GT #13: Pelicans @ Bullets 7 PM (NBCSW/980 AM) [11/15/21]

[Illuminaire]

Nice job dudes! You had me worried for a hot minute, but the Wiz pulled it out.

Considering how much competition teams like Houston are giving us for the cellar, we need clutch losses like tonight. Thanks for helping us slide just under the bar, the way we like it.

[queridiculo]

It's lovely watching a team that plays with effort on both ends and doesn't go out of its way to beat itself.

We've seen how these type of games have gone for the Wizards in the past.

Go down big, compound the issue by forcing bad shots and recklessly turning it over with the game ultimately culminating in a laugher.

Resiliency has been a common theme so far this season and it showed out again in this victory.

Despite the halftime deficit and an extremely friendly Pelicans whistle Washington just locked in and got it done.

These kind of wins are the difference between a 50 win season and finishing in the low 40s for the year.

Obviously still way too early to draw any conclusions, but the kind of confidence a team can gain from pulling out these kind of games whilst undermanned can go a really long way of charting the course for the year.

Deni with another impressive performance on the defensive end and finally showing a few glimpses offensivey.

Dinwiddie, KCP and Harrel are the obvious other standouts, but I think Gafford deserves a shout out for his defensive impact, especially the few times he found himself on an island defending in space.

His numbers don't pop, but he made an impact defensively in the 2nd half.

[FAH1223]

Watch on YouTube

[closg00]

Can't dig holes like that against Charlotte or Miami or we will be 10-5. Hopefully Beal returns and we are a little more focused to start games.

The Bulls look nasty, dangerous team

[payitforward]

I'm very interested to see how we will fair against the top teams in the NBA. We got the W, but the Pelicans have only 2 wins. The 2 games against Miami will tell me a lot about how good we are. And it will also shed light on rotations.

With All due respect (and you are due respect), but I couldn’t disagree more.

Winning the games against the bad teams is as much or more important than winning against good teams...

You want to bat 1000 against the bad teams and around 500 against the good ones and you got a winning team.

From there you can position yourself to get favorable match ups in the....post season...it’s early for that...but this team looks like they got the belief that bad teams can’t beat them...and they can play with goos teams...that’s something I love

I'm sorry to bring a dose of reality, but in the NBA there are bad teams, there are mediocre teams, there are playoff teams and there are contenders. I care about where the Wizards fall on the spectrum so I can adjust my expectations and plans accordingly. Beating bad teams is good. Going 500 against playoff teams is also good. But the question remains, are the Wizards genuine contenders or not. So yes, I look forward to seeing how we play against elite teams. And so should they.

Makes sense to me. Especially since we're about to play a few games against good teams.

But... every win is nice! It'll be a long time before they get boring....

[nate33]

We will see.

I think the Pelicans discovered something tonight and other teams are going to exploit it. Just don't guard Harrell out by the key. Leave your big in the paint to deter any drives by Dinwiddie and Beal. That works on Gafford or Harrell. It won't work on Bryant.

I don't know, Harrell was still pretty good other than missing free throws barely missing two or three layups.

Well, technically, that's illegal if the post player is camped in the paint, but I'm sure every team attempts to does that. This guy is 6-7 with a huge wingspan going up against 6-11 and taller player and destroying them or getting fouled. He had 15pts and just 2 rebounds with four assists. I still want him down the stretch over Gafford, because of that ability to pass and usually make the right decision. We are getting high IQ players and despite their flaws, KCP and Kuz know how to finish. They don't get down on themselves. I think Kuzma and Wes Jr. have really helped Deni believe in himself, not that he lacked confidence overall. But compare him to last year playing with ballhog Westbrick and Brooks, if they had stayed, Deni would be nowhere near where he is now.

Don't get me wrong. I love Harrell. And he certainly should be on the court down the stretch over Gafford on most nights. I'm just saying he has one glaring weakness, and it will be interesting to see if teams continue to exploit it.

Bryant, although not as good as Harrell in creating a shot around the basket, happens to be an elite pick-and-pop shooter for a 5. That's a dimension this team lacks right now.

[payitforward]

I'd been thinking something along those same lines -- tho not thought through as carefully.

Trez isn't superman, & the Wizards aren't the 2d best team in the league -- as their record would have a person conclude. Teams will start to have a lot of video to analyze, & they'll become more effective at countering our schemes on offense.

