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Corey Kispert shows improvement, as Wizards beat Bucks in Summer League

By Chase Hughes

Kispert shows improvement in Wizards' win originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

The Washington Wizards beat the Milwaukee Bucks 93-83 in the Las Vegas Summer League on Sunday. Here are five observations from what went down…

First win

The Wizards’ Summer League so far has been defined mostly by the absence of point guard Cassius Winston and the effect that has had on their offense. With their floor general in Covid-19 protocol, the Wizards’ offense had been anything but smooth. That carried over to the first quarter of Sunday’s matchup with the Bucks, but Washington then found their rhythm and secured their first victory in Las Vegas.

After shooting 26.3% from the field and 2-for-9 from three in the first quarter, the Wizards shot 47.4% overall and 10-for-28 from three the rest of the way. The Bucks, meanwhile, shot just 25.9% from three and had 19 turnovers.

The game results do not matter, but how the Wizards play in general is important because it reflects their player development and represents the first NBA steps for some of their top prospects. In that sense, Sunday was a much better showing than the first two games.

Kispert was better

Corey Kispert produced mixed results in his first two Summer League games, but played much better in his third outing. Kispert had 18 points, shooting 7-for-12 overall and 4-for-7 from three. All but one of his threes were on catch-and-shoot plays, which is likely to be a trademark of his NBA career, but he did pull up for one three off a screen.

Kispert reached a bit deeper in the bag for this one. He had a nice drive to his right in the second quarter where he finished with a floater high off the glass. In the fourth quarter, he pump-faked a three and drove right before finishing with a left-handed layup. He also showed some defensive versatility by doing a nice job when assigned to play-making guards. Kispert also had an excellent contest on a Mamadi Diakite fadeaway attempt. 

Kispert has shown some promise defensively in the Summer League. He’s got the size and lateral quickness to at a minimum not be a liability on that end of the floor. What his ceiling is will be determined over time, but it looks like he could be at least an average defender for his position.

Echenique has impressed

One of the players on the Wizards who has made a name for himself in Las Vegas has been big man Jaime Echenique. He’s 24 and originally from the country of Colombia who went undrafted out of Wichita St. last year.

Echenique had 13 points, three rebounds and a block all in eight minutes of action. His block was a two-handed rejection at the rim. Echenique then sank a three on the next possession. He would later leave the game due to a right ankle injury.

Echenique has done a good job of just being active and bringing lots of energy. That should bode well for him if he wants to chase a training camp invite or G-League roster spot this fall.

Todd got the start

After making his Summer League debut against the Nets following his clearance from Covid-19 protocol, Isaiah Todd was in the starting lineup for this one. The Wizards’ 2021 second round pick, Todd had another rough shooting night. He ended up with eight points, but shot just 3-for-9 overall and 2-for-6 from three.

Todd so far in Las Vegas has shown he is not afraid to take a shot. He’s aggressive looking for his own offense, for better or worse. Sometimes he makes plays while other times he turns the ball over or stops a possession prematurely when more ball movement would be ideal. The good news is Todd should have plenty of opportunities to get up shots for the Capital City Go-Go this season, as he figures to be one of their best players.

Intriguing matchup next

The Wizards will play a makeup game against the Pacers on Monday afternoon, as the teams were initially supposed to begin the Summer League by playing against each other, only to have that game postponed due to a Covid-19 outbreak for the Wizards. But now they will actually play that game and there will be some interesting storylines going in.

For one, Kispert will face off with Chris Duarte, whom the Pacers selected 13th overall, right ahead of Kispert who went 15th. Duarte has been a standout in the Summer League so far, averaging 18.3 points per game while shooting 48.3% from three (7.3 3PA/g). The Wizards will also see Isaiah Jackson, who was the 22nd overall pick, which the Wizards traded to Indiana for backup guard Aaron Holiday and a second round pick, which became Todd. Jackson has also been impressive with a 12-rebound game and a 4-block game already in Las Vegas.

