This Wizards big lost weight, looks like a completely different player
DeJuan Blair is a solidly below-average NBA power forward. He does nothing spectacularly well and isn't productive enough to burrow his way into the Washington Wizards' rotation.
But the 26-year-old lost weight over the summer, and this preseason he looks like a completely different player. Here's The Washington Post with more on why Blair has been so dominant:
Through three games, he's averaging 13.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per 16.4 minutes. Those are insane numbers. But even more impressive is how he's moving around the floor, battling on every possession, playing with a relentlessness that's new to his game.
None of this means Blair will crack Washington's rotation once games start to matter, but it's still a very promising sign.
Coach Randy Wittman noted Blair’s good hands, a necessity in the Wizards’ overhauled offense heavy on pick-and-rolls with centers, as a significant factor in Blair’s success. He capitalized on additional playing time with Nene unavailable for the two games due to a minor calf injury to prompt a reminder of what he has accomplished in the NBA since the undersized big man was selected in the second round of the draft in 2009. Blair, 26, was an annual on elite San Antonio Spurs teams for his first four professional seasons and it was not long ago that Blair was posting a double-double in the postseason with the Dallas Mavericks.
