5 Things to Watch During Preseason Opener

By Colby Giacubeno

The Washington Wizards will open up their preseason tonight against the Philadelphia 76ers tomorrow at the Verizon Center. After a long offseason, it is finally time for the Wizards to prove their worth out on the floor. Though it is just preseason and the starters won’t see much playing time, there are still signs that can be taken away from each game. Here are five things to watch during tomorrow night’s matchup against the Sixers:

1. Uptempo offense

Since the beginning of training camp, head coach Randy Wittman has emphasized speeding up the pace of the offense for the upcoming season. Last season, the Wizards finished 18th in the league in terms of pace (93.7 ppg). This season though, Wittman has given the reigns to John Wall to force fast-break scoring opportunities. Considering that Wall is one of the fastest players in the league, putting him in more of a uptempo offense should result better numbers for not only himself, but everyone on the team with his ability to create scoring opportunities for others. 

2. Who will play the stretch-4?

The Wizards have a lot of candidates for the stretch-4 position. Players who immediately come to mind looking at this roster to be most effective include Jared Dudley, Drew Gooden, and Martell Webster. Kris Humphries has been working this offseason on extending his range behind the arc to put him in the running. Throughout the preseason, Humphries will have to prove to Wittman that he can be a viable option when the Wizards need three-point shooting and rebounding.

Nene has also been working on his outside shooting. He won’t be the first option as the Wizards look to put more shooters on the floor, but he is also open to backing up Gortat at center during these situations.

3. Kelly Oubre Jr.’s progression

Oubre Jr. had a decent showing in Summer League for the Wizards this offseason. One flaw was his three-point percentage, which was an abysmal 25 percent. Although his percentage didn’t say so, Oubre Jr. shoots with tremendous confidence that will be sure to improve during his rookie campaign this season.

The 19-year old is extremely mature for his age even addressing the media. When asked after day two of training camp about his shooting woes this summer, Oubre Jr. responded immediately, “I can shoot. I could shoot in summer league too. I’ve just been working on it in the gym and it’s falling now in training camp.”

Oubre Jr. will have a tough battle with seasoned veterans in terms of playing time. He has been getting his share of reps during training camp with Alan Anderson out with an ankle injury and Dudley only participating in non-contact drills. The youngster needs to take advantage of every repetition to earn his minutes on the court this season.

4. Does new offense mean more outside shots?

The emphasis on playing a smaller and quicker line up should result in more outside shots being hoisted for the Wizards. Last season, they were 27th in three-point attempts at 16.8 per game.

Now, with marksman all around the floor, Wall should have a field day getting into driving lanes and kicking out for open shots. The Indiana Pacers have also made this adjustment and it was evident in their first preseason outing, as they attempted 35 shots beyond the arc. With players such as Beal, Porter, Dudley, Neal, and Gooden, this year the Wizards could rank in the top 10 of three-point attempts per game.

5. A more aggressive Porter

One thing that Otto Porter has been working on throughout training camp is his aggression. Last season especially during the playoffs, he proved that he can feel it up from outside, but if the Wizards want to take the next step and become a contender, they need Porter to be able to finish around the rim.

The Georgetown product addressed the media after day five of training camp on his increased aggression offensively, “That’s just a part of my game that’s evolving, you know being more aggressive and attacking the rim. I’m looking to score or find my teammates. That’s how we have to play, we have to play aggressive. We spacing the court, that allows more driving lanes and fly-outs.”

Porter will be filling in for the loss of Paul Pierce, who had an astounding impact on this team in just the one season he was there. Now, Porter will look to step into the starting role and prove why the Wizards drafted him with the third overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft.

In terms of finding the rotation, Wittman  said, “I am not even close to that.” He followed by saying, “Don’t read into anything we are doing in preseason because we gotta do that.” Once the season-opener approaches, he will have a better feel for the final rotation and how they will play this season.

The Wizards face the Sixers today October 6 at 7:00PM ET and can be seen on CSN or NBATV.