After a rough stretch that had his stock sinking fast, Trae Young finally gave Washington something to hang onto in the overtime loss to Detroit. The Wizards guard put up 37 points and 14 assists, and while the night still came with flaws, it looked a lot more like the version Washington has been waiting for: a player who can steer the whole offense instead of just surviving inside it.
The shooting line still wasn’t pretty. Young went 8-of-23 from the field and missed all seven of his shots in the overtime periods.
But the box score only tells part of the story. For stretches, he looked more comfortable working within the offense rather than forcing everything himself, and that mattered.
One of the biggest changes was how often the ball moved through other hands. Young had 97 touches, well above his season average of 74.5, but not all of them came with him acting as the main creator.
At several points, the offense ran through Anthony Davis, who finished with 78 touches, while Young worked off the catch. In those moments, he showed he can still knock down shots off the catch and function in handoff actions with Davis.
That kind of flexibility matters for Washington. Young is still going to be the lead guard, but the more he can shift between on-ball duty and off-ball work, the easier it becomes for him to attack defenses. And with his career 3-point mark sitting at 31.5 percent, the cleanest path forward is creating better looks for him rather than asking him to manufacture every possession.
The Wizards have pieces that can help with that, too. Kyshawn George’s passing has improved, and Davis gives the team another offensive hub to lean on. If Washington can use those tools to get Young into more favorable spots, his game can open up.
Turnovers remain the other big issue. Young still coughed it up four times Thursday, and that’s been a season-long problem for both him and the Wizards’ offense. Washington ranks 15th in turnovers per game, but the starting lineup is down at 22nd, and Young’s 3.2 turnovers per game rank 24th in the league.
Even so, there were signs of better decision-making against Detroit. He looked steadier in the half-court, made the right read more often, and finished with 35 points created by assists, the most in the NBA that night.
Washington’s pace in transition is always going to bring some risk, but the half-court mistakes are the ones the team can most clearly clean up. A chunk of those giveaways comes from pick-and-roll ball-handlers losing the ball, and that’s where Young and the rest of the guards have to be sharper. If he keeps the ball moving and protects possessions, especially alongside pick-and-roll partners like Davis and Sarr, Washington gives itself a much better chance to get where it wants to go offensively.
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Dybantsa finished with five points, eight rebounds and four assists as the Wizards pushed the Pistons deep into extra time before Detroit finally pulled away. Cunninghams huge night powered the Pistons, but Washington had to appreciate the way Dybantsa handled the hit and kept playing through it, a tough-minded sequence that fit the tone of a game that never really let up. [Read more 🡒]
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What made the night more interesting was not just the production, but what it said about how Washington is using him. Sarr has been on the floor plenty, yet his place in the offense has not always matched the value he can bring when he is involved early and often. For a team still searching for traction, giving him a bigger say in how possessions unfold could help answer more than one question at once. [Read more 🡒]
Wizards May Be Reaching A Breaking Point With Deandre Ayton
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Brian Keefe has already trimmed Aytons minutes, and the next step could be even more significant if Washington decides it needs a different look in the middle. The Wizards are trying to squeeze more value out of their center minutes as they search for answers, and Aytons place in that equation is far from settled. What happens next will say a lot about how quickly this team is willing to pivot while the losses keep piling up. [Read more 🡒]