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With a 109-99 victory over the spiraling Milwaukee Bucks, the Washington Wizards have their third two-game winning streak of the season.
This one was an offensive struggle. Not in the sense that either team played well on offense — more like what the bricklaying did to my basketball sensibilities. The teams combined to miss 55 three-point shots, shooting a combined 18-73 — “good” for 24.7%. Bilal Coulibaly missed one so badly, I rewinded several times convinced it had to have been blocked or tipped. If it was, I couldn’t find the evidence.
Wizards big man Alex Sarr gathered a career-high 17 rebounds in the team’s win over the Milwaukee Bucks. | NBAE via Getty Images
With their all-world star Giannis Antetokounmpo sidelined with a calf injury, the Bucks continued their drop in the standings. Giannis trade rumors are the number one topic around the NBA — so ubiquitous that the guys on Thinking Basketball briefly touched on it.
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Just before tipoff, I had a classic, “There’s your problem!” moment when I realized the Bucks were starting three former Wizards — Ryan Rollins (who’s playing well this season), Bobby Portis (who’s been okay), and Kyle Kuzma (who’s been not much good).
The Wizards won with an atrocious 43.8% effective field goal percentage because they dominated rebounding battle (61-43 overall; 18-7 on the offensive glass) and got to the free throw line. The Wizards owned the boards despite playing a smaller lineup most of the night. In the 16 minutes Alex Sarr (17 rebounds; 7 offensive) rested, head coach Brian Keefe used a center-less lineup.
Give some credit to the opponent — Doc Rivers teams eschew pursuit of offensive rebounds in favor of getting back on defense. This approach may have had more merit in the past. Nowadays, teams In recent years, coaches (led by former Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau) have figured out a way “tag up” to pursue offensive boards without getting killed by fast breaks. Rivers has stuck to what worked for him in the past.
“Tagging up” is a system whereby offensive players immediately make physical contact with a defensive player as…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/defense-boards-youth-close-wizards-133544452.html
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Publish date : 2026-01-30 13:35:00
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