RSS Wizards Team Notes

[Washington Wizards]

Wizards vs. Spurs: Breaking down last night’s loss

The Washington Wizards lost to the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday. Kevin Broom is still out, so you’re dealing with me. Let’s take a look at the Four Factors, then get to some analysis behind the numbers

Team	eFG%	TOV%	ORB%	FT/FGA
Spurs	0.476	7.8	36.4	0.24
Wizards	0.5	4.5	16.3	0.189

Here are some of the good things we saw:

• Tristan Vukcevic scored 16 points in the first half: No, they weren’t empty calories in my opinion. He was one of very few bright spots in a half where the Wizards were getting run out of Capital One Arena.
• Not many turnovers: The Wizards only committed five turnovers and that gave them a chance to keep things respectable. The Spurs were good at taking care of the basketball as well but the Wizards were STILL better at it. Again, that’s usually a recipe for a win.
• The Wizards actually had the upper hand with scoring efficiency: Washington’s effective field goal percentage was HIGHER than the Spurs, yet they still lost by double digits. This doesn’t happen that often.

And here are some of the not-so-great things we saw.

• Rebounding: 61 for the Spurs, 43 for the Wizards. Not a recipe for success. If the rebounding margin weren’t so bad, then perhaps this gme could hav
• The foul discrepancy: This game wasn’t a close contest, yet the Wizards committed 25 of them while the Spurs committed 19.
• The first half: As mentioned in the recap, Washington was behind by 20 points last night in the first half. The four factors analysis a guide to determining whether a team wins a game or not. But in the end, the score is the score. Furthermore, the Wizards shot terribly in the first half while the Spurs were on point. The script was flipped in the second half. That’s primarily why Washington appeared to be better with the Four Factors for the game as a whole.

The Wizards are back in action tomorrow. Let’s see how things go against the Charlotte Hornets.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/wash...ds-san-antonio-spurs-nba-statistical-analysis

 

[Washington Wizards]

Corey Kispert expected to return Tuesday

Corey Kispert is off the Washington Wizards’ injury report and expected to be available for Tuesday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets.

Corey Kispert (thumb fracture) is off the Wizards’ injury report and expected to make his return tomorrow against Charlotte after an extended absence.

OUT:
Cam Whitmore (shoulder)

QUESTIONABLE:
Marvin Bagley (calf)
Bilal Coulibaly (ankle) pic.twitter.com/CZQEOKqSlZ

— Greg Finberg (@GregFinberg) December 22, 2025

Kispert had been sidelined since fracturing his thumb against the Atlanta Hawks on Nov. 25. The 26-year-old wing scored 20 points against the Chicago Bulls on Nov. 22 and had 19 points against the Hawks before suffering the injury, which halted his best stretch of the season.

Kispert is shooting 40.3% from 3-point range this season — a nearly four percent improvement from last year’s 36.4%.

After a one-game absence due to injury management, Alex Sarr (adductor soreness) and Khris Middleton (knee injury management) are off Washington’s injury report and expected to be available to play in Charlotte.

Cam Whitmore (shoulder soreness) will miss his third straight game. Marvin Bagley III (calf soreness) and Bilal Coulibaly (ankle sprain) are questionable.

Bilal Coulibaly has played in just 13 of the Wizards’ 25 games this season due to various injuries.

And when he’s been on the floor, he hasn’t been good offensively, especially from 3-point range. pic.twitter.com/U71tIJySs5

— Greg Finberg (@GregFinberg) December 19, 2025

Coulibaly has missed the team’s last two games and 14 of the team’s 27 contests this season. The ankle sprain marks the 21-year-old’s fourth unique injury this season.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/wash...corey-kispert-expected-to-make-return-tuesday

 

[Washington Wizards]

2026 NBA Draft Preview: Nate Ament

I have long been of the belief that the Washington Wizards should draft whoever they believe to be the best player available with their first pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. However, Bub Carrington’s recent run of form has me thinking differently.

Over his last six games since re-entering the starting lineup, Carrington is averaging 17.0 points, 5.5 assists, 4.7 rebounds while shooting 42.9% from three. Not only is Carrington racking up counting stats, but he is contributing to wins. Two of the Wizards’ five wins on the season have come during Carrington’s six-game hot streak as the team’s starting point guard.

While Wizards fans are understandably conflicted about the wins, with each victory potentially impacting the team’s lottery odds and decreasing the chances of a higher first round pick, it is a very positive sign to see Carrington turning things around from his slow start and looking like a foundational piece. If Carrington can keep this up, the Wizards should not take a point guard at the top of the draft unless Kansas freshman Darryn Peterson falls to them after the third pick. So, if the Wizards fall out of the top three, I would lean towards the team avoiding Louisville freshman point guard Mikel Brown Jr. or Houston freshman point guard Kingston Flemings and instead focus on the many wings/forwards in that next tier of players.

One of those players who the Wizards could look at outside the top three who would complement the young potential foundational pieces already on the team, Carrington, Kyshawn George, Alex Sarr and Tre Johnson, is Nate Ament.

Nate Ament, 6’10” freshman forward from Tennessee​

It is easy to see why Nate Ament, who has been projected as a top-10 pick from the earliest 2026 mock drafts, has a skillset and frame that is tantalizing to NBA talent evaluators. At 6’10”, Ament has the size to play either forward position. He has the athleticism to guard smaller wings and guards. It also seems like he has recently put on some strength and could even hold his own as a small-ball five.

Through the first 12 games of his collegiate career, Ament has produced at a very high level and has led Tennessee to a 9-3 record with a win over then-No. 3 Houston and a No. 19 ranking in the most recent AP Top 25. He is averaging 15.2 points, 2.8 assists, 6.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 30.4% from three and 38.0% from the field. Ament’s best game of the season came against an early matchup against Northern Kentucky, where he had 25 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals, shot 2-4 from three and 9-10 from the free throw line.

Projected top 5 pick Nate Ament today:

23 PTS | 8 REB | 5 AST | 6-12 FG | 2-4 3PT pic.twitter.com/82HMJDtilY

— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) November 8, 2025

Ament started the season on a tear, but has cooled down over the last few games. Through his first eight games, he was averaging 17.9 points. Over the last four, including back-to-back losses to Syracuse and Illinois, he has been averaging 10.3 points. Ament’s cold streak, along with his shot decisions that have contributed to his inefficient percentages, have led to him becoming a rather polarizing NBA prospect. I personally think that the positives far outweigh the negatives. The decision making surrounding his shot attempts is something that can be coached out. I would also expect the bad shots to decrease at the next level when he has fewer offensive responsibilities. Right now, Ament and senior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie are scoring the majority of Tennessee’s points. In the NBA, Ament should be able to be able to start off as more of a complementary scorer and point forward.

I am also concerned about Ament’s lack of shot blocking so far. Despite his 6’10” frame, he has only blocked two shots this season. This may be more difficult to fix, but Ament has shown that he can still be an effective defender without necessarily impacting shots at the rim. He has 1.4 steals per game and is first in the SEC in defensive win shares.

While his 30.4% three point shooting rate is not elite, Ament has a very fluid shot and high release that allows him to get it off over almost any defender. That, along with a tight handle, elite footwork, playmaking vision and his ability to change speeds while driving to the rim give Ament one of the most fascinating offensive profiles we have seen from a freshman at the collegiate level.

The most common and easiest NBA comparison for Ament is Atlanta Hawks second-year forward and 2024 first overall pick Zaccharie Risacher. If everything pans out, I could also see his ceiling being similar to Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner, who averaged 24.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists last season. I also see some of Kyle Anderson’s game in Ament with his advanced footwork, playmaking and the way he can manipulate speeds and catch defenders off balance.

