National Basketball Association

Washington Wizards Mailbag Monday: Figuring Out the Second Unit

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Washington Wizards Mailbag Monday: This week, we answered a question about John Wall’s passing ability and the Wizards’ second unit.

The wait is almost over.

This Thursday, October 27, the Washington Wizards will begin the 2016-17 season – a campaign, that if it follows historical trends, will almost certainly end in disappointment.

Nevertheless, we’ll be here for you. Do you need a virtual shoulder to cry on? We got it.

As always, we’ll begin the week by answering a few of your questions.

Thanks for participating.

Hey, Ryan!

Let’s add some context to it, just so other readers know what we’re talking about…

Recently, an NBA GM survey revealed that John Wall isn’t considered a top passer in the league.

It’s funny stuff, as Wall would agree.

“I see it every day on my Twitter. It’s funny. I enjoy it. A guy that finished in the top two of assists last year can’t pass? I guess so,” he said.

Wall averaged 10.2 assists per game last year. He’s averaged 9 assists for his career. Wall has never played with an All-Star.

I’ll help you, Ryan. It’s pretty simple: the people being surveyed don’t watch him play. That has to be the case, right?

There’s no way you can tune into a Washington Wizards game and think Wall isn’t one of the best passers in the world. You don’t even have to be a fan of the game to recognize when someone is good at something.

People are irrational. People are, well, dumb. That’s the case here. The stats back it. The eyes back it. Wall is a great passer and no one can dispute that.

Here’s my shoulder, L’Brarian. Make it wet with your tears.

I don’t know, man. People don’t even know the Washington Wizards are a basketball team. That’s probably a good answer to your question.

“You cover the Wizards? That’s like Dungeons and Dragons, right?” No. It’s actually not.

Hey, Erick!

The Wizards’ roster is built in a way where the pressure isn’t entirely placed on any one particular bench player. They don’t have a Jamal Crawford or a Manu Ginobili coming off the bench.

With that said, Kelly Oubre‘s role is going to expand this season. He pushed Otto Porter for the starting job during preseason and lived up to expectations.

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The dude put in serious work this summer and it showed.

He averaged over 13 points on roughly 50 percent shooting from the floor during preseason. He did that after not playing 700 minutes in his rookie year.

There are going to be nights when Oubre shares the court mostly with the starters.

He’s capable of playing big minutes, which is ridiculous considering he’s only 20-years-old.

He’s the most important player coming off Washington’s bench.

Andrew Nicholson is also going to play a major role.

In three consecutive games during preseason, Nicholson scored double-digit points, including two 19 point performances. He was one of the team’s leaders in rebounding too.

Here’s the good thing about Washington’s bench: every player has the capacity to produce on any given night.

Each player, including Tomas Satoransky, can share the court with the starters. They’re versatile, too, allowing Scott Brooks to get creative with his lineups.

We’ve seen Satoransky play with Wall and Bradley Beal. We’ve also seen Nicholson play alongside Markieff Morris.

Here’s the bad thing: there’s not a single player on the bench that can be consistently relied on. The roles are going to change from time to time. Some nights, Satoransky will get serious run. Others, he might not even play.

It’s a strange dynamic, but it’s one that allows for flexibility, which is something the team lacked this past season.

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