Washington Actually Gave Me Something To Watch That Ain’t Just The Future

Washington went into Madison Square Garden with Trae Young, Anthony Davis and AJ Dybantsa all in the starting lineup, then actually left with a 111-109 win. I'm not putting a fucking championship banner up for a preseason victory, but after so much time talking about what the Wizards might become three years from now, it's nice to watch a version of them with actual reasons to tune in tonight. AD had 16 points and seven boards in 17 minutes, Trae had 15 and four assists in 17, and Dybantsa finished with 11, two assists and four steals in 23 minutes. Four steals for the rookie is what caught me because I already know the man can make a highlight dunk. I want to see whether his defense and decision-making show up when he ain't scoring. New York got 13 apiece from Brunson, Josh Hart and Landry Shamet, and Washington needed a late floater from Will Riley to steal the lead. That's not some perfect Wizards performance. But even the messy shit was interesting because for once the roster has a direction you can actually see.

The other thing I'm paying attention to with Washington is that I don't want this to become a bunch of guys who look great separately and never actually fit. Trae needs the ball to create. AD's most dangerous when he's catching it where he can finish or attack a mismatch. Dybantsa needs enough freedom to learn what he can get away with against grown men, but not so much that he spends an entire season dribbling into traffic. Those are very different jobs. The Knicks aren't giving you their real playoff effort in October, and those stars played short minutes, so a two-point win doesn't tell me Washington's suddenly better than New York. It tells me we have a lineup worth studying. FanDuel-wise, I want to see Trae's assist chances with AD on the receiving end and whether Dybantsa is getting defensive-stat opportunities without sitting on the bench for every rookie mistake. I'm more interested in their roles than predicting 25 a night for all three. This first look was promising. The interesting part is what survives when the games actually count.

For once Washington's future showed up and actually played.6IX / THE TAKE