There is definitely some risk associated with Ament. His streaky start to his collegiate career and poor shooting numbers are concerning, but there is so much potential. It is easy to see how Ament could fit with the Wizards and become a point forward with 20 point-per-game upside.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/nba-draft/66966/2026-nba-draft-preview-nate-ament

 

[Washington Wizards]

Wizards Enter Christmas Break With A 126-109 Loss to the Charlotte Hornets

The Washington Wizards visited the Charlotte Hornets with a better than theoretical chance of emerging with a win, and they kept things close for much of the night. And then, they got avalanched in the final period to lose, 126-109.

While the Wizards led by as much as 10 early in the second quarter, it never felt like they were causing the scoring differential. The Hornets got open looks, which they missed. Charlotte was just 3-14 (21.4%) from three in the first quarter, but the Wizards defense was causing little stress. It was a case of the other guy just missing, and it felt like the tide would turn when the shots dropped at a more normal rate.

In the second quarter, Charlotte began to assert itself, primarily due the offensive rebounding exploits of Moussa Diabate. He finished the game with a career-high 18 rebounds, 8 on the offensive glass.

In the first half, the Wizards allowed the Hornets an offensive rating (points scored per possession x 100) of 129 — an astounding number considering Charlotte’s poor shooting (48.1% effective field goal percentage). The Wizards made that possible by giving up so many offensive rebounds and their (continued) inability to force turnovers. Charlotte had just two in the first half.

And no, this isn’t a case where the Hornets are really good at avoiding turnovers. They entered the game 26th in offensive turnover percentage. To put it simply, Wizards defenders do not stress opposing ball handlers in any meaningful way.

After their poor start from the floor, the Hornets ended the game with an eFG% of 55.9%. The Wizards? Just 46.4%. Washington still managed above average efficiency because they grabbed 18 offensive rebounds and committed just six turnovers.

Still, the inability to defend effectively and gather defensive boards send the Wizards to another defeat and lowers their record to 5-23.

Thoughts & Observations​

• One positive moment in the first half was some defensive communication between Kyshawn George and Marvin Bagley III. Charlotte ran an action that had the two inverted — Bagley defending on the wing and George in the middle. They called it out to each other and switched seamlessly while Charlotte was getting organized out top.
• Not so positive: the Wizards switched to zone late in the first quarter, and the Hornets shredded it.
• Bilal Coulibaly led the Wizards with 11 points in the first half on 4-8 shooting. He’d finish with 14 points, including 3-9 from three.
• The Hornets clearly were willing to concede threes to Coulibaly.
• Washington’s highlight of the night: Alex Sarr got switched onto Knueppel and was immediately administered a blow-by drive. Knueppel got to the rim and laid it up only for Sarr to block the shot off the backboard. It should be on the NBA’s Top 10 Plays rundown tomorrow.
• Add Dell Curry to the (long) list of opposing team commentators who marvel at the Wizards’ shot selection — and not in a good way.
• Miserable night for Kyshawn George, who scored just 2 points on 1-9 shooting and committed three turnovers. He was fortunate to not be ejected for a reckless foul he committed in the first quarter on LaMelo Ball. Playing physical is good. Fouling when you’ve been beaten isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Knocking a guy into the first row? Uncalled for.
• Khris Middleton can still get buckets. The reason he won’t fetch a trade return from a contending team is that he’s a defensive sieve.
• Corey Kispert returned to action for the first time since fracturing the tip of his thumb almost a month ago. He looked about the same as he did before the injury, which isn’t bad.
• When Justin Champagnie enters the game, the Wizards start getting rebounds.
• Coulibaly had a 25.5% usage rate. At one point, he has hollering at McCollum for a kickout pass. McCollum took the shot.
• Bub Carrington committed three fouls in his first three minutes of action. He finished with four fouls in 15 minutes.

Four Factors​

Below are the four factors that decide wins and losses in basketball — shooting (efg), rebounding (offensive rebounds), ball handling (turnovers), fouling (free throws made).

The four factors are measured by:

• eFG% (effective field goal percentage, which accounts for the three-point shot)
• OREB% (offensive rebound percentage)
• TOV% (turnover percentage — turnovers divided by possessions)
• FTM/FGA (free throws made divided by field goal attempts)

FOUR FACTORS	WIZARDS	HORNETS	LGAVG
eFG%	46.4%	55.9%	54.3%
OREB%	32.7%	31.1%	26.3%
TOV%	6.4%	4.3%	13.0%
FTM/FGA	0.196	0.237	0.218
PACE	93	100.1
ORTG	117	135	115.6

Stats & Metrics​

PPA is my overall production metric, which credits players for things they do that help a team win (scoring, rebounding, playmaking, defending) and dings them for things that hurt (missed shots, turnovers, bad defense, fouls).

PPA is a per possession metric designed for larger data sets. In small sample sizes, the numbers can get weird. In PPA, 100 is average, higher is better and replacement level is 45. For a single game, replacement level isn’t much use, and I reiterate the caution about small samples sometimes producing weird results.

POSS is the number of possessions each player was on the floor in this game.

ORTG = offensive rating, which is points produced per individual possessions x 100. League average so far this season is 115.1. Points produced is not the same as points scored. It includes the value of assists and offensive rebounds, as well as sharing credit when receiving an assist.

USG = offensive usage rate. Average is 20%.

ORTG and USG are versions of stats created by former Wizards assistant coach Dean Oliver and modified by me. ORTG is an efficiency measure that accounts for the value of shooting, offensive rebounds, assists and turnovers. USG includes shooting from the floor and free throw line, offensive rebounds, assists and turnovers.

+PTS = “Plus Points” is a measure of the points gained or lost by each player based on their efficiency in this game compared to league average efficiency on the same number of possessions. A player with an offensive rating (points produced per possession x 100) of 100 who uses 20 possessions would produce 20 points. If the league average efficiency is 114, the league — on average — would produced 22.8 points in the same 20 possessions. So, the player in this hypothetical would have a +PTS score of -2.8.

Players are sorted by total production in the game.

WIZARDS	MIN	POSS	ORTG	USG	+PTS	PPA	+/-
Marvin Bagley III	21	41	173	19.8%	4.7	171	-5
Justin Champagnie	19	38	169	16.1%	3.2	167	-7
Alex Sarr	25	48	126	14.8%	0.8	129	-11
Khris Middleton	22	43	146	22.0%	2.8	137	-12
Tre Johnson	21	42	116	21.9%	0.0	132	10
Bilal Coulibaly	23	46	106	25.5%	-1.1	100	-11
Bub Carrington	15	30	165	12.8%	1.9	111	-4
CJ McCollum	33	65	95	22.8%	-3.1	37	-17
Corey Kispert	13	26	125	27.4%	0.7	83	3
Will Riley	2	4	104	31.8%	-0.2	56	-1
Malaki Branham	6	11	94	25.2%	-0.6	2	-7
Tristan Vukcevic	2	4	0.0%	0.0	0	-1
Anthony Gill	2	4	0.0%	0.0	0	-1
AJ Johnson	2	4	0	15.9%	-0.8	-180	-1
Kyshawn George	31	61	52	17.8%	-6.9	-84	-20

