<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/wizards-news-alex-sarr-1-wish-bilal-coulibaly-after-slam-vs-hornets');   ga('set', 'title', 'Wizards’ Alex Sarr reveals 1 wish for Bilal Coulibaly after electrifying slam vs. Hornets');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Wizards-news-Alex-Sarr-reveals-1-wish-for-Bilal-Coulibaly-after-electrifying-slam-vs.-Hornets.jpg"></figure><h1>Wizards’ Alex Sarr reveals 1 wish for Bilal Coulibaly after electrifying slam vs. Hornets</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-21T01:54:23-08:00">December 21st, 1:54am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-22T00:27:05-08:00">December 22nd, 12:27am</time><address><a>Joshua Valdez</a>Joshua Valdez started his journalism career as the Sports Editor for the Rutgers University newspaper before becoming an associate editor and Washington Wizards/Mystics reporter for ClutchPoints. He is a diehard Yankees, Jets, Knicks, Rutgers, and Tottenham Hotspur fan. When Joshua is not either watching a game or writing about one, you can find him in an art-house movie theater or working on a screenplay.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Charlotte Hornets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Washington <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nikola-jokic-career-high-performance-spoiled-with-nuggets-loss-to-wizards">Wizards had a landmark day</a> on Thursday, from start to finish. Not only did the organization release new renderings of upcoming renovations to Capital One Arena, but<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wizards-news-bilal-coulibaly-receives-espn-honor-after-strong-start-season"> Bilal Coulibaly delivered one of the best</a> dunks of the young NBA season in the 123-114 win over the Charlotte Hornets.</p><p>However, No. 2-overall pick Alex Sarr<a href="https://twitter.com/chasedcsports/status/1869957878448009414?s=46" rel="noopener"> is not satisfied,</a> via Monumental Sports Network’s Chase Hughes.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Alex Sarr had a great view of Bilal Coulibaly’s alley oop tonight: “It was very spectacular. I want to see more of that.” <a href="https://t.co/mM0RwpY4vn">pic.twitter.com/mM0RwpY4vn</a></p><p>— Chase Hughes (@chasedcsports) <a href="https://twitter.com/chasedcsports/status/1869957878448009414?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“It was pretty crazy. I thought he was gonna miss it, like I was getting ready to go get a board, but it was wild,” the French international said. “He jumped really high, it was very spectacular. I want to see more of that.”</p><p>It makes sense that Sarr doubted Coulibaly while he was in midair, as the latter Frenchman jumped as high as Michael Jordan. Coulibaly, though, <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1869930937930092851" rel="noopener">emphatically finished the alley-oop</a> after Jordan Poole tossed the lob.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Another look at Bilal Coulibaly getting ALL THE WAY up to finish the alley-oop dunk 🤯<a href="https://t.co/ubf5SfDX5x">pic.twitter.com/ubf5SfDX5x</a> <a href="https://t.co/2iAdYkAdAr">https://t.co/2iAdYkAdAr</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1869930937930092851?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>While Sarr’s “want to see more” comment was light-hearted, it’s a good point to make. Thursday was the type of day the organization needs to have periodically as it rebuilds with a new front office, coaching staff, and roster. From NBA commissioner Adam Silver announcing that future All-Star Games will be held in Washington, to Coulibaly’s viral highlight, and to winning its fourth game of the season, the day was a doozy in the best way possible. However, the Wizards must continue the momentum.</p><p>Outside of the dunk, Coulibaly posted a decent stat line of 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting, with seven rebounds and five assists. The second-year guard’s 2-of-7 clip from deep, though, leaves something to be desired, especially against a non-contending team like the Hornets.</p><p>Taking the good with the bad is what rebuilding is all about, though. While Sarr didn’t produce sexy highlights, for example, he delivered a well-rounded line of 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting (3-6 3Pt) with nine rebounds, five assists, and three blocks.</p><p>The blocks are par for the course with the seven-footer, but the efficient three-point shooting and assist numbers show that he’s growing in weaker areas of his game. He’s now shooting 37.8% from deep over his last 10 games, and it would be a revelation for Washington if he maintains that for the rest of the year.