The Washington Wizards dominated the Taipans of Cairns, Queensland 145-82, in their first preseason game of the 2023-24 campaign. The boys in white jumped out to a 15-0 lead to begin the game and then slowly added to their lead as the game went on. Though it wasn’t a team they will face once the games count to their record, a big win looks promising for fans, and there was plenty to be hopeful about.
For starters, Jordan Poole, in his Wizards’ debut scored 18 points and shot an efficient 4-8 from deep. Washington brought him in to score and it looks like he will fill that role nicely as he continues to build chemistry with the rest of the team. Another guy the Wizards will be relying heavily on to score points will be Kyle Kuzma. He averaged 21.2 points per game last year, which was good enough for 29th most points per game in the league, and started right where he left with a 22-point outing in the Wizards’ win. The big difference was that Kuzma, who shot a mere 44% from the field last season, chose good shot opportunities leading to a 70% shooting night. He is going to have to continue to hit his shots if the Wizards want to see wins pile up this year.
These two scorers were set up well by Tyus Jones and his ball-carrying abilities. While he didn’t necessarily load the stat sheet, he was calm and patient, even under pressure, when handling the ball. This is key from an experienced player in Jones, who is surrounded by young talent here in Washington.
And though he is only one year younger, Eugene Omoruyi is still fighting for minutes like a rookie. He is entering his fourth season on his fourth NBA team and made it a memorable beginning to his Wizards career. In an electric second half performance, Omoruyi scored 16 points on 6-8 shooting. Most of these scoring opportunities were set up by his own defensive efforts, for which he recorded three steals.
Building off this, defensively the Wizards were led by three guys whose names may have been forgotten over the offseason. Those guys were Daniel Gafford, Bilal Coulibaly, and Johnny Davis. Gafford won the game in the paint, scoring 15 points, bringing in 8 rebounds, and sending 5 shots back. Coulibaly and Davis were winning their one-on-one matchups around the perimeter, with five steals between the two of them.
Davis also showed some signs of life on the offensive side of the ball, which were nowhere to be found last season. He tallied 13 points and distributed the ball well. However, those 13 points didn’t come easy, so shot-making seems to be a lingering issue for Davis’ young career.
So even though the Wizards start the preseason on the right foot, there are a lot of questions to answer and holes to fill before the regular season even starts. Many fans might not be high on their chances at success this season, but that might be what they need to fight a little bit harder.
The Wizards continue the preseason campaign on Thursday at 7 p.m. EST in a meeting with the Charlotte Hornets.
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