HORNETS	MIN	POSS	ORTG	USG	+PTS	PPA	+/-
LaMelo Ball	25	48	154	31.3%	5.8	318	20
Moussa Diabate	36	70	217	9.2%	6.5	211	38
Sion James	24	46	182	18.6%	5.7	249	-7
Brandon Miller	30	59	129	22.1%	1.8	183	32
Collin Sexton	16	31	147	26.3%	2.6	221	9
Kon Knueppel	28	55	116	23.4%	0.0	107	13
Tidjane Salaun	22	42	101	22.7%	-1.4	113	-9
Josh Green	11	22	185	9.7%	1.5	180	-6
Miles Bridges	34	65	97	20.2%	-2.4	45	6
Pat Connaughton	1	3	0.0%	0.0	0	-2
Liam McNeeley	1	3	0.0%	0.0	0	-2
Tre Mann	12	23	73	16.7%	-1.6	-51	-7

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/wash...-with-a-126-109-loss-to-the-charlotte-hornets

 

[Washington Wizards]

Wizards at Hornets discussion

The Washington Wizards are back in action tonight against the Charlotte Hornets at 7 p.m. Eastern Time. Watch the game live on Monumental Sports Network. See you all after the final buzzer for the recap.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/washington-wizards-gamethreads/66988/wizards-at-hornets-discussion

 

[Washington Wizards]

Cam Whitmore out ‘indefinitely’ with blood clot in shoulder

Washington Wizards forward Cam Whitmore was diagnosed with upper-extremity deep vein thrombosis and will be sidelined indefinitely, the Wizards announced Tuesday.

G/F Cam Whitmore has been diagnosed with upper-extremity deep vein thrombosis. Whitmore was evaluated after missing the previous two games with right shoulder soreness.

Whitmore is expected to be sidelined indefinitely. His progress and recovery will be monitored, and his status…

— Wizards PR (@WizPRStats) December 23, 2025

Whitmore had missed the team’s last two games with “shoulder soreness” before further testing revealed a blood clot in his shoulder, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama was diagnosed last February with the same injury, which caused him to miss the final two months of the regular season. Whitmore’s recovery timeline will likely be similar.

The Wizards acquired Whitmore from the Houston Rockets in July for two second-round picks. He is averaging 9.2 points and 2.8 rebounds per game on 45.6% FG and 28.6% 3PT.

Whitmore hasn’t played since Dec. 4, when coach Brian Keefe benched him for not meeting the team’s standards.

Whitmore’s absence will open up minutes for rookies Jamir Watkins and Will Riley in addition to Corey Kispert, who is expected to return from a fractured thumb injury on Tuesday against the Charlotte Hornets.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/wash...962/whitmore-out-indefinitely-with-blood-clot

 

[Washington Wizards]

Wizards vs Raptors Preview: Washington Hosts The Raptors

Game Info

When: Friday, December 26 at 7:00 p.m. ET

Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC

How to watch: Monumental Sports Network, LeaguePass

Injury Report​

Raptors: Jacob Poetl – Questionable (Back), RJ Barrett – Out (Knee)

Wizards: Bub Carrington – Questionable (Foot), Cam Whitmore – Out (Shoulder), Corey Kispert – Out (Thumb)

Pregame notes​

Wizards come back home to face the Toronto Raptors for a post-Christmas tilt in DC. The Raptors, 18-13, have had a strong start to the season. After already beating the Wizards in their first matchup, the Raptors are looking to win this one and take the season series.

The Wizards got back Alex Sarr and Marvin Bagley III on Tuesday but still were outmatched by the Hornets. Washington has struggled lately having a healthy squad these past few weeks. With Cam Whitmore being announced to be out indefinitely, the Wizards will be down another player for some time.

This game will be about Wizards continuing to develop their young core and getting consistency from them. Can Bub Carrington continue to play well? Can Kyshawn George have a bounce back game after a bad game in Charlotte? And can the Wizards make it a game against the upstart Raptors? All these questions and more will make Friday night’s matchup, one to watch.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/wash...-raptors-preview-washington-hosts-the-raptors

 

[Washington Wizards]

NBA Christmas Day 2026 viewing guide: Ranking all five games in a beautiful day of hoops

The real start of the NBA season — Christmas Day — is upon us, and the Wizards were understandably not invited to participate in the festivities. The NBA’s Christmas games are reserved for the (theoretically) most compelling league-wide matchups, and few reasonable people would have predicted a record much better than Washington’s current 5-23 mark at this stage of the season.

That being said, Christmas Day is almost certainly the best day of hoops in the regular season, so I want to take some time to rank today’s five matchups based on watchability, excitement, vibe, and a whole suite of other unquantifiable metrics.

I’ll be counting down from worst to best, starting with…

5. Mavericks (12-19) at Warriors (15-15) – 5 p.m. EST

If you are on dinner duty, this is the time to get cooking.

Neither one of these teams is any good, but they are both actively deluding themselves into thinking just one thing needs to break right for them. With a league-average point guard in place of Steph Curry, the Warriors would easily be the single worst team in the NBA; it might finally be over in Golden State.

Meanwhile, the Mavs actually have a decent roster, but “a decent roster” in this Western Conference guarantees you placement over New Orleans and Utah and nobody else. The Mavs need to use this year’s trade deadline to tear down this roster and surround Cooper Flagg with players more on his timeline rather than with sunsetting Hall-of-Famers.

You can bank on a barrage of Curry threes and at least one sick Flagg dunk, but for this game you’d best just stick to the highlights and spend some time with your family.

4. Cavaliers (17-14) at Knicks (20-9) — Noon EST

Almost everyone’s preseason Eastern Conference Final prediction is now looking more like a scheduled Knicks win that’s bound to get Madison Square Garden rocking. I can smell the Jalen Brunson 40-piece coming.

The Cavs have been injured and uninspiring all season long, and they probably need a 10-game winning streak just to be taken seriously again. They’ve been usurped by the Detroit Pistons (who I really, really wish were playing in their place) as the Knicks’ primary threat in the East.

Led by down-ballot MVP candidate Brunson, anyone but the Knicks making the Finals out of the Eastern Conference would be a huge upset. This team has what it takes to get smoked by the Thunder in five games in June.

This should be a decently fun game to have on in the background while you unwrap your presents from Santa. I’m personally hoping for an AC Milan jersey, a couple books about the fall of Yugoslavia, and the Trevi Fountain Lego set. Please just not coal again this year.

3. Rockets (17-10) at Lakers (19-9) — 8 p.m. EST

Now we’re on to the games that should demand more than your passive attention.

The Rockets added Kevin Durant this offseason, and they play a bruising, janitorial brand of basketball reliant on rebounding their own misses. Durant has been brilliant this season, as have Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson, and those three are flanked by a cast of the toughest, meanest role players in the NBA like Steven Adams, Jabari Smith Jr., Reed Sheppard and Tari Eason.

The Lakers, I’m not sure if you knew this, added Luka Doncic at last year’s trade deadline to pair with LeBron James and soon-to-be first-time All-Star Austin Reaves. That trio is a layup line defensively but makes for some of the most entertaining and brain-bending offensive basketball you could possibly imagine.

With Philip Rivers back under center for the Indianapolis Colts and LeBron and KD duking it out on Christmas Day, it’s a great time to be an old guy. This could be LeBron’s last Christmas Day game, so I wouldn’t miss this one.

2. Timberwolves (20-10) at Nuggets (21-8) — 10:30 p.m. EST

Timberwolves-Nuggets is the platonic ideal of “good hoops.” You’ve got the best player in the world in Nikola Jokic up against Anthony Edwards and a really well-rounded Wolves squad around him (minus the point guard position).

These are two of the juggernauts of a loaded Western Conference, and you can always count on Jokic to be up to some nonsense during the late night Christmas Day game. This game will almost certainly be down to the wire, just like Nuggets-Suns a few years ago that ended on an unfathomably disrespectful Aaron Gordon poster. Please rewatch:

I never thought I would be this excited to watch Julius Randle on Christmas Day, but here we are. This is a must-watch.