</p><p>While there’s still plenty of room to grow for both players, they deserve to celebrate whenever the trials and tribulations finally pay off in wins.</p><h2><b>Bilal Coulibaly, Wizards vets encouraged rookies during slump</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Wizards_-Bilal-Coulibaly-falling.jpg"><figcaption>© Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Thursday’s victory brought Washington to 4-21 on the year, a game and a half behind the New Orleans Pelicans (5-23) at the very bottom of the NBA standings. While this season was always about development more than winning, it’s still hard to lose so much and stay invested, especially for young players.</p><p>Coulibaly, though, is in a unique position. The 20-year-old is still new himself, but he’s already<a href="https://twitter.com/bijan_todd/status/1868474602466455804" rel="noopener"> become a mentor</a> for the Wizards’ rookies, via Monumental Sports Network’s Bijan Todd.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Bilal Coulibaly says he and the vets talk to the rookies often through the losing streak to encourage them.</p><p>“In 5 years we’re gonna look back and be like, ‘Man, it was tough,’ and we’re gonna laugh about it.”</p><p>Says the rookies are mad with the slump, but learning. <a href="https://t.co/eXltbGarnQ">pic.twitter.com/eXltbGarnQ</a></p><p>— Bijan Todd (@bijan_todd) <a href="https://twitter.com/bijan_todd/status/1868474602466455804?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 16, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“We’re trying to talk to them a lot, me, JP, all the vets,” Coulibaly said after Washington’s 112-98 loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday.<br>“We’ve been through this last year. In five years we’re gonna look back and be like ‘Man it was tough,’ and we’re gonna laugh about it. Now, we’re just gonna stay with it. It’s tough, really, tough, but that’s how you get better.”</p><p>It’s one thing for veterans such as Poole, Malcolm Brogdon, and Jonas Valanciunas to take the young bucks under their wings, as they all have established track records and know everything there is to know about playing in the NBA.</p><p>Conversely, Coulibaly is still finding his way while also guiding Sarr, Bub Carrington, and Kyshawn George. Most second-year players wouldn’t have so much mentoring responsibility, but the fact that he produces on the court while also supporting three rookies through the toughest stretches imaginable is a good sign for the franchise.</p><p>“They’re mad because we’re losing a lot, and I get it, I’m mad too,” Coulibaly continued. “But we’re just not trying to show them that we’re mad, ’cause they gotta learn from us.”</p><p>Those frustrating moments are what makes days like Thursday so much sweeter. Building character during tough times isn’t just a cliche, it results in payoffs like glorious alley-oops and Sarr unexpectedly becoming a reliable three-point shooter so early in his career, despite being drafted as a defensive player.</p><p>Now, Washington must be consistent. The club has shown flashes recently, such as Thursday’s win, a hard-fought 115-105 loss to the 24-4 Cleveland Cavaliers on December 13th, and a 122-113 victory over the Denver Nuggets on the 7th. Once they deliver these types of performances in consecutive games, the Wizards will be in the best position they could’ve hoped for at this point.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Wizards’ Alex Sarr reveals 1 wish for Bilal Coulibaly after electrifying slam vs. Hornets

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/wizards-news-alex-sarr-fires-warning-washington-nikola-jokic-matchup-2');   ga('set', 'title', 'Alex Sarr fires ‘locked in’ warning to Wizards before Nikola Jokic matchup');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Wizards-news-Alex-Sarr-fires-locked-in-warning-to-Washington-before-Nikola-Jokic-matchup.jpg"></figure><h1>Alex Sarr fires ‘locked in’ warning to Wizards before Nikola Jokic matchup</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-06T12:43:02-08:00">December 6th, 12:43pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-06T12:43:02-08:00">December 6th, 12:43pm</time><address><a>Joshua Valdez</a>Joshua Valdez started his journalism career as the Sports Editor for the Rutgers University newspaper before becoming an associate editor and Washington Wizards/Mystics reporter for ClutchPoints. He is a diehard Yankees, Jets, Knicks, Rutgers, and Tottenham Hotspur fan. When Joshua is not either watching a game or writing about one, you can find him in an art-house movie theater or working on a screenplay.