For at least one night, the Washington Wizards B team was a lot better than the New York Knicks C team, and the Wizards rolled to a comfortable 120-103 preseason victory. The final 17-point margin tells a sort of traditional NBA story.
The Wizards dominated most of the way. They led by 23 at the half, grew their lead to as much as 36 in the third quarter, and then the Knicks made a bit of a comeback in the late third quarter and fourth to make the final margin more respectable.
This brings me to what I wrote after their first preseason game: “The first rule of preseason NBA basketball is to not take anything seriously.” The second rule: It’s still okay to like things you saw. And dislike some too.
* Tre Johnson — to quote from my notes, “Quick release, confident shooter.” He launched seven shots in 14 minutes, including four threes. None of them were bad shots. His shot chart is an analytics work of art — every attempt was from three-point range or inside the restricted area.
* Justin Champagnie looked to be in midseason form, which is a good thing. He was productive last season — the first time in his career he got extended minutes. He’s young enough and good enough to push his teammates with higher draft status for minutes if they’re not careful.
* Marvin Bagley III had a classic Bagley kind of game. The undermanned Knicks couldn’t keep him from the offensive glass (five offensive boards in 24 minutes). He’s become kind of a punchline, but he’s talented, athletic, and still just 26 years old.
* Bub Carrington bounced back from an atrocious first preseason game with a very good one — 8 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists in just 14 minutes. And he took care of the ball (just one turnover).
* Tristan Vukcevic was aggressive both looking for his shot (6-9 from the floor) and trying to set up teammates (3 assists and 2 turnovers). He has offensive talent.
* Cam Whitmore flashed eye-popping athletic tools on multiple plays — one a routine defensive rebound where it looked for a moment like he might hit his head on the rim.
* Will Riley was confident and assertive in his 26 minutes. He scored 17 points on 11 shots and was actively attacking New York’s defense.
* Dillon Jones flashed impressive hands — three steals, including two live-dribble swipes.
* Jamir Watkins grabbed 6 rebounds and 17 minutes and showcased some of the defense that will be what earns him a spot in the NBA.
* Tyler Kolek from the Knicks was competitive, physical and effective. He probably won’t get a ton of minutes in New York, but he seems the kind of guy a good team needs — who plays just a bit better than you’d expect when they need him.
* Former Wizards great Trey Jemison III is big, athletic and has maybe somewhat refined his game.
* For all the talk about how hard the Wizards youngsters worked this offseason, Kyshawn George and Corey Kispert were the only two who look visibly different. George clearly added muscle in his arms and shoulders. Kispert made a similar change last season and looks even more chiseled this year.
* Speaking of George, it was interesting to see him trying Doncic-like pace control on drives. He might have overdone it a bit, but I liked seeing him try to keep his defender on his hip and make a play in the paint. Next step: change pace like Doncic does — go slow to fast or fast to slow to befuddle defenders.
And, a few things I didn’t like:
* Dillon Jones’ feet are as slow as his hands are quick. After one excellent steal, he botched the transition possession because it took him so long to get up court. I continue to think what I thought of him in summer league — he needs to lose 15-20 pounds.
* Tre Johnson missed a transition hit-ahead pass in the first quarter. I wasn’t sure whether he didn’t see Kyshawn George or whether he fumbled the ball when trying to make the pass. It might’ve been a bit of both. Call it a teachable moment — he can learn to keep his head up when bringing the ball up court or to work on his ball handling.
* As long as I’m picking on Johnson, I wasn’t thrilled with his elevation when trying to finish inside. That was okay against a Knicks team playing a 6-7 center, but it’s potentially worrying when they face legit NBA size. I did like his willingness to attack closeouts and keep his dribble until he got to the rim.
* Okay, one more on Johnson — in the first quarter, he went left on pick-and-roll. This is good. What didn’t I like? He dropped a pocket pass to Bagley out at the elbow. Bagley scored because he’s skilled, and Johnson drew praise from the Monumental broadcast team. But the pass was too early and left his big with a challenging move in traffic to score. Better would have been to keep his dribble, probe the defense, draw the big man, and THEN drop it to Bagley for an easy bucket. While I didn’t like that pass, it’s okay — he’s 19-years-old. And it’s preseason.
* The Monumental broadcast was in the midseason form, which is not a good thing. They did their usual “miss a play because they were showing a replay and no one noticed the game was starting” thing. At one point, Drew Gooden talked about the team having a “point guard by committee” or something that doesn’t reflect the reality that many teams don’t really have PGs anymore. Which might have just glided past my ears if Chris Miller hadn’t asked Gooden if that “point guard by committee” could make it hard for opponents to “figure out” who’s bringing the ball up. As if opposing players can’t just…you know…look at who has the ball and is dribbling it up court.
One thing I did love from the Monumental broadcast was a preseason mistake — a graphic that read: “NYK: 0 FG last 0:05.” Legit made me laugh.
The Wizards are back in action Thursday night when they’ll close out the preseason at the Detroit Pistons.
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* [Washington Wizards Recaps](/washington-wizards-recaps)
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