But, his lack of shooting continues to be a drag on the offense because opposing defenders sag off and dare him to shoot. He navigated screens effectively, gave a solid effort against Kawhi Leonard, grabbed 10 rebounds and produced 5 assists. Deni Avdija did some good things against the Clippers.He finished with 17 points and 6 rebounds, which sounds okay except that it too him 39 minutes, 18 field goal attempts, and 3 turnovers. Kyle Kuzma had yet another terrible game.Sometimes simplicity is the best strategy - just using the height/length advantage to shoot over smaller opponents. When he’s done spinning and lunging about, the defender is still between him and the basket, and the shot he gets is often contested and awkward. Where he should rise up and shoot over a shorter defender, Porzingis still deploys dribbles, fancy footwork and fakes. He has skills and an array of moves he can break out, but they’re simply less effective against more agile opponents. Kristaps Porzingis does better against behemoths like Rudy Gobert.Will Barton shot 4-5 from three-point range.He shot 5-9 from the floor, 2-2 from three, and had 5 assists to 1 turnover. Monte Morris was the only Wizards player whose offensive efficiency was above league average.He played stellar defense and grabbed 8 rebounds (3 on the offensive end), and had 3 assists and 3 steals. Jordan Goodwin shot poorly (just 2-7 from the floor) but was still the team’s most productive players.Los Angeles was without the services of Paul George, Ivica Zubac, Norman Powell and Reggie Jackson.

For Washington, it was Bradley Beal, Delon Wright, and Rui Hachimura. The results, in order: a contested three - made, a semi-contested three - made, and an open three - missed.īoth teams had rotation players sidelined with injuries. They just missed.įor example, in the second half, the Clippers ran a standard NBA action (I think every team calls if “floppy”) for Luke Kennard on three consecutive possessions. It didn’t look like the Wizards did much particularly well on defense - the Clippers got open shots. The LA M*A*S*H unit shot poorly, committed 14 turnovers and managed an offensive rating of just 106. Now, I won’t disagree if you want to argue Washington’s performance against the Los Angeles Clippers was more towards bad/bad or bad/so-so than bad/good. They’re in yawning pursuit of the elusive good/good combo - something other teams have found repeatedly against them f or the past few decades this season. In fairness, the Wizards know this already. So far this season, they’ve had stretches where the defense was good and the offense was bad, stretches where offense was good and the defense bad, and stretches where they were bad on both ends. Isaiah Thomas looked so hurt after he was traded.Perhaps someone should alert the Wizards: It’s permissible under the rules of basketball to play well on both offense and defense in the same game.Jayson Tatum’s dislocated finger looks SO awful.James Harden cooked up four Lakers defenders in one half.QIt4KJJMjz- Bonner MVP December 21, 2017

There is solace in all of the winning though, or at least that’s what our resident Bulls fan wants to believe. Winning is bad for a team looking to score a top-three or better pick in the upcoming draft. The Bulls beat the Magic, 112-94, behind 15-point outings by Nikola Mirotic and Jerian Grant, and a 16-points, 10-rebound night from Denzel Valentine. With Nikola Mirotic back in the lineup, Chicago is on a SEVEN game winning streak. It was an impressive win for L.A.’s youth.īrandon Ingram contributed 13 points, six assists, and six rebounds, and Lonzo Ball had 16 points, nine rebounds, and four assists. Though James Harden went off for 51 points, Houston never seemed within reasonable range to pull this one out down the stretch. The Lakers put on their best Rockets impression, draining 15 threes out of 35 attempts (seven belonged to Kuzma). Kyle Kuzma resets his career high once again with 38 points, shooting an efficient 70% from the field with 7 triples #LakersWin /C1X1ieY1Me- Los Angeles Lakers December 21, 2017

Kyle kuzma stats vs clippers