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Washington <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wizards-news-alex-sarr-joins-bradley-beal-exclusive-club">Wizards rookie Alex Sarr</a> is off to a promising start, as he’s tied for seventh in the NBA with 1.9 blocks per game. However, the No. 2 overall pick will have his hands full guarding <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nuggets-news-why-another-nikola-jokic-mvp-award-is-bad-for-the-nba-per-kevin-hart">three-time MVP Nikola Jokic</a> on Saturday night.</p><p>Sarr admitted that Washington <a href="https://twitter.com/joshvaldez100/status/1865104581132165158?s=46" rel="noopener">must be ‘locked in,</a>‘ as the Serbian international is known to wreck games.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Alex Sarr mentions Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic as players he’s now faced that he watched growing up abroad. Also mentioned the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Wizards?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Wizards</a> need to be “locked in” against three-time MVP Nikolai Jokic tomorrow night. <a href="https://t.co/yxkp9IZ3JA">pic.twitter.com/yxkp9IZ3JA</a></p><p>— Joshua Valdez (@joshvaldez100) <a href="https://twitter.com/joshvaldez100/status/1865104581132165158?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 6, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“It’s gonna be interesting. I think we all gotta be locked in,” Sarr said. “He’s good in the post, so it’s really important for me to do my work early and for us to be in good rotation spots.”</p><p>The French international admitted that he could learn plenty from “The Joker,” but he’s not in a studious mood.</p><p>“Probably a lot of stuff, but I’m going into the matchup competing,” Sarr continued.</p><p>Jokic has dominated as usual this season, ranking third in the league with 29.9 points per game, first with 13.4 rebounds, second with 10.4 assists, and 16th with a 55.9% shooting clip. Both Sarr and fellow big man Jonas Valanciunas will need to be at their best to deal with such a daunting assignment, especially because Washington is banged up. Corey Kispert, Kyshawn George, and Malcolm Brogdon, who all could play help defense on Jokic if healthy, are listed as game-time decisions against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night.</p><p>Jokic is the latest in a long line of NBA stars that will go toe-to-toe with Sarr after he watched him growing up.</p><p>“Yeah, I watched a lot of players, honestly. Growing up, I used to watch a lot of NBA games,” the 19-year-old said. “I watched Kyrie [Irving], I watched Luka [Doncic], all those guys. It’s almost every night that we go up against a player I used to watch.”</p><p>With that being said, Sarr’s idols are now his rivals, and there’s no time to be sentimental when lining up against a future Hall-of-Famer.</p><h2><b>Alex Sarr has unusual amount of responsibility on Wizards</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Victor-Wembanyama-2.jpg"><figcaption>Scott Wachter-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Sarr, who was brought in for his defense and rebounding prowess,<a href="https://twitter.com/joshvaldez100/status/1865091122302709793" rel="noopener"> is performing up to</a> Washington head coach Brian Keefe’s standard.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Wizards?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Wizards</a> head coach Brian Keefe commends Alex Sarr’s rim protection and offensive rebounding against the Mavericks. The No. 2 overall pick has 17 boards and four blocks over the last two games. <a href="https://t.co/IhQG3Ztrdi">pic.twitter.com/IhQG3Ztrdi</a></p><p>— Joshua Valdez (@joshvaldez100) <a href="https://twitter.com/joshvaldez100/status/1865091122302709793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 6, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“I thought Alex did a pretty good job protecting the rim last night,” he said about Sarr’s outing in Thursday’s 137-101 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. “His plus-minus looked good when he was on the court, and I thought he found some offensive rebounds and rolls to the rim there in the second half. I thought his presence was pretty good.”