Washington Wizards head coach Randy Wittman finally went to small ball in last year's postseason after being heavily criticized for sticking to an offensive philosophy that emphasized launching long two-pointers and almost always having two traditional big men on the floor.
The Wizards are finally embracing the small ball revolution
Washington changed its style in last year’s postseason to much success. Its summer moves indicate that their new philosophy is here to stay.
Washington moved Paul Pierce to power forward midway through the second quarter of Game 1 against the Toronto Raptors and never looked back, nearly making the Conference Finals. While the Wizards fell in six games in the second round, that series against the Atlanta Hawks may have ended differently if John Wall didn't fracture his wrist in Game 1.
Now that Wittman has seen firsthand the fruits of playing small, Washington is expected to do so much often moving forward.
Many of the moves made this offseason signaled that change in philosophy. Losing Pierce, who excelled as a power forward in the postseason, didn't help matters, but the Wizards acquired shooting and versatile wings in Jared Dudley, Gary Neal, Alan Anderson and rookie Kelly Oubre to suit their new style. They were also fine losing a traditional big in Kevin Seraphin to the New York Knicks and are expected to ask Nene to play backup center more often rather than exclusively being a power forward.
When you really dig in and look at the numbers, it’s easy to see why this shift is being made.
Regular-season Wizards
The Wizards were a mediocre offensive squad in the 2014-15 regular season, finishing 19th in the league with an offensive rating of 101.8, per NBA.com. That mark was a woeful 98.6 after the All-Star break, a period in which Washington went 13-15 and looked prime for a first-round exit.
Why wasn’t the offense any good despite having talented players like John Wall, Bradley Beal, Pierce and Marcin Gortat? The Wizards were lacking in several important areas: field-goal attempts in the restricted area, three-point attempts and free throw attempts. Washington ranked in the bottom half of the league in all three of these categories and was fourth-lowest in three-point attempts despite ranking ninth in three-point percentage.
Meanwhile, the Wizards were tied for third in mid-range attempts per game despite being in the middle of the pack in shooting percentage from that zone. Bradley Beal, a 41-percent three-point shooter last year, took 57 more shots from mid-range than beyond the arc, even though he made less than 34 percent of his mid-range shots. That's not a great recipe for success.
Playing small barely occurred. The most-used small lineup with Pierce at power forward played together for just 38 minutes, according to lineup data at NBA.com. It had marginal success, although that sample size is tiny. And according to Seth Partnow at The Washington Post, small lineups played less than 200 regular-season minutes last year for Washington.
Playoff Wizards
The Playoff Wizards shocked everybody by becoming an offensive juggernaut that embraced small lineups and shot a ton of threes, at least in the first round. Washington posted an offensive rating of 112.5 in its first-round sweep of the Toronto Raptors, the best mark out of all the teams in the opening round, per NBA.com.
That rise was in part a function of the opponent. The Raptors were a train wreck defensively all year, and that continued in the postseason. However, the Wizards’ style change was obvious, as they increased their three-point attempts by nearly eight per game over their regular-season average. Subsequently, the mid-range attempts took a significant dip.
In that four-game sweep, the small lineup of Wall, Beal, Otto Porter, Pierce and Gortat saw 31 minutes of action in the four games and was the second-most used lineup of the series. (Remember, the most-used lineup with Pierce at power forward in the regular season played just 38 minutes together in 82 games). That group had an offensive rating of 131.8 and outscored the Raptors by 36 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com.
The emergence of Porter, the No. 3 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, was a major boon. He shot 50 percent from three against Toronto, giving Washington three credible shooters to play with a dynamite point guard in Wall and a solid pick-and-roll man in Gortat.
The small lineups didn't have as much success against the Hawks, but that was mostly because of defensive concerns. The small units still hummed offensively, even when Ramon Sessions replaced the injured Wall in the lineup.
The offseason
The Wizards started their offseason by trading up to nab Kelly Oubre out of Kansas. Oubre showed some potential as a shooter in his up-and-down lone season in Lawrence (just under 36 percent from three), and his versatility, athleticism and 7’2 wingspan could allow him to play some power forward down the road.
Losing Pierce to the Clippers stung, but Washington made up for that by trading for Jared Dudley. The veteran forward saw plenty of time at power forward for the Milwaukee Bucks last season and is a near 40-percent three-point shooter for his career. Dudley recently underwent back surgery and will miss the beginning of the season, but the move was yet another signal of a willingness to play small more often.
The Wizards also added Gary Neal and Alan Anderson on cheap deals this offseason. Both are excellent shooters and Anderson in particular is big and tough enough to play some forward alongside Wall and Beal.
Seraphin would've been nice to have back behind Gortat, but he's no longer as necessary if there's a commitment to playing smaller. Starting power forward Nene will now split his time as a starting power forward and backup center to Gortat. Drew Gooden and Kris Humphries are still around, and even if those two are primarily used alongside either Gortat or Nene, they both have an ability to stretch the floor a bit. Gooden in particular has turned himself into a solid three-point shooter, knocking down nearly 40 percent of his threes in two seasons with Washington and over 46 percent in last year's postseason.
Looking ahead
The Wizards have a big year ahead of them. Not only is Beal up for an extension, but there are sure to be plenty of rumors swirling about the possibility of Kevin Durant leaving the Thunder next summer and signing with his hometown team. Shifting to smaller lineup could make Washington an even more attractive option for Durant, as he's played plenty of power forward with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
More importantly, the Wizards need to show they can take the next step, and their stylistic change could help them do just that. They've lost two years in a row in the second round of the playoffs, and while beating the Cleveland Cavaliers remains a long shot, getting to the Eastern Conference Finals next year would represent a successful season.
Even if Durant doesn’t come, Washington is still set up for long-term success with that talented young backcourt. Now that they’ve joined the new-age NBA, they can finally maximize their stars’ talent.
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