FanPost

Three Takeaways from the Wizards' first two games vs. the Hawks

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

John Wall is really important, but you already knew that

In Game 1 against the Hawks, John Wall was everything you could ask for out of your point guard and more. Wall finished with 18 points, 13 assists, and 7 rebounds all while fighting through a severely sprained wrist the second half of the game. Wall was the catalyst for the offense from start to finish, and won the game with two late dimes to a cutting Otto Porter and then a perfectly timed lob to Marcin Gortat.

Wall was sensational in game 1, and it looked like he would battle through his injury and play in game 2, up until an hour before tip-off. Wall didn’t play and really all hope was lost, but the Wizards came out and gave a gritty performance without their leader. The game was actually pretty competitive until the Hawks pulled away late to even up the series 1-1.

As well as the Wizards played, and as hard as they fought, their offense just did not have the punch their All-Star point guard brings. Ramon Sessions did his best job to pick up the slack finishing with 21 points, but he doesn’t bring the same dynamic playmaking ability Wall does.

The Wizards cannot win this series without John Wall, plain and simple. Let’s keep praying he can play Saturday because if he can’t, this is going to start looking a lot like their second round loss to Indiana last year.

The Bigs Need to Play Bigger

The easiest way to start this section would be with Nene. He has been a liability in literally every aspect of the game. But he isn’t the only post player who needs to step up (and I’m not giving up on him yet!). During the regular season, the Wizards were 6th in the NBA in rebounding, the Hawks were 28th. Through two games, the Hawks have out-rebounded the Wizards 96-94. Even though a two-rebound difference isn’t huge, the fact that we should be dominating this category makes it a big win for Atlanta.

Paul Millsap and Al Horford (the Hawks' starting big men) have 44 rebounds through two games including 19 on the offensive end. I’m just going to repeat that they have 19 OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS through two games. Millsap and Horford are top tier post players and were both all-stars this season, but they are 6’8 and 6’9 respectively. There is no reason they should be out-working the much bigger Marcin Gortat and Nene.

Nene honestly might not know how to play basketball anymore. But, as upsetting as that is, he still needs to box out (Nene, the Wizards second leading rebounder is Otto Porter, who’s not even 200 pounds, come on!). Gortat’s rebounding numbers have been solid through two games, but the fact that Horford has grabbed 11 offensive rebounds in those games also shows that Gortat needs to be much more aggressive on the boards.

If Wall can come back relatively healthy for game 3, and the Washington big men can finally keep the Hawks off the offensive glass, this series will be headed back to Atlanta for Game 5 with the Wizards up 3-1.

Otto Porter might be the Small Forward of the Future

Paul Pierce has one year left on his contract after the playoffs end. As well as Pierce has played this postseason; he is 37 years old and entering the twilight of his NBA career. While I hear the KD2DC rumors just as clearly as you do, there has not been anything that would honestly lead one to believe he’ll be returning to the nation's capital anytime soon. In enters Otto Porter.

Porter delivered the Wizards most impressive stat line of the night in game 2 with 15 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals on 50% shooting from the field and an impressive 2/3 from the three-point line. Porter is continuing his tear through the postseason in which he’s averaging 10.5 points, 8 rebounds and is shooting the ball over 50% from the field and 3. None of those stats even compare to his eye-popping plus/minus, or the point differential of the score while a player is on the court, which is a whopping 8.2, up from his -0.5 during the regular season.

Along with his impressive offensive output and rebounding, Porter has proven to be the wizards best perimeter defender. After shutting down Demar Derozan in the first round, he has continued his impressive perimeter defense against the array of shooters the Hawks can throw at you. The Wizards may not have to look past their bench to find Paul Pierce’s replacement at Small Forward after next season.

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