</p><p>Indeed, the 7-footer’s eight rebounds were tied for the team lead, and his two blocks were business as usual, as he’s recorded a rejection in 19 of his 20 games played. His 6.3 rebounds per game are second on the Wizards only to Valanciunas.</p><p>Sarr’s scoring has been reliable as well, though, relative to his experience level. The former Australian League player is sixth among rookies with 10.6 points per game and 18th with a 38.3% clip from the field. That’s an encouraging sign for a player who wasn’t known for his offense coming into the league.</p><p>Playing professionally overseas is a legitimate way to prepare for the NBA, as players like Doncic have proven. Sarr is the latest example of that, and in his case, it’s impressive that he’s shouldering such a significant role right away. The benefit of starting on a rebuilding team like Washington is that it allows young players to get more playing time, and that can only mean good things for the defensive stalwart.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Alex Sarr fires ‘locked in’ warning to Wizards before Nikola Jokic matchup

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/wizards-news-alex-sarr-joins-bradley-beal-exclusive-club');   ga('set', 'title', 'Wizards’ Alex Sarr gets hype train going after joining Bradley Beal in exclusive club');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Wizards-news-Alex-Sarr-gets-hype-train-going-after-joining-Bradley-Beal-in-exclusive-club.jpg"></figure><h1>Wizards’ Alex Sarr gets hype train going after joining Bradley Beal in exclusive club</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-26T22:07:23-08:00">November 26th, 10:07pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-26T22:07:47-08:00">November 26th, 10:07pm</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>There have already been a few surprises in the NBA this season, most notably the combustion of the Philadelphia 76ers and the 8-10 start by the feisty Brooklyn Nets, but the campaign is unfortunately going as anticipated for the Washington Wizards (2-14). The beleaguered franchise is alone in last place with a 2-14 record, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wizards-news-kyle-kuzma-makes-punched-face-admission-after-loss-pistons">suffering through</a> a 12-game losing streak. Alex Sarr is emitting some light amid the seemingly endless darkness, however.</p><p>The rookie center is growing more comfortable on the court by the night. He posted 20 points, seven rebounds, one steal and one block while knocking down 4-of-5 attempts from 3-point range in a 127-108 loss to the Chicago Bulls. He made sure to give the home crowd in Capital One Arena something to smile about by displaying more promise and <a href="https://twitter.com/StatMamba/status/1861598921669099746" rel="noopener">etching his name in franchise history</a>.</p><p>Sarr joins three-time All-Star Bradley Beal and teammate Bilal Coulibaly as the only teenagers to record multiple 20-point games for the Wizards, per StatMamba. Calamity still awaits Washington and its fans, but the No. 2 overall pick is giving them a reason to believe that a turnaround may one day come.</p><h2><b>Can Alex Sarr eventually help end the Wizards’ misery?<br></b></h2><p>Sarr practically secured himself a spot on this team through <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hawks-news-alex-sarr-breaks-silence-on-rejecting-atlanta-pre-draft-workout-request">his pre-draft actions</a> and is now determined to quickly become a building block of the next era of Wizards basketball. He was averaging 10.0 points on only 36 percent shooting ahead of Tuesday night’s matchup, but he is starting to find his way in The Association.</p><p>Alongside French countryman Coulibaly, Corey Kispert and fellow rookie Kyshawn George, the 19-year-old big man is looking to resuscitate the ailing franchise. If and when Kyle Kuzma (game-high 23 points against Bulls) and Jordan Poole are shipped out for more future assets, Alex Sarr should be asked to lead the Wizards.</p><p>But for now, his main <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wizards-news-alex-sarr-confident-take-offensive-development">focus needs to be on development</a>. Although a milestone is nice, he and his teammates are starving for a win. They will try to secure one on Wednesday versus the incoming Los Angeles Clippers (11-8).</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Wizards’ Alex Sarr gets hype train going after joining Bradley Beal in exclusive club

