockets, 2005-06 — Head was a 23-year-old rookie in this season, and it was reasonably promising (PPA: 77). He hit exactly average (100) the following season, posted a 90 PPA in year three, and then…his career fizzled.
5. Theo Maledon, Oklahoma City Thunder, 2020-21 — Teenage rookie who played badly (PPA: 37). He got a little better in years two and three, but his NBA career never really launched. He was out of the NBA last season and will be again next season.
6. Andrew Nembhard, Indiana Pacers, 2022-23 — This season was Nembhard’s rookie year (age 23), and it was decent. He improved each of the past two seasons, and was an important part of the Indiana Pacers’ unexpected run to the Finals last season. He should have the opportunity to expand his game next season while Tyrese Haliburton recovers from a torn Achilles.
7. Marcus Smart, Boston Celtics, 2017-18 — This was actually Smart’s fourth season (age 23), and it was the worst of his career. His production jumped the following season, and his overall production was above average each of the next four seasons. His best season was a 120 PPA in 2021-22, which was also the year he was named Defensive Player of the Year.
8. Brandon Ingram, Los Angeles Lakers, 2016-17 — Ingram is kinda the poster boy of not taking a teenager’s rookie year too seriously. He was terrible (PPA: 34). He got better and hit a career-best 142 in 2020-21. His PPA has been above 120 for each of the past five seasons.
9. Lance Stephenson, Indiana Pacers, 2012-13 — This was Stephenson’s third season and was one of his two “good” seasons — 95 PPA in 2012-13, and 116 in 2013-14. Then he left for Charlotte, and his production cratered.
10. Nik Stauskas, Philadelphia 76ers, 2016-17 — Third season for Stuaskas, who was unproductive for The Process Sixers. Seriously, he had three consecutive seasons with a 50 PPA, two with Philly, one with the Brooklyn Nets. Carrington was a better NBA player at 19 than Stauskas was at 25.

Let me know in the comments who you want to see run through The Machine next.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/wash...-upward-bub-carringtons-optimistic-stat-comps