The Wizards post crew is an interesting and multifaceted bunch. There is an outspoken Pole with a mohawk. A strongman from Brazil. A Frenchman who is an ongoing project. And, an ex-boyfriend of Kim Kardashian.
Kris Humphries has, for the most part, shed attachment to the “reality” star. A quick way to do that is yanking down 20 rebounds the night Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers are in town.
Humphries was forceful and busy Wednesday night in the Wizards’ third consecutive win. He was starting for the fifth consecutive game because Nene needed rest in order to heal plantar fasciitis in his right foot.
Gortat and point guard John Wall have been adapting to the lineup change. Nene spends much more offensive time on the block than Humphries. When Nene is on the floor, the Wizards often start their offense through him in the post. He’s a superior interior passer and a player who often draws double teams.
Humphries roams more on the perimeter. He produces little offense in the post, though, according to Gortat, he’s more mobile than Nene.
“I would say more active than Nene,” Gortat said. “He’s moving left and right, going up and down. He’s able to finish the play in so many different ways. It’s fun to play with him.”
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They are working on the level of rhythm Gortat and Nene developed while playing together last season. Humphries was brought to Washington in the offseason to do precisely what he is doing: add frontcourt depth in case the oft-injured Nene was out. When Nene is back, and that could be as soon as Friday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets, having both players just increases the Wizards’ ability to counter their opponents’ lineups.
“It’s two different players you get adjusted to,” Wall said. “I think we’re doing a great job of changing our gameplan of how we play if Nene was there, to adding Kris into the mix.”
Nene will has missed six of the Wizards’ first 17 games this season. He missed the opener in Miami because of a one-game suspension after being part of an altercation in a preseason game. He has not played since Nov. 22 against the Milwaukee Bucks because of his foot injury. Even then, he played just six minutes.
In his 13th NBA season, Nene has played 82 games once in his career. Since joining the Wizards in 2011, he has not played more than 61 games in a season because of a variety of injuries.
Humphries is averaging 9.8 rebounds per game since replacing Nene in the starting lineup. His 20 rebounds against the Lakers — in a mere 30 minutes — were a season high. His career high is 23 rebounds. Rebounding is how Humphries has developed an NBA brand while playing for six teams in 10-plus NBA seasons.
“I told Humphries, that’s the reason he got paid,” Paul Pierce said with a laugh. “It wasn’t that jump shot. We value him, he’s coming in and filling in starter minutes greatly for us. That’s the key to our ball club if you look, we have great depth. Nene as a starter has been out. Humphries, last five games filled in nicely. That’s the strength of our team right there is our depth.”
More of the same from Humphries will be necessary Friday night. The Nuggets are seventh in the league in rebounding. They are also 7-2 in their last nine games to move to 9-9 on the season. Center Timofey Mozgov (7.5) and power forward Kenneth Faried (6.9) lead Denver’s rebounding efforts. J.J. Hickson (7.3) and Wilson Chandler (6.1) bolster the work of Mozgov and Faried.
The Wizards counter with their post crew of characters. Humphries has found his rebounding role within the group, which is what he was signed to do.
• Todd Dybas can be reached at tdybas@washingtontimes.com.
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