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/wizards-news-alex-sarr-confident-take-offensive-development');   ga('set', 'title', 'Wizards rookie Alex Sarr’s confident take on offensive development');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Alex-Sarr-%E2%80%98feels-confident-about-offensive-performance-after-showing-flashes.jpg"></figure><h1>Wizards rookie Alex Sarr’s confident take on offensive development</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-16T15:21:04-08:00">November 16th, 3:21pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-16T15:21:58-08:00">November 16th, 3:21pm</time><address><a>Joshua Valdez</a>Joshua Valdez started his journalism career as the Sports Editor for the Rutgers University newspaper before becoming an associate editor and Washington Wizards/Mystics reporter for ClutchPoints. He is a diehard Yankees, Jets, Knicks, Rutgers, and Tottenham Hotspur fan. When Joshua is not either watching a game or writing about one, you can find him in an art-house movie theater or working on a screenplay.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Washington <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wizards-news-alex-sarr-defense-draws-jonas-valanciunas-best-league-admission">Wizards rookie Alex Sarr</a> is already an elite rim protector, as he’s tied for fourth in the NBA with 2.4 blocks per game thus far. However, the French international is also excited about his offensive game.</p><p>Sarr<a href="https://twitter.com/joshvaldez100/status/1854275839422320711?s=46" rel="noopener"> gave a self-evaluation</a> for that side of the ball thus far at practice.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">I asked Alex Sarr how he feels about his offensive game this far…he said he’s “improving every game” and “confident about it” <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/wizards?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#wizards</a> <a href="https://t.co/NChmoR0RfB">pic.twitter.com/NChmoR0RfB</a></p><p>— Joshua Valdez (@joshvaldez100) <a href="https://twitter.com/joshvaldez100/status/1854275839422320711?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 6, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“I feel like I’m improving every game, finding my spots, learning where to attack, so I’m pretty confident about it,” he said.</p><p>Sarr has 10.5 points per game on 36.5% shooting this year with 2.2 assists, including a 21.2% clip from beyond the arc and 71.4% from the charity stripe. The No. 2 overall pick scored a career-high 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting (3-4 3pt) in Friday’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wizards-news-brian-keefe-no-1-priority-development-of-alex-sarr-washington-rookies">Sarr was primarily drafted for his defense</a>, and he’s been up to the task on that side of the ball. In addition to his blocking prowess, the 19-year old has recorded a steal in seven of his 11 games played thus far, peaking with three swipes against the Hawks on Friday.</p><p>If Sarr can develop into an upper-echelon scoring big man as well, though, he’ll be a franchise cornerstone for years to come.</p><h2><b>Wizards couldn’t have hoped for a better start by Alex Sarr</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/dribbles-around-Washington-Wizards-forward-Alex-Sarr-12.jpg"><figcaption>© Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Although the season is still young, Sarr has already improved his shooting efficiency. The seven-foot, 205-pounder shot 29.7% from the field in October, but has a 39.7% mark thus far in November.</p><p>Wizards head coach Brian Keefe gushed over Sarr’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YXsFsu5ytg" rel="noopener">effort against the</a> Hawks, via the team’s YouTube channel.</p><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><p>“I think one of the things that was great about Alex was his activity,” Keefe said. “Steals, blocked shots, offensive rebounding. Sometimes that just leads to you getting some good shots.”</p><p>In addition to his 20 points and four steals, Sarr also had seven rebounds, two assists, and three blocks across 31 minutes. It was not only the lottery pick’s best outing of his young career, but it was an early example of his potential to impact the game in multiple ways, even when he doesn’t shoot the lights out every night.</p><p>“I think the one thing that’s great about Alex is that he does not waver and he has never wavered since I’ve been around him,” Keefe continued. “He continues to play, he continues to compete. Shot doesn’t go in, it doesn’t affect how he plays on the other end. This is a guy who can move on to the next possession. It’s really mature for someone his age to be able to do that. It’s a great quality that he has.”