Big problems for Wizards 'small ball' as Washington falls in Chicago

The Washington Wizards fell 107-96 to Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls last night as Wizard rookie John Wall failed his first real test on defense.  The loss, Wall's first as a pro, gives Washington a 2-1 record this preseason, while Chicago improves to 1-2 after losing to Milwaukee and Dallas earlier in the week.  While Gilbert Arenas has remained solid, and knocked down a game-high four three pointers against Chicago, former Bull Kirk Hinrich sputtered, while Wall had trouble closing against the tandem of Rose and Joakim Noah.  Noah, who had 12 points and 11 rebounds at the end of the night, had as many rebounds as Wizard starters Andray Blatche, JaVale McGee, and Wizard reserve Yi Jianlian combined.

When Washington arrived in Chicago, the Wizards were not prepared for the three year experience of a Rose-Noah offense.  The Wizards struggled against screens, and the speedy Rose out-sped Wall all night long.  Rose finished by tying a game-high 18 points, and balanced his line with 5 assists and 5 rebounds.  Arenas chipped in 16 points and 4 assists on 6-for-12 shooting while Wall scored 11 points and dished 6 assists despite not being able to control Rose.  Wall even had a block against Rose, however, the Wizards were unable to make the most out of his effort.  Hinrich, who was tasked to play post defense against Luol Deng during stretches, suffered against his former team with a line of 4 points and 2 assists after 28 minutes on the court.  However, the biggest problem for Washington had to be their frontcourt.

Over the last three games the Wizards have been out-rebounded every single game, which is to be somewhat expected when you start the trio of Hinrich, Arenas, and Wall behind Blatche and McGee.  However, last night's "small ball" was truly embarrassing.  Noah, in addition to beating Washington to the boards last night in Chicago, out-assisted, and out-blocked starters Blatche, McGee, and reserve Jianlian combined.  Blatche had 14 points, 8 coming in the second quarter, but the Wizards couldn't stop Kyle Korver, who gave the Bulls a 2005 flashback as he netted 14 of his 17 points in response.  After Korver's second quarter flurry put the Bulls ahead of the Wizards, 60-50, Rose rallied, with 8 straight points in the first minute and a half of the third.  From there, the combo of Rose and Noah simply picked Washington apart.

McGee, assigned to Noah, had as many points as he did fouls with 4, but he did have a team-high 5 rebounds.  Foul trouble, which has been an issue for Washington's frontcourt as they attempt a smaller line-up, may require Wizards Head Coach Flip Saunders to adjust his offense once again.  With serviceable small forwards in Al Thornton, Nick Young (who scored 18 last night, mostly during garbage time, on 7-for-11 shooting), and hopeful Cartier Martin, Flip has a few options to test out instead of starting Hinrich alongside Arenas and Wall.  I've also been surprised that Hamady N'Diaye hasn't been used more at center, but he did get 11 minutes last night which resulted in 3 rebounds, a block, and a steal.  Jianlian, who played a bit of center in the last few minutes of the first half, scored 8 off the bench and continues to be a go-to guy from as far out as the perimeter.  He truly has center to small forward potential.

The Wizards do have an interesting future ahead of them, however, at current, their small ball line-up will struggle against the top half of the NBA.  Blatche is not providing All-Star quality rebounding as a power forward, while McGee is blowing lay-ups and not positioning his feet right in the paint.  Wall did connect with McGee for an alley-oop last night, their second connection of the preseason, but McGee fell down after the slam.  Washington's frontcourt will need to work on their footwork if Flip hopes to keep Hinrich on the court, and the Wizards are also going to need to prepare for what it will be like when Josh Howard returns to health.  While a three guard backcourt looks interesting, Flip needs to consider that as an option, and perhaps not a playstyle.  We'll probably know for sure on Tuesday, when the Wizards challenge the explosive Atlanta Hawks (and that game will actually be televised, if you were wondering).  Stay tuned.