Given that they used a staggering 25 different starting lineups during the 2019-20 season, the 25-47 record the Washington Wizards amassed doesn’t look as bad. That said, it would be foolish to assume a quarter’s worth of lineups greatly contributed to their season-long struggles considering how bad the team was the season prior, even when they had John Wall, Bradley Beal, and Otto Porter Jr.
Instead, Wizards fans should be concerned about a defense that surrendered 4.9 more points per 100 possessions than the league average and ranked last in defensive rating. Yes, it should come as no surprise that a team that employed Isaiah Thomas and had no discernable rim protection (only the Sacramento Kings were worse at defending shots inside three feet from the rim) struggled to keep opponents from scoring at will, and the offense, while shockingly impressive early on, lacked the firepower to keep pace (15th in points per 100).
But what specifically went wrong with this team? Conversely, did anything go right? To answer those questions, we’ll need to delve into each player’s (who finished the year with the team and played at least 800 minutes) 2019-20 body of work and summing their respective efforts with a tidy letter grade.
Will anyone get an “A”? Again, the Wizards weren’t good, so probably not, but you won’t know for sure unless you view the next couple of slides.
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<h4>Ish Smith:</h4>
<p>The swift-footed <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/11/14/washington-wizards-player-grades/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/smithis01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 ref="nofollow">Ish Smith</a> finished in the 45th percentile in pick-and-roll points per possession (PPP), likely because his chronic spacing problems invited defenses to clog the lanes despite him shooting a career-high 36.7 percent from deep (47th percentile in BBall Index’s per game 3-point gravity). He was even more listless defending ball screens (36th percentile in opponent’s PPP), which explains why the shots in the paint go up when he’s on the floor (18th percentile in RAD). <strong>Grade: D+ </strong></p>
<h4>Thomas Bryant:</h4>
<p>How did <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/11/14/washington-wizards-player-grades/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bryanth01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 ref="nofollow">Thomas Bryant</a> finish with a 0.37 Offensive PIPM? Well, it was primarily thanks to his effectiveness as the roll man on ball screens (74th percentile in PPP). The young big man improved his midrange game (51.8 percent between 3 and 10 feet; 46.2 percent between 10- and16) and combined with his upper-tier finishing at the rim (78.5 percent inside three feet), he commanded many opposing defense’s attention from those spots (91st percentile in rim gravity; 74th percentile in midrange gravity). If his 3-point shot is for real (40.7 percent on 3.7 attempts per 100 possessions), he’ll become even more of a problem on offense.</p>
<p>His defense wasn’t great (-0.67 D-PIPM), but that had more to do with him getting cooked on the outside (44.8 opponent’s 3-point percentage) than any sort of substandard rim protection, though <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/11/14/washington-wizards-player-grades/"https://www.nba.com/stats/players/opponent-shooting/?Season=2019-20&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&DistanceRange=By%20Zone&sort=Restricted%20Area%20FG%20PCT&dir=1&PlayerPosition=C&CF=Restricted%20Area%20FGA*GE*10%22 target="_blank" rel="noopener">that needs to be cleaned up, too</a>. <strong>Grade: D+</strong></p>
<h4>Isaac Bonga:</h4>
<p><a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/11/14/washington-wizards-player-grades/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bryanth01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 ref="nofollow">Isaac Bonga</a> stopped spot-up shooters (90th percentile) and roll men (90th percentile) at an elite rate and forced his opponents to take a bunch of midrange shots (88th percentile in RAD), hence why his D-PIPM sat at a healthy 2.23 last year. However, he was a net negative on offense (-2.09 O-PIPM) despite shooting adequately (60.8 true shooting), as teams didn’t respect his shot and reacted accordingly (ninth percentile in midrange gravity; 17th percentile in 3-point gravity). Perhaps that will change in 2020-21. <strong>Grade: C-</strong></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/11/14/washington-wizards-player-grades/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Highest Grades </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-385573" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/11/14/washington-wizards-player-grades/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1189885573.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1189885573.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1189885573-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Washington Wizards (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Highest Grades</h2>
<p><strong>Ian Mahinmi: </strong></p>
<p>While his contract is often cited as emblematic of the previous regime’s executive malfeasance, <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/11/14/washington-wizards-player-grades/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mahinia01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 ref="nofollow">Ian Mahinmi</a> still mostly lives up to his reputation as a solid rim defender. He deterred shots in the paint well despite giving up a helping of corner 3’s (61st percentile in RAD) and any paint attempts that did get through often resulted in misses (opponents shot 52.6 percent against Mahinmi from inside 6 feet; 60.2 percent is average). He wasn’t the albatross on offense that one would think he was (-1.15 O-PIPM), but his inability to do anything outside of the restricted area didn’t make generating offense easy. <strong>Grade: C-</strong></p>
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<h4>Davis Bertans:</h4>
<p>In his first (and possibly last) season with the Washington Wizards, <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/11/14/washington-wizards-player-grades/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bertada01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 ref="nofollow">Davis Bertans</a> apparently decided to exploit his best basketball trait: shooting. The all-of-a-sudden trigger happy Bertans doubled his 3-point attempts in D.C. and maintained his enviable efficiency, as his 42.4 3-point rate ranked sixth in the league, helping him to a career-high 15.4 points per game. His elite spacing boosted Washington’s offense; the team’s offensive rating jumped from 107.6 to 115.9 with Bertans on the floor. He was a liability on defense (-1.54 D-PIPM), but ranking in the 63rd percentile in RAD shows that you can hide his flaws on a better defensive team. <strong>Grade: C</strong></p>
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<h4>Bradley Beal:</h4>
<p>You could take any evaluation of Zach LaVine and Devin Booker and ascribe it to <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/11/14/washington-wizards-player-grades/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bealbr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 ref="nofollow">Bradley Beal</a> without anyone batting an eye. Like those two, Beal blossomed as the primary scorer for Washington; his career-best 39.6 points per 100 possessions ranked fourth in the league and given that the Washington Wizards scored 7.7 more points per 100 with him on the court, you can’t outright dismiss his output as mere stat padding.</p>
<p>But Beal also shares Booker and LaVine’s shortcomings on the defensive end. RAPTOR, PIPM, and BPM all paint a grim picture on that side of the floor, making it fair to question whether his offense — which has its flaws, <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/11/14/washington-wizards-player-grades/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2020_per_poss.html#per_poss_stats::23" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">particularly in the playmaking department</a> — is good enough to counteract his defense. Given that Washington’s net rating remained roughly the same with him on the bench (-4.7 with him on the floor, -4.4 with him off), the answer appears to be no. Beal makes for a nice second option, but, as is the case with Booker and LaVine, him as the team’s “best player” isn’t ideal. <strong>Grade: C+</strong></p>
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