Washington started off their home schedule on the right note.
The Washington Wizards won their home opener, 113-106 on Saturday night against the Memphis Grizzlies.
The narrative going into this season has been that the Wizards would shoot more threes and they did not disappoint tonight. Taking 29 first-half three point attempts (finished with 46 attempts total), it was clear that the Wizards wanted to really make an effort to stretch the floor. Corey Kispert set the table shooting 5 for 8 from three and scoring 22 first-half points. Whether it was attacking the basket or hitting long shots, Kispert played one of his best stretch of basketball in his young professional career. Unfortunately, he could not keep it up in the 2nd half, as he was held scoreless.
The Wizards, overall, started off the game slow missing their first 7 shots, but once their shots begin falling in the 2nd quarter, they would continue hot shooting to the tune of opening up a 25-point lead.
That lead would evaporate as Memphis started to chip away at the lead, late in the 3rd and going into the 4th quarter. Memphis got as close as 6 points, thanks in part to the Wizards going ice cold for parts of the 4th quarter. After scoring 25-plus points each of the first three quarters, the Wizards had a tough time getting buckets, but they were able to hang on thanks to some big buckets down the stretch by Kyle Kuzma. Wizards pull off their first win of the year and finish off the Grizzlies. Next up will be a matchup with former Wizard Kristaps Porzingis and the Boston Celtics.
Jordan Poole to Kuzma for the Alley-Oop
JORDAN POOLE TO KYLE KUZMA ALLEY-OOP pic.twitter.com/dD8ThMS4Qc
— Hoop District (@Hoop_District) October 29, 2023
Key Stat Tonight: Three Point Shooting
Even though the Wizards offense was inconsistent at times during this game, the times that their three point shooting was on was enough to give them the cushion that they needed to pull off this victory. Tonight they shot 16 for 46 from three. If you ever wanted to see what the formula will be for this team to be successful this season, tonight was a good indicator. This team will need to find efficiency behind the arc to stay in games against tougher opponents.