The Wizards earned their fifth victory of the season last night after defeating Charlotte for the second time this season 113-110 in DC. Normally, a fan base wouldn’t and shouldn’t celebrate their team’s fifth win 28 games into the season, but, and it’s a big ole but, the future showed itself last night, and the future is bright. Let’s start with the star who has played well enough to be an All-Star, Jordan Poole.
Jordan Poole had some kind of night. Over the course of scoring 25 points last night, he shined before leaving with an injury, just to come back and score the winning basket. This is not last year’s JP13. Not only is he playing at an All-Star level, he’s shown that he’s a vital piece to the Wizard’s overall vision. Now don’t get it twisted, with more success comes more interest from other teams and some deals are too good to pass up but he’s a player who is already playing at an All-Star level while averaging 21 points per game and hasn’t even hit his prime yet. You hold on to players like that. Talking about vital parts of the future, let’s talk about Bilal Coulibaly.
It’s looking like Bilal Coulibaly is breaking out in his second year. He was and still is very raw offensively coming out of his draft but has shown massive improvement with his offensive game. Improved ball handling, a mid-range jumper, and a lack of hesitancy to shoot the three-point shot are all good reasons why the Wizards rebuild doesn’t have to take as long as expected. Something else I like, he and Jordan Poole form one nice 1-2 punch duo. Lastly, let’s talk about Washington’s number two pick from this year’s draft, Alexandre Sarr.
People were ready to call Alex Sarr a bust after FIVE Summer League games. How are you feeling now? Like Bilal, he was very raw coming out of the draft offensively, and while he has a long road till he’s a finished product, he’s showing why he’s already improving in that area. While he does need to learn how to become a well-rounded Center by playing more in the paint, if he has the shot then he should take it and right now, he has a shot to become one of the pillars that this team is going to be built around going forward. The future is bright in China-Town and it’s not just the lights in Mandarin. Stay tuned.
