When you are in the midst of a franchise-worst road losing streak, there are a few things a team must do to break out of its funk. The Wizards have one half of the game going in the right direction. Over the past few weeks, they have been holding their opponents under 100 points. It is at the offensive end that they have failed to heed the tried and true rules of NBA road success. Flip, guys, pay attention please. We’ll use today’s loss to the Pacers as a teachable moment.
Rule #1: Take quality shots
On the road you can’t rely on jump shots. To compete at unfriendly arenas, you must get quality shots, preferably in the paint, and get to the foul line with some frequency. Against the Pacers today, the Wiz shot 39% from the field and 31% from beyond the arc. There were too many possessions during which the ball stopped in a Wizard player’s hands early in the shot clock and a long, often contested, jump shot was taken. The Pacers outscored the Wiz in the paint by 30 points.
The two players who were most at fault for the launching of ill-advised shots were the Wizards’ two most undisciplined players, Nick Young and Andray Blatche. Young has been making an effort of late to play a complete game and expend energy at both ends. Blatche is playing the worst basketball of his career of late. He refuses to finish tough at the basket and seems to prefer off-balanced shots. These two starters must be brought in line for the road losing streak to come to an end.
Rule #2: Take care of the ball
Particularly if you are going to take risky shots, you must protect the ball and value each possession on the road. The twenty-two turnovers committed by the Wizards in today’s contest prevented mini-runs from bringing the team within striking distance. Buck and Phil, the Wizards’ commentators, praised John Wall in the fourth quarter for having a fine game due to his 17 point third quarter. While Wall will be needed to score on a team short on offensive firepower, he will also need to run Flip’s offense and make sure his teammates get some easy buckets to get them in the flow. His four assist to seven turnover ratio simply won’t cut it.
This brings up an important reality we must confront as we build around our new star. John Wall is not a pass first point guard. Wizards fans should be familiar with this situation from our years watching Gilbert control the ball. Wall’s speed and aggressiveness should supply his teammates with opportunities off the drive and dish, but we shouldn’t hold our breath waiting for clever assists or the pick and roll artistry of Steve Nash.
Rule #3: Want It More
If you are not the most talented team on the floor, you better be the most intense. Some of that desire was evident last game when Randy Whitman spent the second half calling out instructions that were audible to the television viewing audience. Today the Pacers seemed to have a harder edge.
Flip Saunders seems to have an opportunity to require effort from his players this season. No one expects the Wizards to contend for a title this season – most have written off a playoff appearance. He could allocate playing time according to demonstrated intensity so long as he doesn’t alienate his one star player, Mr. Wall. I’d love to see a road game in which our players are not regularly beaten back down the floor after missed shots and turnovers.
If the Wizards could follow the three golden rules of road success in the NBA, they might stop breaking records they would rather not hold.
Keywords: Washington Wizards