</p><p>It’s easy for young players to be sheepish when they don’t always light up the scoreboard. However, thanks to his confidence and dedication, Sarr has still been an effective rebounder and defender even when the shots haven’t fallen. As a result, he’s able to have nights like he did on Friday.</p><p>“You got to keep shooting at the end of the day,” Sarr said. “I feel like you just got to stay confident in your game.”</p><p>Any player drafted as a lottery pick has talent in spades, but what separates the best ones is their mental fortitude. Sarr has already shown the ability to bounce back from nights like Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs, when he made just two of nine shots as superstar big man Victor Wembanyama registered his first career 50-point game.</p><p>Washington may be struggling at 2-9, but these flashes from young players like Sarr show that the rebuild is right on schedule.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Wizards rookie Alex Sarr’s confident take on offensive development

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/hawks-news-zaccharie-risacher-embarrasses-alex-sarr-battle-top-2-nba-draft-picks');   ga('set', 'title', 'Hawks’ Zaccharie Risacher embarrasses Alex Sarr in battle of top 2 NBA Draft picks');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Zaccharie-Risacher-embarrasses-Alex-Sarr-in-battle-of-top-2-NBA-Draft-picks.jpg"></figure><h1>Hawks’ Zaccharie Risacher embarrasses Alex Sarr in battle of top 2 NBA Draft picks</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-30T19:31:09-07:00">October 30th, 7:31pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-30T19:31:09-07:00">October 30th, 7:31pm</time><address><a>Michael Aaron Gomez</a>Michael Aaron Gomez is a creative writer and longtime NBA fan. He has been a fan of the Lakers since the three-peat but believes LeBron James is the greatest player of all time.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Atlanta Hawks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Washington Wizards swept their home-and-home series against the Atlanta Hawks, 133-120, on Wednesday behind a career-high 27 points from Bilal Coulibaly and a massive 16-4 run to begin the fourth period. Despite Trae Young’s 35 points and 15 assists, the shorthanded Hawks didn’t have enough gas to take the game when it mattered. Still, at least Hawks rookie and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hawks-2024-nba-draft-grade-for-zaccharie-risacher">No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher</a> got one over on Wizards rookie and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wizards-2024-nba-draft-grades-every-pick">No. 2 overall pick Alex Sarr</a> with a filthy up-and-under move in the first quarter.</p><p>Check out Risacher’s filthy post move against Sarr in this clip shared by ClutchPoints on X, formerly Twitter.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Zaccharie Risacher with the SMOOTH pivot on Alex Sarr for the bucket 🔥<a href="https://t.co/ZukEHP7Zou">pic.twitter.com/ZukEHP7Zou</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1851770554711171094?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Wizards def. Hawks despite Young’s big night</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Zaccharie-Risacher-shooting-over-a-defender.jpg"><figcaption>© Dale Zanine-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Hawks were without defensive guard Dyson Daniels and sharpshooter <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hawks-news-bogdan-bogdanovic-out-four-weeks">Bogdan Bogdanovic, out with a hamstring injury</a> for at least four weeks. Moreover, wingman De’Andre Hunter also missed the game with a knee issue.</p><p>Meanwhile, the Wizards played without one of their best players, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wizards-news-kyle-kuzma-out-hawks-groin-strain">Kyle Kuzma, out with a right groin strain</a>. Despite the injuries, Young had a big night and helped his team outscore the Wiz in the first half, while Jalen Johnson exploded for 21 points and 17 rebounds on 9-21 shooting.</p><p>Young didn’t shoot the ball well, going only 12-28 from the field and 4-13 from the three-point line, but he received some support from Johnson and Zaccharie Risacher, who poured in 17 points for the Hawks.</p><p>However, turnovers in the third quarter caught up to the Hawks and gave the Wizards easy points, giving them enough momentum to break the game open in the fourth.