The Washington Wizards are in full swing in the Orlando bubble and after a few weeks of practice, the team finally got a chance to knock the dust off against an actual opponent in their first scrimmage of the NBA season restart. In their first of three scrimmages, the Wizards fell to the Denver Nuggets 89-82 in a matchup that featured their young core.
Without key veterans such as Bradley Beal and Davis Bertans, Coach Scott Brooks is having to experiment with the lineup. The starting five came down to hours before the scrimmage and ultimately included Shabazz Napier, Troy Brown, Jr., Isaac Bonga, Rui Hachimura, and Thomas Bryant.
The Wizards started off rusty in the first quarter which is to be expected as the team hasn’t seen action since their season was halted on March 10th. Washington trailed by as many as 13 points through much of the second quarter but went on a 15-5 run leading up to halftime.
#Wizards shooting is cold. Only making 28% of their field goal attempts midway through the 2nd Q.
— Carita Parks (@CaritaCParks) July 22, 2020
The Wizards came out stronger in the second half, tying the game at 68 in the third quarter and putting together a 9-1 run in the fourth quarter that closed the gap on the Nuggets lead.
#Wizards are competing well…game tied up at 68.
— Carita Parks (@CaritaCParks) July 22, 2020
Overall, Washington competed well in their first game back. Although they didn’t walk away with the victory there were some bright spots. Specifically, Hachimura led scoring with 18 points (9 rebounds) and seems to be embracing the larger role expected of him with Beal and Bertans missing from the lineup.
“I thought Rui was good,” said Coach Brooks. “He was obviously aggressive, but he got good shots. He gets to his spots. I love this about his game. He gets to his spots and he gets on balance and he takes the shot. I like the way he played tonight. He just has a good feel for the game for being a young player in the league.”
Troy Brown, Jr. was the Wizards second leading scorer with 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Brown has shown promise when he gets playing time but has seen limited minutes on the floor. His ball movement is undeniable and will be a strength as he steps up while he has a chance to show his ability to take over when necessary.
“I feel like my confidence is sky high right now,” said Brown Jr. “This is an opportunity for me to come out and show what I’m capable of and try to lead the team as best as I can.”
The scrimmage was also the first time teams were introduced to the concept of playing games without fans. The NBA did what they could to make it interesting with artificial crowd noise, music, and chants. However, nothing can replace real people.
“We would rather have fans, but I love what the NBA has done,” said Coach Brooks. “They had a pretty cool environment. They really did a lot of great thinking to put this together. It’s as good as it could possibly be without being an NBA arena.”
“It was weird,” said Hachimura. “I never experienced a game without a crowd at this level so it felt different. But I’m grateful to be able to play basketball during these difficult times.”
The Wizards next scrimmage will take place on Saturday, July 25th at 8:00 p.m. against the LA Clippers.