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AJ Dybantsa’s historic debut brought electrifying highlights, but the final score exposed a deeper problem.

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Transcript
00:00We got to see A.J. DeBonsa on the court in an official NBA game.
00:05And we got kind of what we expected because, remember, in the summer league,
00:09for what it's worth, he averaged, I think, 25 points a game
00:12in limited summer league action.
00:13He looked like he just fit right in.
00:16First quarter, you get nine points from A.J. DeBonsa.
00:19That's the most by a Wizards rookie since the 96-97 season.
00:24He finishes with 19 points.
00:27You saw him take the ball to the basket.
00:29You saw him dunk.
00:30You saw him hit one three-pointer.
00:32You saw him hit kind of his 15-foot jumper,
00:35which he looks really comfortable in that mid-range.
00:38Well, also, like, the step-through.
00:40Like, his skill set for his age is unreal.
00:46The only thing that's not refined is the three-point shot, in my opinion,
00:50which I think will come over time.
00:52I mean, his skill set, I think, is staggering.
00:55Watching the game last night, though,
00:57and watching them over the course of the first five games,
00:59they're now two and three,
01:01are you more optimistic about the Wizards or more pessimistic,
01:05or do you still have the same outlook?
01:07I kind of have the same outlook,
01:09but it wasn't as optimistic as most Wizards fans,
01:12and it was just based on looking at the other teams in the Eastern Conference.
01:15I think they're going to battle for a bottom-of-the-end,
01:17you know, play-in type playoff spot.
01:19You can say playoff spot.
01:21I don't think they're going to be a top-six seed.
01:24You know, we had some people calling in when they drafted A.J. DeBonsa going,
01:27oh, they're going to be a four seed.
01:29Like, I don't see that happening.
01:32And the early flaw to the team,
01:35and it's a little baffling because they're so long and they're so tall,
01:40is rebounding.
01:42And so in the last two games in particular,
01:44you saw Diabate just absolutely dominate the offensive boards
01:49when they played the Hornets,
01:50and they're going to get a game against them on Friday,
01:53so maybe it'll change.
01:54And then last night they're out-rebounded by 20
01:56where Saar and Anthony Davis,
01:59let's just call them what they are.
02:00They're both seven-footers,
02:01and they're on the court together.
02:03They combine for nine rebounds.
02:04That cannot happen.
02:06Yeah, I mean, they were out-rebounded by 20 for the game,
02:10and I think that Cleveland had 15 offensive rebounds to Washington's five.
02:14Well, that's what's been plaguing,
02:15and there was a certain sequence where they were flat-out calling them out.
02:18Drew Gooden was calling them out.
02:18It was like three, four, five.
02:20It was like five offensive rebounds in a row.
02:23Now, the thing is,
02:24I see more effort this year from these guys than I've seen in years,
02:30but it's got to be more than just flying out there
02:34and contesting the first shot.
02:36You've got to still hang in there and get in there,
02:38box out, screen, get the rebounds, all the dirty work.
02:41So I feel like they're halfway there,
02:43and I do think that it's something that's fixable.
02:48The positive last night, of course, was A.J. being there and scoring.
02:52And he, by the way, only had two rebounds.
02:54He needs to get more than two.
02:55That's what I was going to say.
02:56Well, Saar only had four.
02:57I mean, DeBonsa and Saar are big, long guys.
03:01All right?
03:01They're tall and they're long.
03:03They've got to get more than six rebounds.
03:04I don't know if Saar's a great rebounder.
03:06He hasn't played a ton of minutes.
03:08So if you look at his first two seasons in the league,
03:11and look, it's changed because now he's got Anthony Davis in there.
03:16Six and a half rebounds as a rookie.
03:18He was only playing 27 minutes a game.
03:207.4 rebounds last year,
03:23and minutes were about the same at 27 minutes a game.
03:25So I don't think he's an elite rebounder.
03:27Well, he's got to get better at it.
03:28I mean, like Cleveland, they played Cleveland last night.
03:31Jared Allen is a monster rebounder.
03:33Right.
03:33There are some guys that are just better rebounders.
03:35That said, when you have a front line of A.J. DeBonsa,
03:39Alex Saar, and Anthony Davis,
03:42you can't get out-rebounded by 20.
03:44No.
03:44But you would take seven and a half rebounds
03:47or eight rebounds from Saar.
03:48But last night, he gave you half that.
03:50Yeah.
