This week...

• Wizards go 2-1 this week, barely holding on to the 9th seed

• What some fans are saying about Tommy Sheppard after the trade deadline

• Who is Quenton Jackson and what you should know about him

• What happened to Will Barton?

• Upcoming game schedule...

Weekly Recap 

Final scores

Wizards 91 *114 Cavaliers (Monday): 

With Beal and Kuzma out, Porzingas did what he could on the offensive end finishing with 18 pts at 53% shooting.

On defense however KP and Gafford were completely outmatched by Jarred Allen and Evan Mobley who dominated the paint scoring 37pts combined with 7 offensive rebounds. (I saw this one in person and have never seen Porzingas more exhausted)

One big surprise was Will Barton who ended with 15 points off the bench. 

The Cavs were just better all around with all 5 of their starters ending in double digits. Their pick and roll game was working and they made 41% of their threes. Donavan Mitchell and Jarred Allen ended up in the Top 10 which you can see below. Overall, this game wasn't pretty. 

Wizards 118 * 104 Hornets (Wednesday)

A much better performance from the Wizards (granted against a much worst team but we'll take it). It was good to have Beal back + Deni had a good 20 point game. The highlight was Porzingas who dominated with 36 points, 8 threes & 2 blocks. 

Wizards shot 57% from the field and had 12 blocks overall. Turnovers remain and issue for the Wiz who gave the ball up 16 times. 

It took a bit longer than we would have liked for the Wizards to put this game away but they got the job done in the 3rd quarter, building a 12 point lead and maintaining it till the end. 

Wizards 127 * 113 Pacers (Saturday)

The Wizards opened the game hot, scoring 80 first-half points and shooting 73% from the field. They enjoyed a 23-point lead at halftime, all without Kyle Kuzma.  However, as we’ve seen lately, no lead is safe for the Wizards.   

Indiana opened the half with a 10-0 run and concern started to creep in.  Fortunately, the Wizards adjusted with some solid defense led by Daniel Gafford’s four blocks and balanced scoring.

Beal led the way with 32 overall points while Porzingis and Morris added 17 points each. Seven Wizards finished in double figures including Kispert, Gafford, Deni Avdija and Jordan Goodwin. 

What some Wizards fans are saying about Tommy Sheppard after the trade deadline

Following the Wizards lack of activity before the trade deadline, some fans on social media are venting their frustration with General Manager Tommy Sheppard.

The general consensus among many of these fans is that the the Wizards are "mediocre" and that's pretty much where Tommy Sheppard has kept this team during his tenure as GM. 

Sheppard gave a few interviews this week to explain his reasoning behind management's decisions to not aggressively pursue any other players following the Rui trade for Kendrick Nunn a few weeks ago. Here are some key quotes:

• "I guess if I could have done anything different...making sure that you (we) can withstand one injury in the front court."

• "To see this team healthy over the past 23 games is I think more of the team we believe in than the previous time. When healthy, this team is pretty good."

• "I think keeping Kyle (Kuzma), we made it clear that that's a priority for us in the offseason. Assuming Kristaps were to opt out, he's a priority for us this offseason. That's his decision and we'll address it when we're notified".

Here's Tommy's full interview with Craig Hoffman from earlier this week if you want a deep dive.

What you should know about Quenton Jackson

The Wizards have signed former Texas A&M guard Quenton Jackson to a 2-way contract following his stint with the team's G-League affiliate the Capitol City Go-Go where he averaged 14.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists. 

Here are few more stats about Jackson that you should know:

• Jackson recorded a vertical leap of 38.5 inches at the 2022 G-League prospect combine. The height would rank him 6th among NBA rookies this year. 

• At Texas A&M, Quenton averaged 2.4 steals per game

• In his 2022-23 season with the Capitol City Go-Go, Quenton averaged 54.9% FGP on 2-point attempts.

Here's the best highlight we could find from Quenton on YouTube from his college days...

What happened with Will Barton?

There was a lot of optimism this offseason with the Wizards landing Monte Morris and Will Barton in exchange for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.  Both were starters in the competitive western conference and played for a formidable playoff team.  

Barton averaged close to 15 points per game two of the last three seasons and shot no less than 43% from the field during that three-year span. 

But in his first year with the Wizards, Barton is only averaging 7.7 points per game and shooting 38.7% from the field through 40 games.  In some cases, he was a DNP warming the bench.  So, what happened in DC?   

Is it me or do good players somehow see their careers diminish when they come to Washington?  

We know Rui Hachimura expressed his unhappiness with his lack of playing time that ultimately led to his trade.  Now it seems Barton is the next victim of Wes Unseld Junior’s (WUJ) lineup decisions.  WUJ (or perhaps the front office) have decided that players such as Kispert, Avidja, and Jordan Goodwin are more worthy of those minutes. 

Should we be asking ourselves if this is the right approach?

I will say that I was gravely concerned with the lack of playing time Daniel Gafford was receiving at the beginning of the season.  Fortunately, WUJ finally came around and we’ve seen the benefits of that.  With players such as Hachimura and Barton, we will never know.   

Upcoming Schedule for next week:

• Monday: Wizards vs Warriors, Feb. 13th @10:00pm (Steph Curry is still injured so there may be an opening here for the Wizards to get a revenge win, especially if Kuzma is back in the line-up)

• Tuesday: Wizards vs Blazers, Feb. 14th @10pm (Blazers ended our 6 game winning streak earlier this month after the Wizards blew a 20 point lead. Would be nice get this one)

• Thursday: Wizards vs Timberwolves, Feb. 16th @ 8pm (Wizards blew out the Timberwolves by 20 points the last time they played @ Capitol One, with KP getting 41 points)

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