Snapping their eight-game losing streak, the Wizards downed the Bucks last night, 100-85. Nick Young led the way with 26 points, and JaVale McGee scored 16 points and grabbed 17 rebounds.
As a team, the Wizards shot over 47 percent from the field, and they also outrebounded the Bucks 51-39. The Wizards essentially finished off the Bucks in the third quarter, but Milwaukee kept bringing the deficit back to about 10 or 12 points every few minutes. It was far from a well-played game, but the Wizards were pretty efficient, making 10 of 16 threes and 18 of 20 free throws as well.
John Wall finished the game with 15 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. Andray Blatche added 12 points and eight rebounds. The surprise of the night, though, had to be Cartier Martin, who played 23 minutes in Al Thornton's place (Thornton was out with a dislocated finger). Martin casually made five of his seven three-point attempts, which accounted for all of his 15 points off of the bench.
In terms of highlights, the Wizards had a few (a block and streaking dunk by McGee, a steal and lightning-quick breakaway layup for Wall, and a couple other nifty plays here and there). One of them was this steal and alley-oop combination completed by Wall and Young. But the play of the night took place in the second quarter, when Young drove baseline and dunked with authority over Ersan Ilyasova. Take a look:
It's been a while since I paid this much attention to the NBA Summer League, but then again, it's been a while since the Wizards had a young player as talented as John Wall.
In a 90-89 victory over the Hornets, Wall, in 35 minutes, scored a game-high 31 points. He also tallied six rebounds, three assists, and three steals while committing just two turnovers. He took 23 shots, making just 10 of them, but he also got to the free thrown line 13 times, also making 10 of those.
In four games, Wall is averaging 23.5 points, 7.8 assists, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.5 steals. He's shooting only 37.7 percent from the field and has turned the ball over a little too much (5.2 turnovers), but after turning the ball over 16 times in the first two games, he's committed only five turnovers in the last two. Oh, and Wall has also gotten to the free throw line 47 times. Not bad for a rookie getting his first real taste against professional competition.
While Wall's game-to-game progression has been exciting to watch -- and will be immensely more so during the actual season -- JaVale McGee has also been impressive. McGee, who will be entering his third year in the NBA after being drafted in the first round (18th overall) by the Wizards in 2008, has shown a lot of potential but hasn't necessarily done much with it yet. Could the upcoming season, in which he's currently slated to be the Wizards' starting center, be a breakout campaign for McGee? If his play in the Summer League is any indication, he certainly has a chance.
In four games, McGee is averaging 19.5 points and 9.3 rebounds while shooting 68.8 percent from the field. He's still turning the ball over (3.0 per game) and fouling a little too much (4.5 per game), but McGee looks a little stronger and seems more interested in mixing it up a little more in the paint. Here's a nice play inside, with a strong finish, for example:
Then again, McGee still has a tendency to make plays like this:
On the one hand, that's a great move by McGee, especially considering he's a seven-footer. But on the other hand, how often is he going to be able to do things like that during the regular season? Once, maybe twice? He can do phenomenal things on the basketball court -- likely things that no one else in the NBA can do -- because of his height, length, and athleticism, but I can't be the only one who would rather see McGee hanging around the basket instead of incorporating behind-the-back moves from the top of the key into his game. Playing with Wall should likely make the game easier for McGee. There's no reason why he shouldn't keep moving and rolling to the basket. If he's open, Wall will find him.
Besides Wall and McGee, Lester Hudson added 14 points on 5-10 shooting. He also hit the game-winning shot. (Head on over to Truth About It to check out the shot by Hudson and to see a huge dunk by McGee in the game. That's more like it, JaVale.)
Rookie Trevor Booker added seven points and five rebounds. Cartier Martin certainly didn't have his best game -- three points on 1-10 from the field -- but he did grab six rebounds, so that's something.
Looking for more? Here's a few Wizards-related Summer League links:
John Wall and Nick Young each scored 18 points as the Wizards moved to 2-0 in the NBA Summer League, beating the Clippers 89-64. Young shot 6-11 from the field, including 4-7 from three-point range. But (obviously) the story for the Wizards -- as will be the case for many games this season -- was the rookie Wall, who filled up the stat sheet (both good and bad) and led the Wizards to victory.
Wall was 5-12 from the field and got to the free throw line eight times, making all eight. Besides his 18 points, he dished out 10 assists, grabbed one rebound, and picked up five steals. Unfortunately, for the second straight game he turned the ball over eight times.
Wall may be turning the ball over too much, but it's impossible to question his talent. Watching the game highlights embedded above, it's difficult not to be impressed with Wall's hustle and court vision. When he drives past opponents, he always has his head up and isn't just looking to score. He's looking to find open Wizards either standing near the three-point line or cutting to the basket. It's going to be exciting watching Wall mature into a great basketball player.
After a strong first game, JaVale McGee seemed to struggle a bit. He scored 10 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, but he shot just 3-10 from the field and committed seven personal fouls. He also had five turnovers. Definitely not his best game.
In 24 minutes, rookie Trevor Booker scored eight points, making all four of his field goal attempts, and had four rebounds. Cartier Martin also scored eight points on three shots -- not bad.
The Wizards' next Summer League game is on Thursday against the Mavericks.
