No One Gives the Wizards the Ball in the Corner and Why That Is The Case
I watched 'Dirty Dancing' again. It still holds up.
Transparently, I have a soft-spot for Wes Unseld Jr. It is not because he was a good coach — he was still better than people given him credit. However, he acknowledged the Washington Wizards were bad. Without WUJ, we likely do not get this tank. If his legacy is ‘Made Ted Leonsis realize they should blow it up,’ build the statue.
One of my favorite things about Wes Unseld Jr was the dreaded “Wes Unseld Jr corner.” For forwards under Wes Unseld Jr, it was a rite of passage to be put into the corner. Rui Hachimura would be first, Deni Avdija and Kyle Kuzma would also see minutes in the corner. Even Bilal Coulibaly would get the corner treatment — in fact, he would be the only Wizard last season to record more corner threes (109) than above the break threes (89).
Now, the Wizards’ have not been a heavy proponent of the corner three. Not even under Wes Unseld Jr and not even under Scott Brooks towards the end of his tenure with the team1.
But this year, it has felt as if the shot selection has been removed from the Wizards’ strategic playbook. As noted above, they’re recording the fewest corner three attempts in the NBA — which is notable given the team shoots the 12th most three point attempts in the NBA this season. And we can actually see the change when in individuals.
A lot of reasons can go into why this is the case. For the importance of context and conversation, we nail it down to two (and a half) here.
The Pass Out
In the NBA right now, at 3:27 PM on Monday2, Mikal Bridges leads the NBA in corner three attempts. It isn’t breaking news that Bridges loves the corner three — he was second in the NBA last season with the Brooklyn Nets. The Knicks understand the general comfort of Bridges operating out of the corner but also have a great understanding of how to find him. The easiest of which is simple basketball rotation around the perimeter. If you just rotate the ball around the horn, at some point, it gets to the corner.
Then, there is the more common answer of the ball getting into the corner: off of the drive. Like a moth to a flame, defenders will commonly collapse on an opponent once they make it into the paint. And if you have just enough body control and spatial awareness, a player can punish and kick it out to the corner for a three point look.
The Wizards lack that second part most of the time.
If we think about the Wizards’ driving statistics for the season, they tell a story. On their 48 drives per game this season, they’re passing out 38.4% of the time (15th) and recording an assist 8.8% of the time (19th most). They’re actually the second worst team in the NBA when it comes to recording points on the drive this season — 49.7% of the time.
We also have to look at the heavy hitters and their decision making. Right now, the leaders for the Wizards are Kuzma, Poole and Coulibaly — not necessarily a surprise given how often they find the ball in their hands. And it isn’t necessarily a surprise that all three are sub-35%3when it comes to pass rate. Only seven players in the NBA who are averaging more than 10+ drives per game have above a 50% pass-out rate.
If the Wizards’ heavy hitters are not passing it out on the drive, it removes a key component to what makes the corner three point attempt probable. But like a mystery television show that wants to have a second season and hasn’t been renewed yet, there’s more to the story. Because on one hand, you can look at someone like Kyle Kuzma and just think, ‘he’s hogging the ball.’ But what if the system in place is also playing a role in things?
The ‘No Point Guard’ Problem
Spoiler alert: the system is part of the problem.
Again, the Washington Wizards were not one of the leaders in the league last season when it came to corner three attempts. But, it is always a little fun to look at differences when a player is in versus when a player is not in.
Still holding onto the idea that Tyus Jones was good for the Washington Wizards and important for the offense, I bring forth this cherry picked statistic: the Wizards’ three point breakdown with and without Tyus Jones.
I reference this statistic mostly in jest however it does feel important to acknowledge that without Tyus Jones, above the break three point attempts became more common to a noticeable margin. The Washington Wizards are a very frustrating team in the sense that they lack a good half court offense, a result of lacking a good manager despite propaganda that Jordan Poole averaging 20+ attempts per contest and a 4.6:3.3 assist to turnover ratio is suitable point guard material.
Without Tyus Jones this season and without Malcom Brogdon to start it, the Wizards have undergone a “point guard by committee” approach — which is complicated in its own right. To compensate, the Wizards are not a heavy isolation team — in fact, they run the fewest isolation possessions in the NBA. However, they do love to overload one side of the floor.
Here’s a sample set-piece: Bub Carrington brings the ball up the floor while the remainder of the Wizards stack the opposite end. It offers a lot of options — a potential isolation possession, a call for a screen, or a swing to the top of the zone to operate a more traditional offense. In this particular possession, Carrington swings it to Kuzma — who now has the option to operate the two-man game with Alex Sarr. Because the Spurs have to respect the two-man game, it gives Kispert just enough space to hit the three
Here’s another example, same game, similar set, different pacing. Kyshawn George gets the ball on the wing with the Wizards once again overloading the left side of the floor. Kispert retreats, to give George space in isolation but that isn’t their intention. Instead, Kispert steps into the shot at the top of the key.
Now, there is one player on the Wizards who does appreciate the ways of the corner. Not all that surprising, it is Bub Carrington. Maybe it is the greenness, not tainted by the ways of the NBA game. But he’s consistently been looking for and willing to pass to the corner — whether it be through the half court or off of the drive.
But in general, the Wizards operate primarily between the lines of the paint. The spacing on the floor in general removes that line of sight into the corner. Instead, it leads to a lot of muddling at the top of the zone, bailing out a possession with an above the break three.
The Change As Told By Corey Kispert
This is the half.
Last season, Kispert averaged 1.6 corner threes per contest. This season, he’s averaging 0.7. If something is wrong with the Wizards offense or has changed, a safe bet is always to look at Corey Kispert. Thanks to the conveniently titled YouTube video, we can see his corner three makes.
There are a few things interesting to notice in this highlight package:
The off-ball screens.
How both corners are occupied — versus only one.
Corey Kispert used to be in the corner a lot.
It brings us to the easier answer: the Wizards just aren’t looking for the corner three anymore. They are not calling plays for the corner. They play for pace and it is a lot easier to get to the top of the key than it is to get to the corner. It makes sense — the corner three, again, wasn’t really this popular look for a lot of teams, rather a niche interest that sort of blew up with the investment into three point shooting.
But what is disappointing is how it was once used by Wes Unseld Jr as this developmental piece for players to find their stroke from deep. They rank 23rd in the NBA in overall three point shooting. And their above the break tendency feels like one of laziness rather than intention. The pull-up three pointer from Jordan Poole or Kyle Kuzma before the offense can be set. The wide open look for Alex Sarr because no one is going to guard him from behind the arch.
It is not the only problem when it comes to the Washington Wizards. But it is the one that highlights that there are levels to the dysfunction of the Wizards. That a simplistic kick-out on a drive is now less feasible or one of interest.
And that maybe, just maybe, a game manager might be important.
Fun fact that I wanted to include in a footnote because (a) I found out that Substack has foot note functionality and (b) is a tangent to the conversation: The corner three is more of a recent trend when it comes to basketball. In 2018-19, the Wizards’ 7.6 attempts from the corner was 9th most in the NBA. Last season, 7.6 was the third fewest in the NBA by the Philadelphia 76ers.
If you are the partner overseeing engagement, this was actually at 3:27 AM.
Kuzma’s 24.3% pass rate is not good.