03:51And Anthony Davis is traditionally a good rebounder.
03:53Yeah, I think Anthony Davis will do what he's done over his career.
03:56The one thing I wonder...
03:57Look, they were playing really well in the first half.
03:59Yeah, yeah.
03:59They were controlling...
04:00They were playing a 16-point lead in the second half.
04:02Right.
04:02They were controlling the game.
04:04That was mostly offense, though.
04:07Yeah, the three-point shooting wasn't good.
04:08They were trading twos for threes.
04:10The one question about A.J. DeBonsa going in was...
04:15Defense.
04:16Defense.
04:17Yeah.
04:17And look, I'm not going to judge him after a game.
04:19He certainly has the potential to be a great defender
04:21because he's super athletic.
04:25And the focus is on them playing defense.
04:28He's running around like a chicken with his head cut off,
04:31but he's trying.
04:32He got backdoored one time.
04:34I know that you're going to point to.
04:35But there are times where he's poking balls.
04:38He's hustling his ass off.
04:40It'll get better.
04:41I think it'll get better.
04:44He's the last guy I'm worried about.
04:46Early on, look, it's five games in.
04:47Right now, the Wizards are ranked 19th defensively,
04:50giving up 115 points per game.
04:52By the way, much better than last year.
04:54Last year, they were giving up 124 a game.
04:57In fact, it might be the first year.
04:59Now, it's early, and I'm sure it'll trend.
05:01They'll give up more as the season goes along.
05:04It might be one of the first seasons in the last 20 years
05:06where they actually go in the correct direction defensively
05:10because they always say, going back to...
05:12I can't remember having Daryl Walker on the show
05:15and saying, yeah, defense is going to be a point of emphasis.
05:19Who's the old guy that we had and his kid played at Cornell?
05:22Now, come on.
05:25Old guy we had.
05:26We had him in studio.
05:28He was like a longtime assistant.
05:31His dad and his kid played at Cornell.
05:33Whitman.
05:33Was that Randy Whitman?
05:35We had Whitman in studio.
05:36Big emphasis is going to be defense.
05:39Oh, we had him in studio.
05:40Yeah, and it would always go...
05:41They always said it,
05:42and they still gave up more points every year.
05:44This might be the first year so far
05:45where they've actually given up less points than the year before.
05:48Look, physically, they're long.
05:49Their point guard is not good defensively.
05:51Trey Young.
05:53That's a weakness.
05:54Now, it's supposed to be overcome because they're so long.
05:56That's why you need those big guys to do their job.
05:59I think Keyshawn George can be a good defensive player.
06:02DeBonta can be a good defensive player.
06:04But look, last night they got killed on the boards.
06:06The other thing is, and this is harder to fix,
06:09is the three-point shooting.
06:12You're going to get big nights from Trey Young shooting threes.
06:16So far this year, he's not shooting a great percentage.
06:19Keyshawn George is a guy who can knock down threes.
06:22Keyshawn hit 38% last year.
06:24So far he's shooting 23.
06:25So that's going to come back.
06:25Maybe not hit 38, but it'll be way better.
06:29It'll be way better.
06:30And Trey Johnson was banged up.
06:31He'll be a little bit better.
06:33Yeah.
06:34But they needed that in the fourth quarter.
06:35They scored 19 in the fourth quarter,
06:37and the Cavs went on a 10-0 run.
06:40Right.
06:41And were much better from the three.
06:44But right now, I believe the Wizards are ranked 29th in three-point shooting
06:47through five games.
06:48I get it.
06:49But they've got to improve that.
06:50Keyshawn's hitting 19%.
06:51He hit 38% last year.
06:53Right.
06:53So Keyshawn will be better.
06:54He'll get to 35 at least.
06:56Look, they have good...
06:57Sar will be better than 23.
06:59Well, Sar shouldn't be shooting many.
07:01Kulabali be better than 23.
07:04Yes, he will.
07:05He shouldn't be shooting many.
07:06Well, it doesn't matter.
07:06He'll be better.
07:08They'll all start with threes.
07:10So they're going to shoot better.
07:11I'm not convinced of that.
07:13I think so.
07:13I would make a bet and take the field or take less...
07:16If you name all those guys, not every one of those guys is going to be shooting 30%.
07:20Right now, their three-point, if you were to look at their differential,
07:24it's not going to seem like much.
07:25But they're at the bottom of the league.
07:27They're 24th at minus three per game.
