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The Washington Wizards opened their 2018-19 regular season with a 113-112 loss to the Miami Heat on Thursday night. Here are five observations from the game …
Olynyk does it again: A ghost from the Wizards' Washington, DC, has a game in the air. The Wizards got several key stops Kelly Olynyk, who reeled in a Dwyane Wade and dropped in a go-ahead with 0.2 seconds remaining.
Olynyk had been booed all night by Wizards fans every time he touched the ball. Though he has changed teams, they still remember his dustup with Kelly Oubre Jr. back in the 2017 playoffs when he was with the Celtics. Olynyk heard it all night, but ended up sealing the win. Man, what a gut punch for the Wizards to start the season off.
Wall looked good: He may be wearing a headset and sporting a new hairstyle, but the John Wall who showed up on Thursday night to carve up the Heat Defense looked awfully familiar. It was a version of him we did not see much of last year in which amounted to a lost season due to missed games and injury-hampered play.
We looked at the all-NBA force we saw two years ago when he put up career numbers and had the Wizards on the brink of the Eastern Conference Finals. Against Miami, 18 points in the first half alone. He finished with 26 points, nine badists, three rebounds, three blocks and one steal. He shot 9-for-16 from the field.
One of the most intriguing parts of this season is Dwight Howard, who has made it easier for him to have a pick-and-roll monster. But Wall driven vs. the Heat has the same sparkle of the years, the electric driving ability that was missing for so much of last season.
He can create his own offense whenever he wants to. Imagine when he has Howard's help setting up screens and drawing attention in the paint.
No Howard: Howard was a gametime decision and the Wizards finally made the call to sit him out. They say he's feeling great and getting better, but just had a good time.
It seems like Howard is very close and could be ready on Saturday when the Wizards host the Raptors. If not, it will be with the Wizards on their five-game road trip through the Western Conference.
With Howard out, head coach Scott Brooks appears to have more trust in Jason Smith to be the backup center rather than Thomas Bryant. Though he did go with Markieff Morris or Jeff Green at center, that was only after Smith got into foul trouble.
Howard's absence was seen especially in the rebounding category. The Heat beat the Wizards on the glbad 55 to 40 and Miami had 22 offensive boards. Though we have not seen Howard in action with the Wizards, it's a safe bet they would have done better rebounding the ball with him on the floor.
Foul troubles: Howard's absence was compounded by key Wizards players racking fouls at an accelerated rate. Ian Mahinmi, who started for Howard, got his fourth just 15 seconds into the second half. By the end of the third quarter, Morris, Jason Smith, and Bradley Beal also had a great time. Beal finished with five.
All in all, it was a physical game between the teams, one that was confronted in the third quarter between Wall and Derrick Jones Jr. that resulted in a technical foul for Wall. It all started when Smith and Hbadan Whiteside got tangled up on the floor. Wall came over and gave Jones a shove and some words to follow.
That play is likely to have occurred in the last year, but it is worth noting the league has expanded its definition of 'hostile acts.' That type of stuff will not fly at all anymore.
It was an interesting chicken-or-the-egg situation on Thursday because of the quick whistles to some frustration between the teams.
Otto still deferred: Much of the talk about Otto Porter Jr. in recent years. He is the most efficient player on the Wizards, yet is the clear No. 3 option in the offense. That catter reached a new level of freedom that they have permission to yell at Porter if he does not shoot.
So far, it was much of the same for swingman Wizards. He took seven shots in the game. Two of those came on the same play, as he went on a layup and then sank the putback. Porter did not attempt a single and only nine points.
The Wizards want to make it last season (11.5 FGA / g), but it will not be easy. Leave a comment Walled 41 games and with Marcin Gortat as the center. Howard did not play in this one, but when he returns he is going to expect more shots than Gortat was used to.
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