After changing his game, Jared Dudley could be a solid fit with the Wizards
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Version 0 of 1. MIAMI — Jared Dudley was once, on paper, a dreadful NBA three-point shooter. The long-distance misery was brief, limited to his rookie season, but not encouraging for a self-described unathletic player angling to carve a place in the league. That year, he connected on 22.3 percent of his 41 three-point attempts with the Charlotte Bobcats as he struggled to adjust to the distance after shooting 44.3 percent as a senior at Boston College. Teammates called him the “Junkyard Dog.” He was a defensive-minded player. Any offensive contribution was gravy. Then, 20 games into his sophomore campaign, he was traded to the Phoenix Suns, and his career path drastically changed. The culture in Phoenix was completely different. The Suns’ coaching staff didn’t encourage three-pointers; they forced players to launch them. It was the fuel for their revolutionary “seven seconds or less” offense. “If you didn’t shoot threes then you couldn’t play,” Dudley said. The philosophy instilled confidence in Dudley, and he was one of the sport’s best three-point shooters by his third season, connecting at a blistering 45.8 percent clip. Six years later, Dudley is a three-point specialist, acquired by the Washington Wizards to space the floor as they shift to an offense similar to the one Dudley enjoyed in Phoenix. And with a week remaining until the Wizards’ season opener at Orlando, Dudley made his Wizards debut a couple of hundred miles south in their penultimate exhibition contest Wednesday night, a 110-105 loss to the Miami Heat, three months to the day of his back surgery. Dudley entered the contest near the end of the first quarter and logged six minutes before going to the bench. He returned late in the fourth quarter and finished with an assist, three rebounds and zero points. He missed his only shot from the floor, a three-pointer in transition. He spent his time at power forward, playing most of the time alongside Drew Gooden III at center in part because Nene and DeJuan Blair, the team’s usual centers off the bench, were unavailable. Washington, Dudley’s fifth NBA employer, is one of the league’s latest franchises to assume the pace-and-space identity and, in search of the proper personnel to implement the system, landed Dudley over the summer from the Milwaukee Bucks. The addition wasn’t splashy. Dudley is a role player. But Dudley has evolved into one of the sport’s most experienced stretch power forwards, and the addition was a strong indication of Washington’s plan to modify its offense. “It gives us some versatility,” said Randy Wittman, who also had swingman Garrett Temple return from a hamstring injury after a four-game absence. “He’s got great basketball IQ on the floor. He knows what he can do and knows what he can’t do and stays away from those things he can’t do. That’s a pretty good formula.” The Wizards traded a heavily protected second-round draft pick for Dudley with the understanding that surgery was a likely possibility. Dudley had played through back pain for the final four months of last season, his only with the Bucks, and tried rehabbing before deciding to undergo the procedure to repair his L5-S1 disk. He returned to practice last week and said he hasn’t felt pain in five weeks. He had a minutes restriction Wednesday, but his return, in any capacity, is an encouraging development for the Wizards, who will be without Alan Anderson and Martell Webster for a big slice of the season. The challenge with the season approaching, Dudley emphasized, is conditioning. “That’s why I wanted to get two games in,” said Dudley, who will have another dress rehearsal against the Toronto Raptors on Friday in Montreal. “You can’t simulate live game action in practice. I know I’m going to get tired going against different competition for extended periods of time. I’ve never had a time like this, but it’s better than jumping in during the regular season when the games really count.” Though Anderson’s ankle surgery could force the Wizards to shift Dudley to the three for some minutes, Dudley still expects to primarily man power forward, which he has done throughout his career, including last season with the Bucks. The assignment presents a variety of defensive threats, from tweeners like Paul Millsap to bruisers like Zach Randolph. But Dudley has made a career of holding his own and adapting. “Defensively, I just want to be a glue guy, scrappy,” Dudley said. “If they score, get it out fast. If they don’t, get the rebound quickly. The role doesn’t change. The only thing is, for me, sometimes when you come in and you’re in great shape, you’re a little more aggressive than you normally would be. That could obviously dictate it a little bit, but I’m excited to get out there.” Notes: Marcin Gortat tallied 18 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks, while his starting frontcourt partner, Kris Humphries, added 16 points and 12 rebounds, but the Wizards fell to 4-2 in the preseason with the loss to the Heat. Point guard John Wall, back after a one-game absence, recorded 14 points and seven assists in 26 minutes. The Wizards, who had six players reach double figures in scoring, built a 16-point lead in the first quarter and a 13-point cushion late in the third before pulling their starters for much of the fourth period. The Heat — which had starters Goran Dragic, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh finish the game on the floor — were led by Gerald Green’s 28 points. . . . Washington was without Bradley Beal (rest), Nene (calf), Blair (knee), Anderson (ankle) and Webster (hip). . . . Teams around the league began trimming their rosters for the regular season last week but the Wizards aren’t expected to make their cuts until after their trip, which concludes in Montreal on Friday, because their roster is so depleted by injuries. Washington already has 15 players with guaranteed contracts, so barring a last-minute change, the five non-guaranteed training camp invitees — Toure’ Murry, Ish Smith, Josh Harrellson, Jaleel Roberts and Jaron Johnson — will be released. |