Oubre and White struggle as Wizards fall to D-League select 94-74

The Washington Wizards lost to the D-League Select 94-74 in their second game of Vegas Summer League competition. As the score would suggest, it was a very, very hard game to watch, especially if you're a fan of jump shots. The Wizards shot 25 percent from the field and 5.9 percent from beyond the arc.

Much like Saturday's game, the only bright spots were Kelly Oubre's occasional flashes, and the soft, steady glow of Jarrid Famous' consistent production inside. Other than that, there wasn't much to like from Sunday's performance. To be fair, a big part of the team's struggles stem from injuries to Dez Wells and Toure' Murry, who were expected to play big roles this summer.

Thanks to the injuries, this may not be the ideal environment to watch the Wizards' draft picks Kelly Oubre and Aaron White flourish. But at the same time, it provides both of them with opportunities to learn through adversity, which can still be beneficial to their development.

Here's what we noticed in Sunday's action:

If nothing else, Oubre is persistent

It was not a very efficient day at the office for Oubre, who scored 18 points but only made 5 of his 17 field goal attempts and missed all 5 of his three-point attempts. On the bright side, the Wizards have given him plenty of opportunities to work on his floor game in Vegas, which will help him diversify his game. Clearly, the Wizards are not trying to pigeonhole Oubre solely as a catch-and-shoot guy. He was given the green light to probe the defense and create scoring opportunities.

Even as the game got out of hand in the second half, Oubre didn't stop trying to get into the teeth of the defense, even though he was getting chewed up most of the time. He earned 10 free throw attempts thanks to his persistence. He also created several Kobe Assists, especially for Jarrid Famous, off of drives where he didn't convert the basket but drew the defense in enough that the Wizards could score on putbacks of his misses.

To take the next step, he really needs to work on finishing in traffic. He lacks the upper-body strength to finish in traffic that he'll need at the NBA level to be effective, and he's not getting enough lift when he jumps to score over people inside. He also needs to see the floor better. Oubre still hasn't recorded an assist through two games.

Aaron White is still adjusting to life as a stretch four

Let's start with the positives. Aaron White has looked great getting up and down the floor. The Wizards can always use another big man who can get up and down the floor to push the pace with John Wall. If he can get to the level where he's sharing at least a few minutes per game with John Wall, he could be very useful in Washington.

To get there though, he's going to have to get more comfortable on the perimeter. And when we say that, we're not just talking about shooting, although that clearly still needs some work (he's 0-6 beyond the arc through two games and 3-13 from the field). He also needs to work on his overall comfort level handling the ball and setting screens. It was clear he wasn't quite sure of himself and where he needed to be at times. That's something that can only come through time and experience.