The Washington Wizards hired Scott Brooks in May so the head coach could help the team regain their elite defensive identity. That much wasn’t evident after the first two preseason games.
Washington’s preseason opener, in particular, wasn’t pleasant.
Hassan Whiteside scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in just over 20 minutes of action. Whiteside, who isn’t known for his scoring, got easy baskets inside without much resistance.
Trey Burke and Tomas Satoransky allowed Goran Dragic and Briante Weber to get in the paint, dumping the ball off to the Miami bigs virtually every time up the court.