After a light practice on Friday, the Washington Wizards hosted a scrimmage inside CareFirst Arena on Saturday afternoon
The Washington Wizards followed up a light day of practice on Friday with a closed scrimmage on Saturday, marking the first chance for head coach Brian Keefe, the coaching staff and roster to get a closer feel for what does and doesn't work while also working with new lineups before preseason shifts to regular season. Saturday also gave the Wizards a chance at a game-like atmosphere less than one week ahead of the preseason opener.
NBA referees officiated Saturday's scrimmage inside CareFirst Arena as part of the league's offseason program, while the team also turned to a PA announcer, pregame treatment and music to best simulate the game-like atmosphere, an intention that head coach Brian Keefe was pleased with.
Though Keefe pointed to the concepts taught through the first four days of training camp carrying into the scrimmage, so was the communication on defense that has remained an underlying point throughout the offseason commitment to the turnaround. Veteran forward Justin Champagnie pointed to Saturday as a chance to improve the team's conditioning ahead of game one.
"We saw that today. That was really some good growth and carryover for the first four days of emphasis," Keefe added.
While Khris Middleton was spotted not in uniform following the scrimmage after Keefe pointed to him ramping up earlier in the week, Alex Sarr remains on track for contact beginning next week after he was expectedly held out of Saturday's scrimmage. Tristan Vukcevic remains sidelined following the team's announcement of his left hip impingement, in addition to Jamir Watkins since suffering a torn ACL in the opening game of Summer League.
Saturday also gave an opportunity for Washington to work with different lineup combinations, an understandable preseason assignment with Anthony Davis and Deandre Ayton now getting comfortable with a new supporting cast amid expectations of an improved defensive team and added length and size along the roster. Now, the question for Washington is how all the pieces mesh together, and how head coach Brian Keefe handles his upgraded rotation in the first unofficial game.
"Make sure when we get on the court, we've got a finished product to show the people," Champagnie said.
The Wizards will open the preseason slate against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 8 as Keefe pointed to getting a better feel for lineup and rotation "maybe a day before" they take the floor next week. The regular season opener is set for Oct 21. with the Milwaukee Bucks headed to Capital One Arena, one of several regular season promotions the organization announced shortly before the open practice kicked off.
