Wizards preseason games in Japan.

[doclinkin]

First game: Friday 6AM Eastern time.
2nd game: 1AM Saturday night.

Broadcast on NBATV. Live feed below:

https://www.nba.com/watch/channel/nbatvlive

Watch on YouTube

Comments and thoughts in this thread.

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

Here’s what I think. There is no way Turd is trading Rui.

He is the definition of a replacement level player, but Turd won’t be able to be relevant in a new market.

[doclinkin]

Monte
Beal
Kuz
Rui
Zinger.

Deni out.
Barton out.

1Q. Rui active with deflections and steals.

[NatP4]

LOL the offense looks horrendous. Kuzma is just launching up bricks. Hard to watch

[NatP4]

Beal gets stripped after dribbling out the entire shot clock against a double team. Proceeds to complain to the officials for the next 3 possessions.

Some things never change…..besides the fact that we’re paying him twice as much now.

[NatP4]

The defense looks really good, and the rotation seems pretty solid, especially when you get Avdija back. Wright&Kispert look really good.

Wright’s defense is even better than I expected. Just all over the place.

[NatP4]

Some things that are obvious from the 1st half IMO:

1. Wright should start and is far more impactful than Morris

2. Davis can contribute with his defense/hustle

3. Beal+Porzingis 2 man game is tough to guard and a go-to offensive action.

4. Kispert’s shot didn’t fall, but he looks like a weapon

5. Defense looks great, offense will be a challenge, especially with 2nd unit, but Deni should help

[Dark Faze]

damn apparently we're getting bodied by James Wiseman

[dorianwrite]

Isaiah Todd: Trade Ballast

[doclinkin]

Saw the 1st quarter only. But tuned in in time to see Taj Gibson hit his 2nd 3. He looks good. Rui was active in man defense. 1st preseason game, nobody hits shots. You know there is rust when Stef is blanked for the quarter.

[nate33]

Judging from the box score, it was a really ugly game. Both teams shot a woeful 37% overall, and we shot 17% from 3pt range. Golden State won because they shot 40 free throws and hit 31 of them. We shot just 30 free throws and made just 19.

Nice to see Hachimura pull down 9 boards in 25 minutes.

Porzingis had an interesting box score: 7 points, 4 boards, 4 assists 4 steals and a block in 21 minutes. It looks like he was a hub of the offense and the team was +1 when he was on the court. That's encouraging. 5 fouls in 21 minutes though.

Johnny Davis, 0 for 5 from the field.

[nate33]

1. Wright should start and is far more impactful than Morris

This has been my contention all along. It just makes sense, particularly with the offense running through Porzingis. The team was +1 when they shared the court together.

[doclinkin]

Porzingis had an interesting box score: 7 points, 4 boards, 4 assists 4 steals and a block in 21 minutes. It looks like he was a hub of the offense and the team was +1 when he was on the court. That's encouraging.

Yeah for the time I watched it looked like Porzingis and Kuzma were each playing a distributing role more than offensive focal points. Porzingis in the high post as we expected. The ball sticks to KP's hands, he palms it with ease, and makes crisp passes one handed. Looked good in that role.

[Dat2U]

Davis looks like he doesn't belong at all. The excuse was he was hurt during summer league but now Unseld readily admits Davis is struggling with the speed & physicality of the game. And this was supposed to be one of the more NBA ready guys?

This is Shepp's worst pick during his time as GM. At least Rui & Kispert had translatable offensive skills. I can't find one translatable skill at this stage offensively for him.

If i had to give advice, i'd say watch Patrick Beverley. If Davis is ever going to be a plus player its going to start with defense, high energy and making open 3s. Maybe down the line, some secondary playmaking isnt out of the question.

[nate33]

Man, if this James Wiseman thing is for real and not just a fluke, Golden State might very well carry out the greatest "rebuild on the fly" we have ever seen. Wiseman, Kuminga, Moody and Poole form a pretty good young core, ages 21, 19, 20 and 23 respectively. Heck, Wiggins is only 27 and DiVincenzo is 25. That team might just keep winning 55+ games a year even after Curry, Klay and Draymond move on.

[mhd]

Davis looks like he doesn't belong at all. The excuse was he was hurt during summer league but now Unseld readily admits Davis is struggling with the speed & physicality of the game. And this was supposed to be one of the more NBA ready guys?

This is Shepp's worst pick during his time as GM. At least Rui & Kispert had translatable offensive skills. I can't find one translatable skill at this stage offensively for him.

If i had to give advice, i'd say watch Patrick Beverley. If Davis is ever going to be a plus player its going to start with defense, high energy and making open 3s. Maybe down the line, some secondary playmaking isnt out of the question.

Dat, I remember you were initially high on Davis when you did some mid-season NCAA draft tiers, but you also quickly soured on him as the draft approached. Davis doesn't belong at all. He's a complete bust. It was a pick I hated from the start. We should have done the OKC-Knicks trade and gotten 3 future 1sts to get out of the draft instead. I advocated doing this after draft day. Davis is Jan Vesely, except Jan had NBA athletic ability (but he was scared like Davis is on the court).

[closg00]

Not throwing-in the towel on Davis yet, but I was extremely nervous about how his college game was going to translate at the next-level, it is very alarming that he isn't a scorer yet, SL or preseason. Seems like a good candidate to send to the G-League and get acclimated.

[Wizardspride]

Not throwing-in the towel on Davis yet, but I was extremely nervous about how his college game was going to translate at the next-level, it is very alarming that he isn't a scorer yet, SL or preseason. Seems like a good candidate to send to the G-League and get acclimated.

Unfortunately, I don't think there's any "getting acclimated" for Davis.

Can't suddenly find quickness/athleticism...

[DCZards]

I’m not surprised that Davis is not a scorer at the NBA level yet. I believe his initial contribution to the Zards will be as a defender and high-energy, high-effort player off the bench.

I expect the combo of Davis and Wright to eventually become a tough and effective defensive duo.

[dobrojim]

I was impressed by KP's rim protection. Being 7-3 is one thing, being active and
in the right place is another.