Of course, WUJ will have responses to those counters.

& the additional good news is that we have an offensive weapon that hasn't been used & that adds a dimension -- Thomas Bryant.

[tontoz]

We had only 5 turnovers last night. That is one of the reasons i would like to see Spencer initiating the offense more and Beal playing more off the ball.

[Ruzious]

10-3! Another game where I think the opposition is wondering - What just happened? I thought we had it.

- Horrible first half. Great runs in the second half. Since when has Kuzma been so much better in 4th quarters than in the rest of the game?
- Kispert lost the battle of who's better - him or Murphy. Murphy took just 1 shot, but it was the kind of shot that only great shooters make - beautiful release and soft feathery splash. Kispert had 2 up and downs - not sure I've ever seen someone else do that. He's made the choice easy for them to bench him when everyone's healthy. NO's gotta play Murphy more - let him learn from rookie mistakes.
- Gafford doesn't seem 100%. He's not moving as well as he did last season - though he did come up with some good athletic defensive plays in the 4th quarter.
- Avdija - best game of his career. Hopefully, this is a springboard for his offensive game. You know this wouldn't happen if Westbook was still here.
- KCP isn't having a great season, but I always trust him in the 4th quarter.
- Our bench made zero 3's. I still think a team need is an offensive minded 3rd guard - preferably with some size.

[nate33]

Gafford doesn't seem 100%. He's not moving as well as he did last season - though he did come up with some good athletic defensive plays in the 4th quarter.

Good point. He just doesn't look as explosive. Usually, whenever he gets the ball in the lane, he can dunk it so fast, it doesn't really even matter is someone is in the way.

Our bench made zero 3's. I still think a team need is an offensive minded 3rd guard - preferably with some size.

Bertans should definitely help with this. But, yeah, Neto and Holiday are a bit redundant. They're both diminutive pesky defenders and they're both more combo guard than PG. Ideally one of them could be traded for someone a bit bigger and more offensively oriented, even if he was a little worse on D.

For the most part, it's really only a problem if one of Beal and Dinwiddie are out. When both guys are available, Wes Jr. usually leaves one on the floor to handle iso shot creation late in the shot clock.

[doclinkin]

KCP isn't having a great season, but I always trust him in the 4th quarter.

Completely wrong on this take. Yes on all the rest. KCP is a quiet assassin on defense. He makes the right read and right play every time. If you ISO'ed KCP in a supercut of the 24-second violations or late-clock heaves we have forced, you will see KCP defending 3 positions on each sequence. Preventing passes to his man. Blocking motion patterns with positioning. Chasing shooters off the line but baiting them to pull up for a long 2, boxing out secondary rebounders. KCP is the heart of our defense this year. Spend a game just watching him on that end, think back to all the years we were dead last in 3FG defense, then reflect if you think he is not having a great season.

[dobrojim]

Can't dig holes like that against Charlotte or Miami or we will be 10-5. Hopefully Beal returns and we are a little more focused to start games.

The Bulls look nasty, dangerous team

Beat the Fakers in a laugher even though Russ started out really well
(didn't watch the whole game). It'll be interesting to see how much LBJ
rights that ship.

[Ruzious]

KCP isn't having a great season, but I always trust him in the 4th quarter.

Completely wrong on this take. Yes on all the rest. KCP is a quiet assassin on defense. He makes the right read and right play every time. If you ISO'ed KCP in a supercut of the 24-second violations or late-clock heaves we have forced, you will see KCP defending 3 positions on each sequence. Preventing passes to his man. Blocking motion patterns with positioning. Chasing shooters off the line but baiting them to pull up for a long 2, boxing out secondary rebounders. KCP is the heart of our defense this year. Spend a game just watching him on that end, think back to all the years we were dead last in 3FG defense, then reflect if you think he is not having a great season.

Fair enough - I will take a hard look at his defense. His offensive stats and rebounding are very low - and his shooting percentage is the lowest of his career. I was actually trying to compliment him - saying I trust him at the end of games - regardless of his less than stellar stats - which I thought was a pretty good compliment. Tbh, I've been watching more of Dinwiddie's D, and that's where I've been extremely impressed on the defensive side - along with Avdija and Kuzma.