07:29So their opponent is, on average, hitting three more three-pointers than them
07:34in the game.
07:35Last night, it was six.
07:36Yeah.
07:36It's so exciting, the dunk city, the lob, I try to call them the lob mob, whatever.
07:43All that's exciting, but they're trading twos for threes.
07:45The Trey Young half-court lob to AJ was pretty nice.
07:49Maybe the bigger thing is, so the two flaws, and again, if you want to chime in, 1-800-636
07:54-1067.
07:55So to me, super optimistic on AJ Devonta.
07:58He could win rookie of the year.
07:59Like, you saw that immediately.
08:01Right?
08:02And if you want to go big picture, have you been watching what Cooper Flagg's doing?
08:06This is year two for Cooper Flagg, right?
08:08Or is it year three?
08:09He's already arguably a top-ten player in the league.
08:12So Devonta can be on a path like that, where he had been compared to somebody like Cooper Flagg.
08:18We'll see if he can develop like that.
08:19I think he's every bit as talented as him.
08:21Just he's developed a shot.
08:22I'm super optimistic about AJ Devonta individually, but as a team, the three-point differential
08:27is huge, and then I just checked it out.
08:30They're 28th in the NBA in rebounding differential.
08:33That's five games, but on average, on average, they're being out-rebounded by 7.7 rebounds
08:40per game.
08:40Maybe.
08:41The two wins of the year were games where they actually won the rebounding margin.
08:45There are three losses.
08:46They've, I believe, lost that rebounding differential by double digits in each of those games.
08:51So those, look, those are metrics they're well aware of, and they definitely have guys who
08:56are capable of rebounding, but for whatever reason, I know watching a little bit of Anthony
09:00Davis, and this is being nitpicky, he's a great, great player.
09:07A couple times, he's just kind of jogging back on defense.
09:10Yeah, I know.
09:10And Mobley was hustling up and down, and Allen hustling down the floor.
09:14Yeah.
09:14Yeah, I noticed that.
09:16But they, you know, they get the Hornets who they just lost to.
09:19You can't let Brandon Miller go for 40.
09:22Do a better job shooting the three.
09:24It's a home game tomorrow night.
09:27And obviously, you shoot the three better.
09:29And don't get out-rebounded by 20.
09:31I know as a fan of the team, they're just butt fun to watch.
09:35I'd love to see them close out these games, but maybe it is going to take them a year or
09:39two to kind of figure it out.
09:40Are you more optimistic or less optimistic, Jason, after having watched them for five games,
09:45watching A.J.
09:45I mean, I thought that they would be in that mid-to-high 30 win range.
09:51I didn't think they were going to be in mid-40s.
09:54I mean, I feel pretty good about it.
09:55They've got weaknesses.
09:57I'm a little bit less optimistic just because it's hard for them so far to keep up with the
10:03threes.
10:04Yeah, that's got to improve.
10:05And what their strength is, they're literally incredible at sharing the basketball.
10:10They get all lobbed to each other.
10:12A.J. throws incredible lob passes.
10:14Trey Young's unbelievable at it.
10:16The three-point percentage, though, they should, and it depends on the lineups they use.
10:20Look, I think Keefe's coaching has not been scrutinized at all.
10:24And you have to watch him for 20 games, I think, because Mission Accomplished, what he
10:30did with the team the last couple of years, was about developing players, not winning.
10:33Now they're trying to win.
10:35But I noticed at the end of the previous game, and when he came on the show, he talked about
10:39it.
10:39They went with the lineup that included Trey, Bub, and Trey.
10:44So Trey Young, Trey Johnson, and Bub Carrington.
10:48That's a lineup which can knock down threes.
10:52Bub, last year, shot a good percentage from the three-point line.
10:55Trey Johnson may be their best three-point shooter, and we know what Trey Young can do
10:59from beyond the arc.
11:00So I think they're still trying to figure out lineups.
11:03And ultimately, I'm still in the, eventually this is going to be A.J.
11:08DeBonce's team, and like Anthony Davis and Trey Young, they're placeholders right now
11:13to help them win some games right now, but they're not long-term picture guys, in my
11:17opinion.
11:19It's going to be, just like the Dallas Mavericks, already that's, I mean it became last year
11:24after like 20 games, it became Cooper Flagg's team, even though they've got Kyrie Irving
11:28on the team, right?
11:29It's Cooper Flagg's team.
11:30This is going to be A.J.
11:31DeBonce's team.
11:32The Flagg's a superstar.
