Wizards drop season opener to Mavericks
Doncic and Porzingis combine for 57
MAVERICKS 108, WIZARDS 100
DALLAS — Bradley Beal looked down court and smiled. Through much of Wednesday night when he tried to work inside the paint during the Washington Wizards’ 108-100 loss, the Dallas Mavericks blanketed him with defenders but late in the third quarter, the two-time all-star had the easiest look at the rim he had all night. And he missed.
Beal’s finger roll stopped short at the lip of the rim, and he grinned at the irony of it all. Or maybe Beal smiled to keep from screaming.
At the point of Beal’s blown bunny shot — which a teammate cleaned up before another teammate created a turnover — the Wizards trailed by 17 points. An opening night loss was in the works and Washington’s roster-wide inexperience had been uncovered.
While Beal expectantly led the team with 19 points, his night ended early after being ejected with 1:09 remaining in the game. Even when Beal was available through the night, the Wizards struggled to consistently create and score beyond him. As a team, the Wizards shot 39 percent with Beal missing 18 of 25 shot attempts. That failed finger roll counted as one of the many misses. After smiling all the way to the Wizards’ sideline, Beal showed his true emotions by slamming a towel.
His mood didn’t lighten. Through the fourth quarter, Beal and Mavericks guard Luka Doncic shared chippy moments. If Doncic committed a foul, Beal rushed to yank the ball away. Then, a double technical between the two players led to Beal’s early exit. As official Jonathan Sterling signaled the call to the scorer’s table, he turned to see Beal dismissively waving him off. So, Sterling once again looked at the table to inform the official scorer of Beal’s second technical.
Besides the Wizards’ star player getting kicked out, their newest darling made his NBA debut. Rookie Rui Hachimura started strong with six points in the first quarter but scored only eight more points for the rest of the game. Hachimura had14 points and 10 rebounds but his youth was indicative of Washington’s depth problems.
The Wizards’ rotation had the feel of a Russian nesting egg; underneath every neophyte or new starter was another with even less experience.
Before the team arrived in Dallas, small forward Isaac Bonga found out he was the Wizards’ starting small forward while scrolling Twitter. When Bonga, who logged only 120 minutes in the league last year during his rookie season, sat on the bench with two fouls, rookie Admiral Schofield filled the opening at one of the forward spots.
The spiral of experience extended to other positions as the Wizards relied on players with minor-league resumes.
Jordan McRae, the 2018-19 G-League’s scoring champ, backed up Beal. Moritz Wagner, who spent more time with the South Bay Lakers affiliate than the actual Lakers a year ago, played behind 22-yearold starting center Thomas Bryant. Wagner’s first game as a Wizard followed the arrhythmic drum beat of foul, turnover, foul, turnover. After three quarters, Wagner had committed five personal fouls and lost four possessions through seven minutes of action.
Also, Ish Smith, who has crafted a solid career as a backup, started at point in the absence of Isaiah Thomas and John Wall. When Smith rested, Chris Chiozza, a two-way contract player, ran the offense. Wagner wasn’t the only player suffering through whistles and turnovers. There were too many fouls and turnovers and Chiozza captured this first-half storyline when he threw a bad pass to his roll man, Bryant, and seconds later, fouled Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson
“We’re throwing a lot of guys who haven’t played in the NBA and haven’t played a lot of minutes in the NBA,” Coach Scott Brooks said before the game. “At times there might be some surprising moments and hopefully it’s surprising on the good side of it.”
That happened early when – surprise! – the Wizards controlled the first six minutes of the opening quarter.
Beal didn’t have to shoot the ball. He established his mark on the game by grabbing rebounds and setting up teammates as the four other starters scored before Beal made his first points of the 2019-20 season. Hachimura confidently stepped into his mid-range jumpers, hoisting them over the outstretched hand of 7-foot-3 Kristaps Porzingis. Then a soaring, dunking Beal hauled in a lob pass from Smith, only his second attempt of the game, and the Wizards led 17-10 with 5:47 to go in the quarter.
Though fleeting, those first few minutes showed the Wizards can compete and will work hard. But with their youth, there will be some pains along the way.
“Not a lot of people are expecting us to do well,” Brooks said, “but I have a locker room full of guys who are expecting us to do well and that’s all I care about.”