1. Spurs (22-7) at Thunder (26-4) — 2:30 p.m. EST

This right here is Gen Z hoops.

Spurs-Thunder will be the NBA’s next great rivalry, and I fully expect them to face off annually in the Western Conference Finals, starting as soon as this year. The Spurs in particular are an incredibly fun watch, especially when Victor Wembanyama is cooking like he was last Christmas when he dropped 42 points at Madison Square Garden.

The Thunder are the defending champions led by soon-to-be two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and they’re on pace for over 70 wins this season, but the Spurs are just 3.5 games back of them in the standings. Two of OKC’s four losses have come against San Antonio, and both were in dramatic fashion: the Spurs squeaked out a two-point win against the Thunder in the NBA Cup semifinal before blowing them out a couple of days ago.

Spurs-Thunder should be must-watch hoops for at least the next decade. Make sure any family members who might disrupt your viewing experience are politely ushered into another room so you can lock in on this one.

–

Merry Christmas, Bullets Forever readers!

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/community-bulletin-board/66999/nba-christmas-day-ranking-every-game

 

[Washington Wizards]

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!

Today is Dec. 25, 2025 and it’s Christmas Day. The Washington Wizards aren’t playing today but I just wanted to post a quick message to say Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of our readers and the fellow writers. You are what makes this place special.

Marco Gacina will have today’s NBA Christmas Day games post. Once again, enjoy the holiday!

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/comm...5/merry-christmas-and-happy-holidays-everyone

 

[Washington Wizards]

Team Basketball, Real Defense, and a Fourth-Quarter Rout in Toronto

The Washington Wizards played a true team game and blew open a close game with a fourth quarter onslaught to beat the Toronto Raptors, 138-117, and earn their sixth win of the season.

The Wizards rode red hot offense and not completely bad defense to an 11-point lead at halftime. The Raptors sliced the lead to just two points at the end of the third period, driven by the offensive production of Brandon Ingram (12 third-quarter points), Immanuel Quickley (11), and Ja’Kobe Walter (9).

In the final period, Washington opened with an 18-4 run and didn’t let up. They outscored Toronto 36-17 in the fourth. Washington’s high scorer in the quarter was Bub Carrington with just six points. Three Wizards (Kyshawn George, CJ McCollum, and Bilal Coulibaly) each had five.

While Washington’s offense will receive deserved praise — a 132 offensive rating (points per possession x 100) and 67.6% effective field goal percentage, I was impressed with their defensive perforamnce. After a debaculous defensive outing against the Charlotte Hornets, they returned to a protect the paint strategy, and they executed it reasonably well.

The game plan was evident early — Alex Sarr dropped to the paint on one possession in the game’s opening minutes, which gave his Toronto counterpart Sandro Mamukelashvili a wide-open look from three (he missed).

Later in the first quarter, the Wizards were called for a defensive three-second violation when the weak-side help defender parked himself in the perfect help position but the Raptors struggled to get something going on the perimeter. That positioning of weak-side help is a staple of the Oklahoma City Thunder defense.

That defender (in this case, Carrington) needs to be aware of the count and “clean” himself by either touching an offensive player or stepping outside the lane. He could also do like OKC players, and shout, “Two-point-nine!” as they’re clearing the lane.

One of my favorite possessions came midway through the fourth quarter. Toronto threw a post-up entry to Ingram, who was being defended by the much smaller McCollum. Coulibaly sprinted from the weak-side wing to double. He got there so fast that he surprised Ingram and got a steal (which he took to the other end for a coast-to-coast and-one layup.

Even better, Khris Middleton perfectly zoned up behind the play, positioning himself between wing and baseline shooters — cheated a bit baseline to cut off a pass to Quickley in the corner — and ready to close out.

If Coulibaly had missed on the steal, the next offensive and defensive moves were laid out — Ingram would pass to the wing, Middleton would close out hard, the Toronto player on the wing would swing to the corner, and McCollum would be sprinting to close out on that shooter. Coulibaly made it moot by pilfering the ball from Ingram.

Is this standard NBA defense — the type seen routinely all around the league? Yes. Is it good to see the Wizards execute it properly? You bet.

Washington’s strategy paid off — they were +18 for the game on points in the paint.

Thoughts & Observations​

• This is the version of Coulibaly the Wizards (and Wizards fans) want to see regularly — 21 points (on 14 field goal attempts), 8 rebounds, 3 steals and a block in 26 minutes.
• Carrington was excellent — 15 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists. He figured prominently in Washington’s fourth quarter steamrolling — a superb thread the needle pick-and-roll pass to Marvin Bagley III for a layup, an alert hit-ahead pass to George for a 117-104 lead, and a three to push the margin to 20.
• Justin Champagnie continues to produce when he gets minutes — 8 points, 7 rebounds in 22 minutes. He also had a couple assists. In sum, he had an offensive rating of 166 on 8.0% usage. That’s making the most of every opportunity.
• The key to Washington’s effort to the protect the paint is the presence of Alex Sarr, who’s one of the game’s better rim protectors this season. He finished with 15 points on 9 shots, plus three blocks and several other shots changed.
• Superb bounce-back performance from George. He pumped in 23 points in 28 minutes, to go with 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. He had three turnovers (two on reckless passes, another on a good pass to Coulibaly who came open in the paint on a routine clear-out cut but wasn’t looking for the ball.
• The Brian Keefe offensive system asks players to read what the defense is doing and react. It worked as planned in the early going — Ochai Agbaji was overplaying passing lanes in aggressive ball denial and got burned on backcuts Coulibaly and George.
• Speaking of backcuts, Keefe’s out-of-bounds plays (baseline and sideline) are pretty good. The design of player alignments, action sequencing, and fake screening actions reliably produce lobs and at-rim field goal attempts. Announcers tend to credit the players with alert cuts or good reads, but these plays are carefully designed and practiced.
• Will Riley could use some practice with his footwork. He got his feet tangled on a good pass to him in the corner that should have resulted in an open look from three. Because his feet were crossed, he had to turn down the shot. His attempt to drive the closeout was slowed by the same issue, and he ended up missing a heavily contested two instead of getting a good look from the corner or creating an advantage.
• One thing I’d like to see George improve upon is cutting back on his defensive ball-watching and zeal to help on the perimeter. In both instances, he loses track of his man, which leads to open shots.

Four Factors​

Below are the four factors that decide wins and losses in basketball — shooting (efg), rebounding (offensive rebounds), ball handling (turnovers), fouling (free throws made).

The four factors are measured by:

• eFG% (effective field goal percentage, which accounts for the three-point shot)
• OREB% (offensive rebound percentage)
• TOV% (turnover percentage — turnovers divided by possessions)
• FTM/FGA (free throws made divided by field goal attempts)

FOUR FACTORS	RAPTORS	WIZARDS	LGAVG
eFG%	50.5%	67.6%	54.0%
OREB%	16.7%	19.4%	26.3%
TOV%	10.6%	12.5%	12.9%
FTM/FGA	0.275	0.165	0.217
PACE	104	100.0
ORTG	112	132	115.7

Stats & Metrics​

PPA is my overall production metric, which credits players for things they do that help a team win (scoring, rebounding, playmaking, defending) and dings them for things that hurt (missed shots, turnovers, bad defense, fouls).

PPA is a per possession metric designed for larger data sets. In small sample sizes, the numbers can get weird. In PPA, 100 is average, higher is better and replacement level is 45. For a single game, replacement level isn’t much use, and I reiterate the caution about small samples sometimes producing weird results.

POSS is the number of possessions each player was on the floor in this game.

