Jobs on offense remain unclear after preseason The Wizards have a roster full of young players, and that can translate into each guy trying to prove himself with little regard to how that will fit into an overall scheme.
With both preseason games complete, the result has been a woeful one at the offensive end. Washington has struggled to find a consistent rhythm, shooting just 34 percent from field, including 15 percent (5-for-33) from 3-point range. Following Tuesday’s preseason finale at Philadelphia, even point guard John Wall wasn’t sure exactly who was required to do what.
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“We’re still trying to figure out what each others’ roles is, who’s going to be the main scorer, who is going to be the secondary scorer,” Wall said, having missed 18 of 26 shots in the preseason. “I think when we get that down pat, we’ll be pretty good.”
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Wall also has had more turnovers (10) than assists (six), often opting to put his head down and go to the rim instead of creating openings for his teammates, who are equally guilty of being quick on the trigger.
Andray Blatche has yet to remove the low-percentage 15-footers from his arsenal, and Nick Young, out of shape after sitting out training camp, missed seven of 10 shots in limited minutes against Philadelphia.
Jordan Crawford, after scoring at will over the final month of last season, finished the preseason 1-for-9 from beyond the arc. He has forced plenty of midrange jumpers with defenders all over him, hitting only nine of a team-high 31 shots.
“Preseason you can kind of get away with a couple things like that because preseason doesn’t count,” the second-year guard said. “But I think as the real season comes along, people are going to play together and find their rhythm.”
Some of the expected improvement will come from the transition game, in which Wall excels and can benefit from the athleticism of JaVale McGee, Trevor Booker and rookie Chris Singleton, players who Wizards coach Flip Saunders would rather focus on defense and effort first.
“We don’t have flat out shooters right now,” Saunders said. “When you’re putting a team together and building a team, you have to figure out — we’re trying to become more defense-oriented, defensive-minded. Sometimes, the last part of the game to come is their offense.”
Saunders said he will sit down with players individually over the coming days and define their roles more explicitly.
“They’re all trying to create their own identity,” Saunders said. “The main thing that I’ve got to do as a coach and them as players is I’ve got to establish what their roles are and get them, whatever that role is, to play to the best of their ability.”
