Much can be said about the Washington Wizards season-opening loss on the road to the Milwaukee Bucks. Going down in 133-120, arguable blowout fashion, many were quick to point to Washington’s slow start and apparent inability to string together defensive stops.
On the opposite, more optimistic side of things, the Wizards own point total stands out as a serious beacon of promise ahead of the rest of their season. With 81 games left to play, D.C.’s offense has all the time in the world to continue to develop from what is already an incredibly strong starting point.
Regarding their next game against the Dallas Mavericks, Washington’s ability to score at a high level, if it continues, may actually give them the edge over a similarly structured Mavericks team.
While Dallas isn’t relying on their young talent to the same extent as Washington, rookie and first overall pick Cooper Flagg certainly appears to be at the center of the team’s plans moving forward, and he’ll likely get a number of looks in tomorrow night’s bout with the Wizards.
With Alex Sarr and Bub Carrington (sophomores) and Tre Johnson (rookie) taking up much of Washington’s scoring responsibility, it may be a matter of who’s “on” and who’s “off” when the two teams meet.
Washington Wizards guard Bub Carrington / Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images / Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images
All the same, a look at Dallas’ own season opener provides a more encouraging outlook than the Wizards’ own 0-1 record initially suggests. At home — a luxury the Wizards didn’t (and won’t) have — against the San Antonio Spurs, the Mavericks managed only to score 92 points.
Compared to San Antonio’s 125, the performance implies a weakness in Dallas’ current game plan that is specifically suited to Washington’s greatest strength; putting the ball in the bucket at a high rate.
While Washington will continue to play without starting forward Bilal Coulibaly as he recovers from surgery on his hand, Dallas will also be without Kyrie Irving, as the veteran guard recovers from a torn ACL. Both down a starter and finding their footing on the season, the Wizards appear, according to an admittedly small body of evidence, to have the upper hand.
This early in the season, a loss won’t make or break a team either way. Much more will be learned about this new Wizards roster in the process and, win or loss, they’ll head into their home debut at the end of the weekend for an inevitable boost of morale.