ORTG = offensive rating, which is points produced per individual possessions x 100. League average so far this season is 115.1. Points produced is not the same as points scored. It includes the value of assists and offensive rebounds, as well as sharing credit when receiving an assist.

USG = offensive usage rate. Average is 20%.

ORTG and USG are versions of stats created by former Wizards assistant coach Dean Oliver and modified by me. ORTG is an efficiency measure that accounts for the value of shooting, offensive rebounds, assists and turnovers. USG includes shooting from the floor and free throw line, offensive rebounds, assists and turnovers.

+PTS = “Plus Points” is a measure of the points gained or lost by each player based on their efficiency in this game compared to league average efficiency on the same number of possessions. A player with an offensive rating (points produced per possession x 100) of 100 who uses 20 possessions would produce 20 points. If the league average efficiency is 114, the league — on average — would produced 22.8 points in the same 20 possessions. So, the player in this hypothetical would have a +PTS score of -2.8.

Players are sorted by total production in the game.

WIZARDS	MIN	POSS	ORTG	USG	+PTS	PPA	+/-
Bilal Coulibaly	26	56	122	29.3%	1.1	215	5
Bub Carrington	22	48	183	18.2%	5.8	252	17
Kyshawn George	28	62	136	26.1%	3.3	165	16
Alex Sarr	24	52	156	17.5%	3.6	195	11
Justin Champagnie	22	48	213	8.3%	3.9	189	10
CJ McCollum	31	67	128	23.8%	2.0	133	8
Marvin Bagley III	22	47	166	8.0%	1.9	83	7
Will Riley	16	35	119	20.4%	0.2	100	6
Tre Johnson	20	43	115	26.5%	-0.1	70	3
Khris Middleton	19	42	86	17.2%	-2.2	56	10
Jamir Watkins	3	5	0.0%	0.0	291	3
Malaki Branham	3	6	131	33.3%	0.3	223	3
Tristan Vukcevic	3	5	50	24.7%	-0.9	-147	3
AJ Johnson	3	5	0	19.8%	-1.3	-237	3

RAPTORS	MIN	POSS	ORTG	USG	+PTS	PPA	+/-
Immanuel Quickley	33	71	149	24.0%	5.7	207	-4
Sandro Mamukelashvili	33	71	141	13.6%	2.5	134	-7
Brandon Ingram	33	72	118	30.6%	0.5	128	-14
Ja’Kobe Walter	18	39	157	20.9%	3.4	155	0
Scottie Barnes	29	63	96	27.6%	-3.3	55	-29
Gradey Dick	18	40	100	14.8%	-0.9	69	-2
Jonathan Mogbo	11	24	#DIV/0!	0.0%	0.0	39	0
Ochai Agbaji	26	56	75	14.5%	-3.3	12	-10
Jamal Shead	19	42	85	20.1%	-2.6	2	-27
A.J. Lawson	7	15	122	11.2%	0.1	110	-7
Jamison Battle	10	21	24	12.6%	-2.4	-102	-4
Garrett Temple	4	8	20	37.9%	-3.0	-163	-1

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/wash...-defense-and-a-fourth-quarter-rout-in-toronto

 

[Washington Wizards]

Wizards vs Grizzlies preview: Washington looks to extend recent winning trend

Hard to believe, but the Washington Wizards Are no longer the worst team in the league, at least record-wise. They now sit at 14th in the East, with 6 wins! That means they have doubled their W total in the last 2 weeks or so, winning 3 of their last 6 games! And, they have just defeated the legit Toronto Raptors in a lopsided and convincing manner! I can’t believe I am writing this!

Oh, here’s the preview.

Game Info​

When: Sunday, Dec. 28 at 6 p.m. ET

Where: Capital One Arena, DC

How to watch: LeaguePass

Injury Report​

Wizards: Corey Kispert (Day-To-Day), Cam Whitmore (Out)

Grizzlies: Jock Landale (Day-To-Day), Vince Williams Jr., Brandon Clarke, John Konchar, Zach Edey, Ty Jerome, Scotty Pippen Jr. (Out)

Pregame notes​

Is Keyshawn George “here”? — The Wizards’ youngster just scored 23 points against a very good defensive team in the Toronto Raptors, in an impressive 9-for-13 shooting night. Is he about to break out? He has been an important part in the team this year.

Are the Wizards turning this season around? — Maybe this is a bit too early, and maybe opposing teams have just not been taking the Wizards seriously as of late due to their abysmal record, but the Wiz have now won 3 of their last 6! But maybe things are starting to click? Maybe the defense is starting to form? Let’s see.

Memphis are many players down — The injury list of the Grizzlies is one of the longest in the NBA right now. The Wiz have a real chance in this one!

Flashback: A win for the Wizards a couple seasons ago

A flashback to the Jordan Poole Era…. Wizards actually beat the Grizzlies for one of those 10 or so wins of that abysmal 2023-24 season! Worth a flashback!

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/wash...on-wizards-memphis-grizzlies-nba-game-preview

 

[Washington Wizards]

Roster turnover defined the Wizards’ 2025 calendar year

The year 2025 is coming to a close in less than a week. And yesterday’s Washington Wizards win got me thinking for a second because they beat the Toronto Raptors soundly, 138-117 with Kyshawn George having a big night.

Back on Jan. 1, 2025, the Washington Wizards hosted the Chicago Bulls and won, 125-107. It was one of the few complete wins that season with Jordan Poole leading Washington to a 30 point performance while six more players scored in double figures.

Forget about the fact that the Wizards won on both Jan. 1 and yesterday, Dec. 26. Think more about who the Wizards’ centerpiece players were then, and now. For reference, check the box score from the Bulls game back on Jan. 1 here and the Raptors game from yesterday here.

It’s the roster turnover.

Yes, there are some players who were in both games. Folks like George, Bilal Coulibaly, Justin Champagnie, Alexandre Sarr, Carlton Carrington, Tristan Vukcevic, etc. Yeah, the box score from the 2024-25 season showed Alex Sarr and Bub Carrington by their full names, so I wrote that for … rhetorical effect.

But many of the veterans of the Wizards team that played on New Year’s Day are now elsewhere. Poole now plays for the New Orleans Pelicans after getting traded for CJ McCollum last June who is now on the Wizards. Jonas Valanciunas was traded at the deadline back in February 2025 which feels like a century ago. Kyle Kuzma was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for Khris Middleton.

When we look at the Wizards roster in December 2026, I wouldn’t be surprised if the roster makes many changes again.

Do you agree that roster turnover is one of the Wizards’ big themes of 2025? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/wash...ysis/67038/washington-wizards-roster-turnover

 

[Washington Wizards]

Wizards vs Raptors Recap: Wizards dominate the Raptors and win, 138-117

Wizards pull-off the upset victory over the Toronto Raptors

This was an extremely fast-paced game, more accustomed to the Wizards’ style of play. The Wizards are currently 8th in the league in pace, while the Raptors are 24th. Despite what the season trends have dictated, the Raptors pushed the pace more tonight since they are without their big man Jacob Poetl.

Unfortunately for Toronto, a fast-paced game is not their strength. When the Wizards can get out on the run and limit turnovers, then they are usually at their best. Tonight was that moment.

This game went back and forth for much of the first 3 quarters. The Wizards were able to build a 8-point lead a few times in the 1st half and lead at half by 11, but the Raptors would answer with a run of their own to keep it close.

This game got blown open in the 4th as the Wizards opened up a 20-point lead, thanks to some big 3s and outstanding defense. The two key stat tonight was fast break points and 3-point shooting. Wizards led fast break points 21-8. Behind the arc, the Wizards shot 46 percent from 3 (15 for 33), while the Raptors shot 33 percent (12 for 36).

