Wizards set to unveil new offense during Tuesday’s preseason opener
Version 0 of 1. Washington Wizards practices are different than they were a year ago. They more resemble sessions from the postseason, when the team successfully unveiled, essentially, a new offense. There’s spacing galore, non-stop dribble drives and waves of three-pointers from nearly everyone on the floor, like there was in the spring. But there is one painful addition: cardio overload. “It’s tough because we run so much this year, it’s not even funny,” Wizards guard Bradley Beal said. “I think we focus so much on sprinting to our spots, sprinting to our spots, that we be shooting air balls and all types of messes.” The Wizards hope those troubles are bound to practice and that the rigorous preparation blasts the glass ceiling their offense has repeatedly bounced off in recent years. The plan is to carry over the prolific postseason operation from the spring to the fall, to dump their VCR offense and join the streaming age. The first chance to show off the transformation comes Tuesday night, when they host the Philadelphia 76ers in their preseason opener at Verizon Center. “It’s amazing that the floor is so much more spaced,” Beal said. “It’s going to work terrifically. I think everyone buys in, everyone loves it, and we all accept our role in what we’re supposed to do.” [D.C. Sports Bog: Martell Webster shows off his musical side] Coach Randy Wittman acknowledged Tuesday’s meaningless exhibition will be different than most meaningless exhibitions. It will be his first opportunity to evaluate various player combinations, how his offense spaces the floor and whether players run the floor as quickly as they desire in live action. He also warned not to make too much of what happens Tuesday. The team hasn’t installed its entire offense and there will be plenty of trial and error over the course of its seven exhibition games before the regular season opens against the Orlando Magic on Oct. 28. “Don’t read anything into who we play tomorrow or who starts tomorrow,” Wittman said. The preeminent goal, as it is every year, is to make it through the preseason without injuries. The Wizards weren’t that lucky last year, when Beal fractured his left wrist and subsequently missed Washington’s first nine regular season games. But this preseason the new offense will also be under examination, as will Beal’s individual play within it as he begins his critical fourth season. On Monday, the guard reiterated that his top objective during the preseason is to limit long two-pointers whenever possible after converting just 33.2 percent of his jumpers from 16 to 24 feet last season. It is a revelation in cohesion with the Wizards’ metamorphosis. “Those are bad shots, and as a team that’s what we’re doing now,” Beal, 22, said. “We want to eliminate those long twos as much as possible.” [Marcin Gortat looking forward to more small ball] Beal won’t be the only one striving to convert long twos to three-pointers. Kris Humphries and Drew Gooden III, two big men, are among those regularly firing three-pointers in practice. But Beal admitted cutting them will be a challenge in live games. Those attempts are instinctual and were encouraged during his first three seasons. “It’s going to be kind of hard not shooting an open shot that you have, and Witt’s screaming in our ear, ‘Shoot the ball,’ ” said Beal, who added he aspires to become a first-team all-NBA defender this season. “But at the same time that’s something I want to eliminate as much as possible and it’s going to be on my mind. Hopefully I won’t be shooting and be like, ‘Dang, I shot a long two,’ and that’s constantly on my mind. [Hopefully] I can just still play in a flow but at the same time do what my goal is.” Wittman explained he believes Beal’s shot selection is more nuanced than simply erasing long twos. The focus, Wittman said, should be on positioning rather than the actual shots. He doesn’t want Beal to launch catch-and-shoot midrange jumpers but he also doesn’t want him to avoid long twos just because they’re long twos. What Wittman seeks is the version of Beal he witnessed in the postseason, when the sharpshooter was an aggressor, shooting more threes and attacking the rim to generate more free throw attempts. “He screwed up because he showed me he could do it,” Wittman said. “Now we want to see that continue.” The same goes for his entire offense. Wizards notes: The Wizards exercised the fourth-year option of $7.7 million on Otto Porter Jr.’s rookie-scale contract for the 2016-17 season, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The team had until Halloween to make the decision, but it was a foregone conclusion. The No. 3 pick in the 2013 draft, Porter enjoyed a breakthrough in the postseason last spring and projects as a key cog in the franchise’s core alongside John Wall and Beal. . . . Point guard Ish Smith, one of the Wizards’ five training camp invitees, is dealing with a sprained ankle and could miss the team’s preseason opener Tuesday. Veteran forwards Alan Anderson (ankle) and Jared Dudley (back) will not play because of injury. |