Wands Up: 10 Thoughts After Attending Wizards Back to Back Home Games

I was fortunate enough to attend both nights of a back to back in DC for the Wizards this past weekend against the Grizzlies and the Suns. You can watch all the basketball on tv you want, but there is no comparison to being there live (yes even for the Wizards!) I posted some pictures from both games on Twitter here and here, but thought it’d be fun to change the blog content up today with a more basketball focused post with 10 quick takes from the Wizards’ weekend.

1. Alex Sarr should be the foundation for this team to build around I say this to start things off because a later comment may upend this one, but Sarr is the absolute real deal. He was a serious force in the paint on both ends of the floor; having what felt like a block battle with Jaren Jackson Jr early Sunday night. He’s athletic and can also shoot from distance. I’ll get cooked on the Twitter machine for this, but his game is very reminiscent of a young Nikola Jokic.

2. Everyone’s forgot how good Bilal Coulibaly is It is easy to forget the hype and promise we all put in Bilal when he was the first of the promising young Wizards’ players emerging his rookie year. Some slight regression and injuries derailed a bit of the hype train, but this weekend Bilal had his full game on display. I hope he doesn’t get lost in the shuffle of the rebuild after we wind up with another high first rounder this offseason because for my money, he’s the Wizards third best player right now with Kyshawn out.

3. Ja Morant is worth the price of admission The arena was pretty packed Sunday night for recent Wizards’ standards and the big reason was Ja Morant. Tons of Ja jerseys in the building and even Wizards fans were excited to see one of the most polarizing players in the league. Ja’s athleticism is maybe second to none and he showed it with an alley-oop on the first play of the game and again late in the game with an insane directional shift dunk off a lob. The antics and the attitude were also on display, but man Ja was fun to watch.

4. Tre Johnson is a superstar in the making This was may be the thing that stuck out to me the most in the 2 games I was at this weekend. Tre was absolutely red hot shooting the basketball and looked like a true, pure scoring threat. He drove the paint, but also showed absurd range. The comfort in range and confidence he has in his shot feels like a guy who can drop 30 a night. The crowd got massively behind him to try to take over. Hitting multiple logo 3s will do that. He also was constantly active on the floor and it was fun to watch him and Ja guarding each other all game. Tre looks like the most complete superstar we’ve had in awhile.

5. This Wizards team isn’t serious about winning until the rotation minutes change This one is maybe the most frustrating as a fan. Watching the team with 2 wins in a row, trying to stay tight with Phoenix and we get random substitutions. Tre Johnson had literal NBA Jam on fire symbols around his feet and he was subbed out. Sarr and Coulibaly are still sub 30 minutes a night and AJ Johnson can not sniff the floor. If you take a look around the league, the best teams play their best players 33+ minutes a night. While Sarr at 28 may be close, that extra 5 minutes and 10 more for Tre makes a HUGE difference in the game. Hopefully, when Tre comes off minutes restriction we see a big overall shift in this department.

6. Sarr Star There is a big push online and even moreso at the arena for Alex Sarr All-Star voting. There was even a big Alex Sarr for All-Star wall for fans to take pictures in front of and a Wizards stress ball giveaway for voting in the arena. I’m just excited there is a player solid enough to get behind for the push. Sarr has competitive numbers across the board and has been playing with the best of the bigs in the East so far this year. I’d love to see it happen, but unfortunately just don’t think we get enough eyes in DC for him to get the final push. Hey, I’ll keep voting for him though (and you should too!)

7. Bub Carrington may be best served as a 6th man…and that’s okay Bub came off the bench both games I was at this weekend and actually thought that was a pretty good fit to have him run the floor with the subs. Without Kyshawn George active, the Wizards were a little thin off the bench since a rotational guy started each night. Bub came in and provided solid offense and command of the floor. He also has a good energy about him when he is on the floor. Depending the route the Wizards go at PG, I could see this being a strong role for Bub if is not the answer as a starter.

8. I can not stand Dillon Brooks I’ve never liked Brooks and I’ll tell you watching him in person just really ups the ante for me. The over produced theatrics, the tough guy antics; it all just feels so forced with him to try to get attention on him. Credit to him for having some solid games this year with Jalen Green out, but I just don’t see how people get behind the guy. At least Draymond seems like a guy if you’re on his team he will have your back (sans Jordan Poole). Watching Brooks, it feels like he only cares about his own narrative.

9. Will Riley is good, but I don’t know that he is a long term starter Riley was solid off the bench both games and has had some solid showings this year, but when he was on the floor this weekend, he just didn’t seem like a priority and didn’t seem to be a driving force. Don’t get me wrong, I think Riley is a solid player, but with all the talent in front of him, I don’t see a path to him being a nightly starter when everyone is healthy.

10. This team isn’t far from play-in contention Sitting at 7–24 isn’t exactly the kind of record that exudes confidence in the fanbase, but watching this team play; there is a lot of talent here and the Wizards play competitive. They didn’t play either night (nor Friday when they beat the Raptors) like a team that has mailed it in. Having a lot of young players looking to establish themselves, earn / keep their spot and being used to winning at other levels probably keeps them in the right hungry mindset. They have also blown a lot of games they were winning this season, which goes back to them being competitive. I’m curious to see how the team comes together once Kyshawn is healthy as he was a hot piece of the core so far this season. It may not be this year, but get your playoff tickets ready next season at the latest.

Wands Up: 10 Thoughts After Attending Wizards Back to Back Home Games was originally published in Coinmonks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.