This team is built to play fast. When you combined that with great shooting they can compete. That was displayed tonight in one of the best wins of the season over an impressive Raptors squad.

Wizards win this one 138-117. Sunday, they will host the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday evening.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/wash...vs-raptors-recap-wizards-dominate-the-raptors

 

[Washington Wizards]

Wizards vs. Suns preview: Washington goes for third straight win on Monday

The Washington Wizards have had a a good couple games recently — this is truly their best stretch of the season, with both offense and defense clicking. They even just had their first winning streak! Well, just 2 consecutive wins, but, hey, after sporting the worst record in the league just a short week or two ago, that’s major progress.

Can they grab another win against the upward trending Phoenix Suns?

Here’s the preview

Game Info​

When: Monday, December 29 at 7 p.m. ET

Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC

How to watch: Monumental Sports Network

Injury Report​

Wizards: Kyshawn George, Corey Kispert, Cam Whitmore (Out)

Suns: Ryan Dunn (Day-To-Day, questionable), Grayson Allen, Jalen Green (Out)

Pregame notes​

Winning streak — This is so unusual, that I had to mention it again. The Wizards have won 2 straight for the first time since March 15, 2025. This is definitely reason for celebration if you are a Wizards fan (which you probably are if you are reading this tonight…).

No Kyshawn, No Problem? — The Wizards got a great game from George a couple of nights ago against the Raptors, to the tune of 23 points in 9-for-13 from the field. Then, he was out against the Grizzlies, and the Wizards still managed to win without him. Against the Suns, he will still be sidelined. It will be interesting to see how the Kyshawn-less Wizards cope with the more physical Suns.

Defense, Defense — In a beautiful analysis piece, Kevin Broom broke down the defensive scheme the Wizards have been following of late. It would be nice to see if this scheme is something they can implement consistently, especially against a team coming with its guard up—the league has now seen the Wizards can beat you if you let your guard down.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/wash...hington-wizards-phoenix-suns-nba-game-preview

 

[Washington Wizards]

Wizards vs. Suns discussion

The Washington Wizards host the Phoenix Suns tonight. Tip off is at 7 p.m. ET. Watch on Monumental Sports Network.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/washington-wizards-gamethreads/67081/wizards-vs-suns-discussion

 

[Washington Wizards]

Wizards Can’t Rebound, Fall to Phoenix Suns

The Wizards’ defensive game plan against the Phoenix Suns was straightforward: make life tough for Devin Booker, and make Someone Else generate offense.

The plan worked — Booker needed 23 shots to score 22 points and produced an offensive rating (individual points produced per possession used x 100) of just 97 (league average is 115.8).

Someone Else turned out to be third-year guard Collin Gillespie, who torched Washington for 25 hyper-efficient points and assists. Gillespie had an ortg of 174 on a 22.9% usage rate.

The Suns also bludgeoned the Wizards on the offensive glass, grabbing 20 offensive boards and outscoring Washington 26-10 in second-chance points.

Where the win over the Memphis Grizzlies was a roller coaster affair with wild swings in scores as both teams went on extended runs, this one was close for a half before the Suns pulled away in the second.

With the loss, the Wizards record dropped to 7-24. The Suns’ record moved to 19-13, and they sit 7th in the competitive West.

Thoughts & Observations​

• The Wizards’ defensive scheme for Booker was aggressive. The Suns run wing actions (isos and pick-and-roll) for Booker, and when they did, Washington consistently had an extra defender leave his man at the top of the circle and come all the way to the strong-side elbow to help. That effectively closed driving lanes and forced Booker to pass.
• Phoenix seemed interested in targeting Jamir Watkins in the first quarter, which seemed an odd choice considering Tre Johnson was also on the floor.
• Cool possession for those interested in viewing — at 7:52 in the first quarter, Booker tried to drive on Bilal Coulibaly from the right wing. Coulibaly did an excellent job keeping his body between Booker and the basket. Alex Sarr timed weakside help superbly to deter a Booker field goal attempt. Booker made a nice pass to the weak corner, the ball got rotated, and Gillespie ended up hitting a three. While the result wasn’t ideal, the point of attack defense and the defensive process was very good.
• Like basically every team the Wizards face, the Suns were content to let Coulibaly shoot threes. Coulibaly made them pay a bit, knocking down 2-5.
• The Wizards seemed content to let Dillon Brooks shoot threes, a strategy I endorse. One of my favorite moments was when Coulibaly left Brooks to help on the strong side on Booker. Carrington had the close-out rotation, and he started the arms up sprint to the perimeter when the ball went to Brooks out top. Then he recognized who had the ball, hit the brakes, and went back to Royce O’Neale. (Brooks missed.)
• One first quarter possession made me grouchy — CJ McCollum brought the ball up the court, rejected a screen, and took a reasonably-defended pull-up three. It’s the kind of shot that would have been okay to take with under seven seconds on the shot clock. It was a terrible shot early in the shot clock after zero passes and no attempt to work with teammates to get a good shot.
• Tre Johnson had a great shooting night — 9-12 from the floor, including 5-5 from three-point range. A couple of those threes were from extreme range. One was a banked in bomb from out top. That kind of night.
• Justin Champagnie does many things well, and I think he should get a bigger role with the team. That said, he committed a dumb and costly foul when he grabbed Booker in transition with 26.8 seconds to go in the first half. It was properly ruled a take foul, which gave Phoenix a free throw and the ball. When Booker hit the free throw and a jumper, the Suns to close the half with a three-point play and a 7-point lead.
• Phoenix had 13 offensive rebounds and 23 second chance points in the first half. The Wizards had two and zero.
• Sarr has had a very good second season, but last night’s game was one of his worst of the year. He managed just 2 points and 2 rebounds in 25 minutes. He contributed 4 assists and some blocks, but he was thoroughly outplayed by fill-in starter Oso Ighodara. The Wizards were outscored by 28 points in Sarr’s time on the floor.
• Former Wizards great Jordan Goodwin stuck it to his old team, with 14 points, 4 offensive rebounds, and a couple steals. Goodwin had flashed some offensive rebounding ability while with the Wizards but has become one of the better backcourt offensive rebounders around since moving on.
• The Suns broadcast, featuring former Wizards great Rex Chapman, would have been much better with 97% less complaining about the refs. Chapman had some good anecdotes, solid analysis, and strong insights into players, but good lord he whined incessantly about the officials.
• For what it’s worth, Chapman shared that Suns talent evaluators had a high opinion of Wizards rookie, Jamir Watkins — especially Watkins defensive potential.

Four Factors​

Below are the four factors that decide wins and losses in basketball — shooting (efg), rebounding (offensive rebounds), ball handling (turnovers), fouling (free throws made).

The four factors are measured by:

• eFG% (effective field goal percentage, which accounts for the three-point shot)
• OREB% (offensive rebound percentage)
• TOV% (turnover percentage — turnovers divided by possessions)
• FTM/FGA (free throws made divided by field goal attempts)

FOUR FACTORS	SUNS	WIZARDS	LGAVG
eFG%	49.0%	54.5%	54.4%
OREB%	37.0%	22.5%	26.4%
TOV%	10.6%	15.9%	12.9%
FTM/FGA	0.158	0.205	0.217
PACE	95	100.0
ORTG	122	107	115.8

Stats & Metrics​

PPA is my overall production metric, which credits players for things they do that help a team win (scoring, rebounding, playmaking, defending) and dings them for things that hurt (missed shots, turnovers, bad defense, fouls).

PPA is a per possession metric designed for larger data sets. In small sample sizes, the numbers can get weird. In PPA, 100 is average, higher is better and replacement level is 45. For a single game, replacement level isn’t much use, and I reiterate the caution about small samples sometimes producing weird results.