In addition to those guys, the Pacers also have former Wizards player Devin Robinson. And they also have 2020 first round pick Goga Bitadze.

Wizards offense falls flat in Bradley Beal’s return vs. Hornets

By Chase Hughes
Wizards offense falls flat in Beal's return vs. Hornets originally appeared on NBC Sports WashingtonThe Washington Wizards lost to the Charlotte Hornets 97-87 on Wednesday night on the road. Here are five observations from what went down...Letdown on the roadWednesday night's game against the Hornets pitted the Wizards up against a good team with a good offense on the road. It is not surprising they had some trouble, it just came in an unexpected way.The Hornets are dreadful defensively, yet the Wizards had major problems scoring the ball. They were held to a season-low 87 points, shooting 36.7% from the field and 19.0% from three. The defense was there for the Wizards, they just couldn't get their shots to fall, even with Bradley Beal back. The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for Washington. They are 10-4 on the year.There were some oddities to this game. The Hornets didn't attempt a free throw until there was 6:48 left in the third quarter. All three of the Wizards' point guards - Spencer Dinwiddie, Raul Neto and Aaron Holiday - combined to go scoreless until Neto hit a layup with 4:57 left in the fourth. They weren't the only ones to struggle. Kyle Kuzma had five points and shot 1-for-8 from three and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was held to three points and went 0-for-5 from three.This was the Wizards' eighth straight loss in Charlotte.Beal was backThe Wizards welcomed back Beal following his two-game absence due to the death of his grandmother. Beal returned to the starting lineup and played 35 minutes. He had 24 points, seven assists and two steals. He also shot pretty well with a season-high five threes on 5-for-11 from long range.While the Wizards have Beal back in the fold, they will not have Dinwiddie for Thursday night's game at the Miami Heat. Head coach Wes Unseld Jr. revealed that piece of news before the game, as Dinwiddie continues to be limited in back-to-backs due to the fact he is only 10 months removed from ACL surgery.Gafford went offThe Hornets are not a very good defensive team, as they are ranked 25th in efficiency and dead-last in points allowed per game (115.1). Their biggest problem area is in the paint where they give up the fourth-most points per game (48.5). So, it was no surprise to see the Wizards attack the middle with their bigs early and often. Though Montrezl Harrell (15 points, nine rebounds) had himself another good game, it was Daniel Gafford who really took advantage.Gafford had 10 points in his first six minutes and 16 by halftime, matching a career-high for a single half. He finished with 20 points, nine rebounds, two steals and a block. He made his first nine shots from the field. That was a marked change from his recent play on offense, as he had 14 points combined in his last three games entering Wednesday. He was still making plays on defense, but this was a breakout performance he needed.Threes remain a struggleThe Wizards have been so good thus far this season that it is hard to identify their weaknesses. They have really only struggled mightily in one area and that is 3-point shooting. They shot just 8-for-42 against Charlotte, including 3-for-19 in the first half. On the season, they rank in the bottom-third of all 3-point shooting categories.The good news is that they are missing their two best 3-point shooters. Both Davis Bertans (ankle) and Thomas Bryant (ACL recovery) have been out, so theoretically, the Wizards could improve in that area just by getting healthier. In the meantime, they could try making some open threes. The Wizards have the second-worst percentage on wide-open threes (31.6%), per Second Spectrum.Oubre revenge gameThe third quarter was an abject disaster for the Wizards and a familiar face was a big reason why. The Hornets outscored the Wizards 30-14 in the frame and Kelly Oubre Jr. had nine points all by himself. He made two threes, had a fastbreak dunk and even blocked Deni Avdija at the buzzer on a 3-point attempt.Oubre Jr. had 14 points in the game to go along with three rebounds and two blocks. He's having a pretty good season, averaging 13.9 points per game entering Wednesday while shooting a career-best 38.8% from three. Now that he's back in the East for the first time since he played for the Wizards, they will be seeing plenty more of him this season.
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