Wizards vs. Jazz recap: Washington opens Summer League action with a 88-73 win over Utah

The Wizards opened up their Summer League campaign with a convincing 88-73 win over Utah.

After a sluggish first half, where both teams played like squads that were assembled within the last week (probably because they were assembled last week), Washington pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring the Jazz 29-14 as they pulled away for an easy win.

Notable Performances

Kelly Oubre - Offensively, Oubre didn’t look much different than he did last summer in Las Vegas, other than controlling the ball a bit less than he did last season. He did a great job of getting to the lane and drawing fouls and had this nice turnaround jumper in the third quarter that helped kickstart the Wizards’ run:

But on the whole it was a struggle on the offensive end. He finished with 20 points on 6-19 shooting and only had 1 assist on the night, which came in transition.

Defensively, Oubre was great. He kept Utah’s wing players from getting into a rhythm and did a great job playing passing lanes as well, grabbing 8 rebounds, forcing 4 steals, and getting several other deflections and strips as well.

Aaron White - The good news: White looks a lot more comfortable than he did last year. He’s more assertive, and more comfortable with firing away from outside than he did last season.

The bad news: Even though he was more comfortable shooting from deep, he didn’t shoot it well, finishing 3-10 from the field and 1-4 from deep. And defensively, he just couldn’t keep up with Trey Lyles’ who had a very efficient night (28 points on 16 shots). White will probably look better in future games when he isn’t guarding a lottery talent like Lyles, but he probably still needs another year before he’s ready for the NBA.

Jarell Eddie - Eddie just couldn’t get his jumper to fall tonight (0-3 from deep), which probably says more about the team’s inability to get into a rhythm offensively than it does about Eddie himself. Utah made it very difficult for Washington’s point guards to find Eddie for open shots.

On the bright side, Eddie was able to contribute in other areas, grabbing 5 rebounds, dishing 3 assists and making some nice baskets inside. If nothing else, he showed he could be more than a one-trick pony tonight. The shot should hopefully come with time.

Sheldon McClellan - Very, very quiet debut. He said going in that he wanted to focus on defense, and did a solid job on that end, but that was about it. He did not score at all during his 11 minutes of playing time.

Daniel Ochefu - Ochefu didn’t get the start today. The Wizards opted to go with D-League veteran Michael Eric, who had a very solid game, as he should, considering he’s a 28 year old going up against players who are mostly five or more years younger than him.

That said, Ochefu looked great with the second unit. He did a great job of clogging up the lane defensively, with 2 blocks and 4 steals. He made the most of the opportunities he got offensively with 4 points on 2-3 shooting. And in terms of the little things, he was great at screen setting and getting up and down the floor. You could see why the Wizards were willing to give him a contract.

Shawn Dawson - The good news is Dawson wasn’t overwhelmed by the athleticism on the NBA level. He was active in transition on both ends, made some nice defensive plays, and was assertive on the offensive end without trying to do too much. He finished with 6 points on 6 shots.

Danuel House - The former Aggie had a very nice debut off the bench, finishing with 14 points in just over 17 minutes of action. He probably won’t go 3-3 from deep again, but his athleticism and energy made a difference on both ends.