POSS is the number of possessions each player was on the floor in this game.

ORTG = offensive rating, which is points produced per individual possessions x 100. League average so far this season is 115.1. Points produced is not the same as points scored. It includes the value of assists and offensive rebounds, as well as sharing credit when receiving an assist.

USG = offensive usage rate. Average is 20%.

ORTG and USG are versions of stats created by former Wizards assistant coach Dean Oliver and modified by me. ORTG is an efficiency measure that accounts for the value of shooting, offensive rebounds, assists and turnovers. USG includes shooting from the floor and free throw line, offensive rebounds, assists and turnovers.

+PTS = “Plus Points” is a measure of the points gained or lost by each player based on their efficiency in this game compared to league average efficiency on the same number of possessions. A player with an offensive rating (points produced per possession x 100) of 100 who uses 20 possessions would produce 20 points. If the league average efficiency is 114, the league — on average — would produced 22.8 points in the same 20 possessions. So, the player in this hypothetical would have a +PTS score of -2.8.

Players are sorted by total production in the game.

WIZARDS	MIN	POSS	ORTG	USG	+PTS	PPA	+/-
Tre Johnson	25	49	147	27.5%	4.2	267	-18
Marvin Bagley III	22	44	131	16.4%	1.1	151	11
CJ McCollum	28	56	98	31.1%	-3.0	110	-20
Bub Carrington	27	53	121	16.0%	0.5	77	2
Will Riley	21	41	99	23.9%	-1.7	86	0
Bilal Coulibaly	27	52	102	25.0%	-1.8	48	-10
Justin Champagnie	27	53	108	18.0%	-0.7	47	-5
Malaki Branham	20	39	91	12.3%	-1.2	54	-5
Alex Sarr	25	49	63	15.1%	-3.9	22	-28
Jamir Watkins	17	34	55	12.3%	-2.6	-73	-3
AJ Johnson	1	2	0.0%	0.0	0	3
Anthony Gill	1	2	0.0%	0.0	0	3

SUNS	MIN	POSS	ORTG	USG	+PTS	PPA	+/-
Collin Gillespie	29	56	174	22.9%	7.5	400	13
Royce O’Neale	33	64	185	11.3%	5.0	178	18
Jordan Goodwin	28	55	117	21.5%	0.2	183	-1
Oso Ighodaro	30	59	170	9.1%	2.9	162	27
Dillon Brooks	33	64	121	26.8%	0.8	92	26
Nick Richards	17	34	74	20.1%	-2.8	70	-10
Devin Booker	35	70	97	31.0%	-4.1	30	22
Isaiah Livers	10	19	147	14.3%	0.8	95	-7
Rasheer Fleming	12	23	88	8.8%	-0.6	51	-4
Jamaree Bouyea	13	25	51	29.8%	-4.8	-201	-8
Khaman Maluach	1	2	0.0%	0.0	0	-3
Nigel Hayes-Davis	1	2	0.0%	0.0	0	-3

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/wash...087/wizards-cant-rebound-fall-to-phoenix-suns

 

[Washington Wizards]

Wizards at Bucks preview: Washington heads to Milwaukee to take on Giannis

The Washington Wizards pay a visit to a desperate Milwaukee Bucks team on Thursday night at Fiserv Forum.

Game info​

When: Thursday, Dec. 31st at 8:00 p.m. ET

Where: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

How to watch: Monumental Sports Network, League Pass

Injuries: For the Wizards, Kyshawn George (hip), Corey Kispert (hamstring), and Cam Whitmore (shoulder) are out, while Malaki Branham (calf) is questionable.

For the Bucks, Taurean Prince (neck) is out.

What to watch for​

The Wizards saw their first winning streak of the season (two games!) snapped Monday against the Phoenix Suns. They have a chance to get back on the winning track against a Bucks team that just got Giannis Antetokounmpo back after the two-time MVP recovered from a weeks-long injury.

The rims at Fiserv Forum have not been friendly to the Wiz kids over their last several visits. Washington has lost its last five games on the road against Milwaukee, with four of those defeats being by double figures.

Corey Kispert and Anthony Gill are the only holdovers left on the team since it last beat the Bucks on the road. Rui Hachimura erupted for 26 points in that contest, coming off the bench alongside Deni Avdija. Tommy Sheppard was still the GM at the time. The Wizards are also 1-10 at the venue since the 2018-19 season.

Tre Johnson, who was 16 years old the last time the Wizards won at Fiserv, has a chance to build off his career-high 24-point performance Monday against the Suns.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/wash...hington-heads-to-milwaukee-to-take-on-giannis

 

[Washington Wizards]

What would you like to see the Mystics accomplish in 2026?

Yesterday, I wrote a list of things I would like to see the Washington Wizards accomplish in 2026. Today, I will do the same thing, but for the Washington Mystics.

Here are some of the things I would like to see the team do:

1. Sign a marquee free agent — This is one thing that I think the current front office will not do and that doesn’t seem to be their intent either. There is also precedent for the Mystics doing this because they started the 2025 season with the holdovers from 2024, though Ariel Atkins was traded. Because of the high amount of player movement that will likely happen because of an anticipated Collective Bargaining Agreement, some player on every team will see a big payday with a salary that will probably at least $1 million. The question is just who the Mystics’ marquee free agent will be.
2. Sonia Citron or Kiki Iriafen make an All-WNBA team — If the Mystics are a playoff team in 2026, it’s likely that Citron or Iriafen will be among the league’s biggest producers. Hell, they were last season. That said, Citron and Iriafen also were part of a team that lost 10 games in a row last year after the team surprised others early on.
3. Shakira Austin makes the All-Star team — Austin was part of the 2018 FIBA World Cup team that won the Gold Medal and then won another Gold Medal with Team USA in the FIBA 3×3 Women’s AmeriCup earlier this fall. She still hasn’t made an All-Star team of her own yet. If Washington makes the playoffs in 2026, she would likely be part of that. Austin is a restricted free agent in 2026 and would almost definitely be protected from the upcoming expansion draft. On top of that, even if she signs an offer sheet, Washington would probably match it.
4. The Mystics are at least a middle of the pack team led by youth from start to finish — The 2025 Mystics team should have made the playoffs and used it as a selling point for 2026. Instead, when every WNBA team is rebuilding, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them try to replicate the Wizards’ ongoing rebuild. In a league that remains at 12 teams for eternity? That is not a bad path. But in a league that will expand to 18 teams by 2030? That’s a recipe to make the Mystics a “have not” franchise like they were for most of their history before the Mike Thibault years.

What accomplishments would you like to see the Mystics make in 2026? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/mystics/67100/washington-mystics-wish-list-2026

 

[Washington Wizards]

Should the NBA make any changes to its draft lottery rules?

Before the Christmas holiday began in full earnest, TrillBroDude, SB Nation’s feed administrator, wrote a quick post for you all to chime in on.

The Feed post was inspired by a piece Shams Charania of ESPN wrote. NBA teams were discuss in various proposal to modify the draft. The lesser extremes included limiting “protected draft picks” when picks are traded to a more fundamental change where teams, no matter how bad, cannot pick in the Top 4 for consecutive years.

For the Washington Wizards, the current rebuild is heavily centered around selecting multiple top picks in the draft. And that centers around losing a lot of games in the short run. Other teams have also rebuilt with this approach, especially the Philadelphia 76ers for much of the 2010s.