11:33Well, the other thing is, remember, A.J. was playing on a minutes restriction, so if
11:36you're watching that game, there's long stretches where you're barking at your TV, where's A.J.?
11:42Where's A.J.?
11:43If A.J. could have played 35 minutes, it could be a different outcome.
11:46Right, he could have scored 30 points.
11:48Yeah.
11:49You know, who knows?
11:49Maybe he plays a little bit more tomorrow.
11:51The enthusiasm and the effort and the skill that A.J. has, it's impossible to not be thrilled.
11:57So, my optimism is more on the players' standpoint, A.J.
12:02DeBonce, Keyshawn George, more the future guys than necessarily the team this year, and
12:08we'll see what happens.
12:10I don't think they're going to be a team.
12:11So far, Anthony Davis has played in every game.
12:13That's a big deal.
12:14That's a big deal.
12:14I don't think it's going to be a team that relies heavily on their defense.
12:18They've got to do better scoring.
12:19Okay?
12:20So, you can't average 110, 109 points and expect to win a lot of games.
12:26So, they've got to do a much better job shooting the ball, especially from three.
12:31Well, I don't know.
12:32They're shooting for the year.
12:33They're shooting 48% for the field.
12:35That's not bad.
12:36I'm just saying.
12:37What the problem is, Jason, they're trading dunks for threes.
12:41That's what I'm saying.
12:41But they're averaging 113.
12:43I get it.
12:44That's not enough.
12:45But that's because a lot of their buckets are dunks.
12:48That's what I'm saying.
12:48They've got to do a better job scoring.
12:50Which I love.
12:51I mean, they're sharing the ball.
12:52Amazing.
12:52But then the other team is just calmly hitting a three.
12:55And it's like, ugh.
12:56Well, if they're going to launch threes like Trey is, he's got to shoot better than 33%,
13:02which he is, over his last 750 attempts from three points.
13:05I think that that's probably what he'll do.
13:06You're not going to win like that.
13:08Well, I think you could afford to have him at 33 if you have the others above it.
13:13Dude, he's shooting 10 threes or whatever.
13:15He shot 10 threes last night.
13:16You've got to make more than three.
13:18Shooting 27% so far in the season.
13:20Yeah, he's got to be better.
13:21I think he'll probably, realistically, though, be at 33.
13:25I'm not going to go crazy and say he's going to be higher because he takes tough shots.
13:29He was one for seven.
13:29But he's not going to shoot in the 20s.
13:32He's just not.
13:33No, he's not going to shoot in the 20s, but there was a point in his career.
13:35But I don't think he's going to be a 38% shooter.
13:38He takes 50 footers.
13:39But there was a point in his career where he was a 38% shooter.
13:42If you look early in his career, he was shooting 36.1, 34.3, 38.2.
13:47And at Drops Point, his last year in Atlanta, he was down at 30.5.
13:51Yeah, I think he'll be higher.
13:52I think he'll be in the 33 range, which I think is kind of the cutoff for what's acceptable.
13:57I think it's kind of the cutoff for what's acceptable.
14:00But the other side of that is he's going to lead the league in assists.
14:03You know?
14:05I just love the energy that he brings.
14:09I like the way – I mean, I wouldn't take some of those shots, but I like Trae Young.
14:15I have to go through every commercial break and listen to J.P. trash Trae Young to draft every commercial
14:19break.
14:20I just have to keep my mouth shut.
14:22Yeah.
14:23Well, after games like last night, of course he is.
14:25I just don't know if he's –
14:26All I'm saying, Eric, is they've got to – I know they're shooting 48%.
14:29They've got to score more points.
14:30They've got to score more points.
14:31The problem with –
14:33You're not going to win a lot of games averaging 111.
14:34All I'm saying is that the downside of the Dunk City stuff is they're only getting two points
14:40when everyone else is getting two and a half every time they go down the court.
14:42Right, they've got to shoot three better.
14:43They've got to score more points.
14:44And I don't know if they have enough guys.
14:46I don't know.
14:47I mean, Trey Johnson was out yesterday.
14:48He's got an Achilles flare-up.
14:50That's scary.
14:51I don't know that –
14:54That's way scarier than an ankle sprain.
14:57Like, that's not great.
14:59I'm concerned about that.
15:02You know, he might miss significant times.
15:03You have an Achilles flare-up?
15:05Yeah, that would suck.
15:05That's not good.
15:06That's not good.

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