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The Washington Wizards opened their 2018-1919 regular season with a 113-112 loss to the Miami Heat on Thursday night. Here are five observations of the game …
Olynyk does it again: A ghost from the wizards' past came back Thursday night to spoil the opening of the season in Washington, a match that, until recently, seemed destined to unfold. The Wizards had several key saves at the end of the fourth quarter, but they failed to get out Kelly Olynyk.
Olynyk had been booed all night by Wizards supporters every time he touched the ball. Although he has changed team, they still remember his tearing off with Kelly Oubre Jr. in the 2017 playoffs, when he was with the Celtics. Olynyk heard all night, but finally sealed the victory. Man, what a punch for wizards to start the season.
Wall looked good: He may be wearing a headband and wearing a new hairstyle, but John Wall, who appeared on Thursday night to carve Heat's defense, seemed terribly familiar. This is a version of him that we did not see much last year in a lost season because of failed games and a troublesome game for injuries.
Wall looked a lot like the All-NBA force that we saw two years ago when he announced career figures and that the Wizards were on the verge of the Eastern Conference finals. Against Miami, he reached the limit with little or no resistance and had 18 points in the first period. He finished with 26 points, nine assists, three rebounds, three blocks and a steal. He fired 9-for-16 from the field.
One of Wall's most intriguing moments this season is the potential it has with Dwight Howard, who theoretically should make it easier for him as a lob-eating pick-and-roll monster. . But Wall showed against the heat that he had the same spark that we've seen over the years, the electric driving ability that was lacking for much of last season.
He can create his own offense whenever he wants. Imagine when he's using Howard to install screens and attract attention in the painting.
No Howard: Howard was a game decision and the Wizards ended up calling to let him pass. They say that he feels good and that he is better, but that he just does not have enough time to train in the line of sight of the season regular.
It seems that Howard is very close and could be ready on Saturday when the Wizards will host the Raptors. Otherwise, he will still travel with the Wizards on their five-game journey through the Western Conference.
In the absence of Howard, head coach Scott Brooks seems to trust Jason Smith more to be the rescue center than Thomas Bryant. Although he played little with Markieff Morris or Jeff Green in the center, it was only when Smith had big problems.
The absence of Howard was observed mostly in the category of rebounds. The Heat beat the Wizards on the 55-40 glass and Miami has 22 offensive boards. Although we have not seen Howard in action with the Wizards, it's a safe bet that they would have done better to bounce the ball with him on the ground.
Fetid problems: The absence of Howard was compounded by Wizards' key players who commit faults at an accelerated pace. Ian Mahinmi, who started for Howard, scored his fourth goal just 15 seconds into the second half. At the end of the third quarter, Morris, Jason Smith and Bradley Beal also committed four fouls at the end of the third quarter. Beal finished with five.
Overall, it was a physical match between the teams. A clash in the third quarter between Wall and Derrick Jones Jr. resulted in Wall's technical foul. It all started when Smith and Hassan Whiteside got entangled on the ground. The wall came and pushed Jones and a few words to follow.
This match would probably have also resulted in a technical foul last year, but it should be noted that the league has expanded its definition of "hostile acts". That kind of thing will not fly anymore.
The situation was particularly interesting on Thursday, because the fast whistles certainly contributed to creating some frustration between the teams.
Otto always reported: Much has been said about Otto Porter Jr. in recent years, including the need for him to shoot more often. He is the most effective player of the Wizards, but option # 3 of the offensive is clear. This conversation reached a new level this preseason as Brooks joked to the magicians, beating the writers for permission to shout against Porter if he did not shoot.
Until then, it was pretty much the same for Wizards Swingman. He had seven shots in the game and only had three at half-time. Two of these came on the same game because he missed a lay-up and then sank the putback. Porter did not attempt a single three and had only nine points.
The Wizards want Porter to take more shots than last season (11.5 FGA / g), but it will not be easy. Do not forget that he posted this number when Wall missed 41 games with Marcin Gortat in the center. Howard has not played in this one, but when he comes back, he'll be expecting more shots than Gortat was used to.
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