I don’t see the NBA implementing all of these ideas. But no matter how much the rules change, there will always be some teams looking to take advantage of the rules. And for the Wizards, the best way to improve long term is by losing most games in the short term in exchange for a potential opportunity to be a winner in the long term.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/nba-...lottery-change-possibility-washington-wizards

 

[Washington Wizards]

Paint-Packing Defense Flusters Bucks in Narrow Wizards Road Win

Happy New Year!

The Washington Wizards closed out 2025 with a fun and somewhat unexpected road win against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.

They squeaked out the 114-113 win despite going nearly six minutes of the fourth quarter without scoring a field goal, and despite Antetokounmpo getting a decent look on a buzzer beater that he missed.

The story for the Wizards starts with a strong game from big man Alex Sarr, and big contributions off the bench from Bub Carrington (hitting four consecutive threes in the final period), Justin Champagnie and Marvin Bagley III. It includes a solid defensive game plan that sought to limit Antetokounmpo, and actually did — despite gaudy box score stats from the two-time NBA MVP.

Washington’s defensive strategy involved primary defense by Bilal Coulibaly, who battled to prevent Antetokounmpo from establishing position close to the basket and getting clean catches at preferred spots on the floor. Coulibaly did about as good a job as can be done against a determined Antetokounmpo, who has no quibbles banging, pushing, and shoving opponents — or letting loose with a stray elbow or three.

The Wizards sent loads of helpers when Antetokounmpo attacked, and while the Bucks great made shots from the floor and got to the free throw line, he also committed a whopping six turnovers. He finished the game with splashy headline stats — 33 points and 15 rebounds in just 28 minutes — his PPA (see below) was 145 (which is low for Antetokounmpo). The Greek Freak posted an offensive rating of 110 on staggering 50.7% usage.

One surprising stat for a team with Antetokounmpo: just 42 points in the paint. This is a reflection of Washington’s emphasis in limiting opponent scoring inside in recent weeks.

Bucks coach Doc Rivers should get a “thank you” card for his contributions to the win for his decades-long (and inflexible) strategy of eschewing offensive rebounding. The Wizards have been susceptible to teams in that area all season, and while the Bucks 26% offensive rebounding percentage was on the high side for them, their overall reticence to pursue offensive misses undermines their overall offensive efficiency.

Thoughts & Observations​

• The Wizards started the game with Coulibaly seeking to front Antetokounmpo. The Bucks made that strategy more challenging by emptying the weakside corner to prevent backside help. They were abetted a bit by the refs, who did not call Antetokounmpo for pushing off.
• Impressive bounceback game from Sarr — 20 points, 11 rebounds (4 offensive), and 4 blocks. His offensive efficiency was “good enough” — 113 on 29.5% usage.
• Add the Bucks to the list of teams daring Coulibaly to shoot. They had Antetokounmpo theoretically assigned to defend the Wizards wing. He was more than happy to concede three-point attempts to Coulibaly. Who did not make the Bucks pay (1-4 from deep).
• Tre Johnson did not have a strong game overall, but his shooting is impressive.
• CJ McCollum played a solid game, including hitting the game-winning shot with 1 second on the clock. That shot was made possible in part by the way travels are called (or not called) in the 2025-26 NBA.
• That tapping sound you’re hearing throughout the NBA is from scouts updating scouting reports to tell their players to stick with Bub Carrington at the three-point line. He hit four straight threes to start the fourth quarter. He was 4-7 for the game, raising his season average to 44.9% — among the 10 best three-point shooting percentages in the NBA so far this season.
• Champagnie played a stellar game (again) — 12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks. He led the team in playing time.
• AJ Johnson was part of the rotation, and he was pretty good — 8 points on 5 shots in 16 minutes, plus a couple assists and a steal. I didn’t love the turnovers, but maybe those will improve as he gets real minutes.
• Former Wizards player Kyle Kuzma looks lost in Milwaukee.
• The Wizards led the Bucks 23-4 in points off turnovers and 17-5 in transition points.

Four Factors​

Below are the four factors that decide wins and losses in basketball — shooting (efg), rebounding (offensive rebounds), ball handling (turnovers), fouling (free throws made).

The four factors are measured by:

• eFG% (effective field goal percentage, which accounts for the three-point shot)
• OREB% (offensive rebound percentage)
• TOV% (turnover percentage — turnovers divided by possessions)
• FTM/FGA (free throws made divided by field goal attempts)

FOUR FACTORS	WIZARDS	BUCKS	LGAVG
eFG%	53.7%	55.1%	54.4%
OREB%	26.0%	26.2%	26.4%
TOV%	10.0%	15.1%	12.9%
FTM/FGA	0.138	0.169	0.217
PACE	100	100.0
ORTG	114	113	115.9

Stats & Metrics​

PPA is my overall production metric, which credits players for things they do that help a team win (scoring, rebounding, playmaking, defending) and dings them for things that hurt (missed shots, turnovers, bad defense, fouls).

PPA is a per possession metric designed for larger data sets. In small sample sizes, the numbers can get weird. In PPA, 100 is average, higher is better and replacement level is 45. For a single game, replacement level isn’t much use, and I reiterate the caution about small samples sometimes producing weird results.

POSS is the number of possessions each player was on the floor in this game.

ORTG = offensive rating, which is points produced per individual possessions x 100. League average so far this season is 115.1. Points produced is not the same as points scored. It includes the value of assists and offensive rebounds, as well as sharing credit when receiving an assist.

USG = offensive usage rate. Average is 20%.

ORTG and USG are versions of stats created by former Wizards assistant coach Dean Oliver and modified by me. ORTG is an efficiency measure that accounts for the value of shooting, offensive rebounds, assists and turnovers. USG includes shooting from the floor and free throw line, offensive rebounds, assists and turnovers.

+PTS = “Plus Points” is a measure of the points gained or lost by each player based on their efficiency in this game compared to league average efficiency on the same number of possessions. A player with an offensive rating (points produced per possession x 100) of 100 who uses 20 possessions would produce 20 points. If the league average efficiency is 114, the league — on average — would produced 22.8 points in the same 20 possessions. So, the player in this hypothetical would have a +PTS score of -2.8.

Players are sorted by total production in the game.

WIZARDS	MIN	POSS	ORTG	USG	+PTS	PPA	+/-
Bub Carrington	24	49	128	29.2%	1.7	238	6
Justin Champagnie	33	68	137	13.1%	1.8	171	4
Alex Sarr	28	59	113	29.5%	-0.5	163	-5
CJ McCollum	32	67	115	21.3%	-0.1	127	-13
Marvin Bagley III	20	41	134	17.0%	1.2	154	6
Tre Johnson	28	59	106	19.4%	-1.1	79	-5
AJ Johnson	16	32	114	19.2%	-0.1	139	14
Will Riley	12	24	143	13.4%	0.9	185	1
Bilal Coulibaly	25	52	94	21.6%	-2.5	21	4
Khris Middleton	23	47	61	12.7%	-3.3	-70	-7

BUCKS	MIN	POSS	ORTG	USG	+PTS	PPA	+/-
Myles Turner	31	65	137	14.5%	2.0	172	12
Giannis Antetokounmpo	28	59	110	50.7%	-1.9	145	-4
Ryan Rollins	39	82	115	19.1%	-0.2	92	3
Bobby Portis	20	42	130	24.1%	1.4	149	-11
Kevin Porter Jr.	39	82	104	20.8%	-2.0	73	10
AJ Green	34	70	127	9.2%	0.7	68	12
Gary Harris	11	23	258	6.4%	2.1	136	-10
Kyle Kuzma	21	44	93	16.4%	-1.7	26	-5
Gary Trent Jr.	15	32	0	9.3%	-3.5	-123	-12

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/wash...nse-flusters-bucks-in-narrow-wizards-road-win