After a long trip to Japan where the Wizards faced the Warriors in two preseason games, the Wizards are back in the United States and heading to Charlotte to face the Hornets in their third preseason game.
WHERE: Spectrum Center (Charlotte, North Carolina)
WHEN: 7 p.m. ET
TV: NBC Sports Washington
RADIO: 9:80 a.m. and the Wizards app
Here are three things to watch for in the preseason showdown between the Wizards and the Hornets.
BEAL ENTERS HEALTH AND SAFETY PROTOCOLS
The Wizards will be without All-NBA guard Bradley Beal for Monday night’s exhibition game with the Hornets. The team announced Sunday afternoon that Beal had entered NBA health and safety protocols, would miss Monday’s game and “return to the team after receiving clearance under current guidelines. of the NBA”.
Washington struggled offensively to start the preseason. On their two-game trip to Japan, they shot 36% from the field and 21% from deep. For the Wizards to win games, those numbers will need to improve, but there’s no need to worry this early in the preseason. With all it takes to fine-tune and execute an NBA offense, two preseason games halfway around the world don’t necessarily reflect where the team is at on that side of the court.
Who knows why the shots hadn’t fallen in Japan? Jet lag, shaking off the rust of the offseason, the unfamiliar feel of the biggest arena, or even just a few cold matches.
“If you just look at the numbers, [the 3-point shooting’s] not good,” Wizards head coach Wes Unseld Jr. said after practice last week. “But we played almost a full game, an intrasquad scrum [during practice]and we shot the ball exceptionally well…I like where we are today, but if you take into account the first two games, we have a lot to improve.”
The most important aspect of pre-season each year is team chemistry. After a full offseason, there are always new additions to the team. Over the summer, the guys were traded, signed to free agency, drafted, and returned from injury. Now is the time for them to hit the court together and work on their hoops chemistry before games start counting towards the season standings.
The Wizards have made a lot of roster changes this offseason, and it will take time for them to grow as a unit. That’s what makes these pre-season games so important. They have a new starting point guard in Monte Morris. A healthy Beal, Rui Hachimura and Kristaps Porzingis. To have a dynamic new wing in Will Barton. And another year with the versatile Kyle Kuzma. All they need to do now is make everything click.
Fans have heard coaching staff and players stress chemistry time and time again ahead of the 2022-23 season, but real playing action together is the only way fans will see progress.
As for the aforementioned shooting difficulties, improved chemistry is something that should help those numbers regress in a positive direction. The guys learn to play against each other – when to cut, when to drift into corners and when to get off screens. It all just takes time to come together, and this preseason game against the Hornets is a good 48 minutes of practice.