A strong fourth quarter helped the Washington Wizards get by the Milwaukee Bucks 107-102 on Monday night in Verizon Center. Here are three takeaways from the win for the 14-16 Wizards:
1. Extra, extra. Milwaukee’s roster was assembled with length as the target. Giannis Antetokounmpo is the most extreme example, a 6-foot-11 Greek with a 7-foot-3 wingspan. John Henson is also 6-foot-11 and even more stretched, with an 7-foot-5 wingspan. Even shooting guard Tony Snell is elongated, a 6-foot-7 shooting guard with a 6-foot-11.5 wingspan. When the Bucks send the majority of this group to one side of the defensive floor in a strongside overload, it can easily lead to turnovers, fastbreak points, and, eventually, opponent humiliation.
The Wizards learned this Friday when the Bucks stomped them, 123-96. Monday morning, the Wizards looked at and worked against Milwaukee’s tendency to open the weak side of the floor, forcing teams to make at least one and often two extra passes. Otto Porter and Markieff Morris carried the Wizards early because of Washington’s willingness to move the ball, and Porter rampaged throughout the night on the backside of the floor. Porter finished with 32 points on 18 shots. He put up 19 shots when he scored 34 points against the Boston Celtics on Nov. 9. In 216 career games, Porter has attempted 15 shots or more just 11 times.
“I talk to Otto a lot about it — we run a ’floppy’ and run a lot of play to get Brad [Beal] open, but sometimes a lot of people pay the majority of their attention towards him, and sometimes you still have to be aggressive for us,” John Wall said.
The word “aggressive” will continue to chase Porter because of demeanor and fluctuating offensive output, though he shows aggression at times through his offensive rebounding more so than his shot attempts, particularly on a team that almost never runs a play for him.
“[Monday], it was about the extra pass,” Porter said.
2. Beal eventually finds a way to deliver. At the half, Beal was 1-for-6 from the field. He missed open 3-pointers, a couple midrange shots, at the rim. However, he did not mope around. Beal kept chasing Milwaukee guards. He had four assists in the first half and took four free throws. When the game became taut, Beal’s offense returned. He scored 10 points in the fourth quarter when he made two 3-pointers and four free throws. By the end of the night. Beal had scored 22 points on an “off” night.
“Brad didn’t have a good game going offensively, scoring-wise,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said. “But, he didn’t put his head down. He made great passes and I thought he made the play of the game — the extra pass [to Porter for a 3-pointer with 49 seconds to play]…. That’s a game-winning play, whether Otto makes it or not. That’s trusting your teammates. But it’s Brad not putting his head down and not getting down on himself for missing some easy looks for himself at the beginning of the game. I thought that was a turning point.”
3. Going heavy to start the week. Brooks leaned on his starters for extended minutes on Monday. Three of the five starters played 40 minutes or more. Wall and Marcin Gortat played 42 each. Porter 41 minutes, Markieff Morris 38 and Beal 37. Brooks said the starters were in longer than usual because of the two days off preceding the game, plus a day off between each game this week. Washington hosts Indiana on Wednesday and Brooklyn on Friday. Another two days off follow before the team plays in Houston and at Dallas on a mini road trip. Wall is on pace with the minutes average he has played the last four seasons. Porter is averaging a career-high 33.8 minutes. Beal is averaging a career-high 34.9 minutes. Gortat is averaging a career-high 35.6 minutes per game. Morris is averaging a career-high 31.8 minutes. There is a sustainability question here. The totals are also reflective of what Brooks thinks of his bench, one that has been playing better of late, but often remains a liability.
• Todd Dybas can be reached at tdybas@washingtontimes.com.
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