</p><p>“I think <a href="https://www.peachtreehoops.com/2024/10/29/24282560/jalen-johnson-atlanta-hawks-washington-wizards-quotes-video-analysis" rel="noopener">we were battling fatigue</a>, is the best thing I could say,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said, via Graham Chapple for Peach Tree Hoops. “They were set in their defense, we were playing set defense a lot. Their length bothered us some.”</p><p>Likewise, Young lamented the injuries that depleted their roster for the game.</p><p>“It’s not great, it’s not fun. Obviously, I wish my team was full and healthy,” the All-Star guard said. “Wish I could have everybody out there with me…but they’re not and we’ve got to figure it out.”</p><p>Ultimately, the battle of the top rookies ended in Zaccharie Risacher’s favor, as Alex Sarr scored only 11 points on 3-9 shooting.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Hawks’ Zaccharie Risacher embarrasses Alex Sarr in battle of top 2 NBA Draft picks

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/wizards-news-alex-sarr-defense-draws-jonas-valanciunas-best-league-admission');   ga('set', 'title', 'Wizards rookie Alex Sarr’s defense draws Jonas Valanciunas ‘best in the league’ admission');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Wizards-news-Alex-Sarrs-defense-draws-Jonas-Valanciunas-best-in-the-league-admission.jpg"></figure><h1>Wizards rookie Alex Sarr’s defense draws Jonas Valanciunas ‘best in the league’ admission</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-26T14:22:59-07:00">October 26th, 2:22pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-26T14:22:59-07:00">October 26th, 2:22pm</time><address><a>Joshua Valdez</a>Joshua Valdez started his journalism career as the Sports Editor for the Rutgers University newspaper before becoming an associate editor and Washington Wizards/Mystics reporter for ClutchPoints. He is a diehard Yankees, Jets, Knicks, Rutgers, and Tottenham Hotspur fan. When Joshua is not either watching a game or writing about one, you can find him in an art-house movie theater or working on a screenplay.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Washington <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wizards-news-jordan-poole-cant-stand-alex-sarr-slander">Wizards No. 2 overall pick Alex Sarr</a> didn’t stuff the stat sheet in Thursday night’s 122-102 loss to the Boston Celtics, but he showed flashes of the exciting potential that made him a top prospect. Veteran big man <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wizards-news-jonas-valanciunas-drops-alex-sarr-truth-bomb-stopping-celtics">Jonas Valanciunas already thinks</a> that the French international is one of the league’s best rim protectors.</p><p>Valanciunas said that Sarr <a href="https://twitter.com/joshvaldez100/status/1849875741917302865?s=46" rel="noopener">knows how to</a> “read the game.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">I asked Jonas Valanciunas what he thought of Alex Sarr’s defensive performance against the Celtics. He said Sarr’s shot blocking ability is “one of the best in the league.” <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/wizards?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#wizards</a> <a href="https://t.co/6aJMjDFPoE">pic.twitter.com/6aJMjDFPoE</a></p><p>— Joshua Valdez (@joshvaldez100) <a href="https://twitter.com/joshvaldez100/status/1849875741917302865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 25, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“His shot-blocking ability is one of the best in the league. He’s still a young player, still growing, still learning, you know, in the gym all the time,” the 32-year-old said. “You know, shot-blocking is about reading the game, you know, about the sense. He’s got that, and he’s going up from there.”</p><p>Sarr had two blocks and four defensive rebounds across 22 minutes against the defending champion Celtics, while also guarding Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on the perimeter. The 19-year-old’s next test comes against Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Evan Mobley on Saturday night, a big man who can handle the ball and score on all three levels.</p><p>However, Valanciunas will be there to help when needed. Washington’s pair of a promising rookie and a grizzled veteran at the four and five spots balances fresh legs with experience and high basketball IQ, something that’ll benefit both Sarr’s development and the team’s defense as a whole.</p><p>Valanciunas hit the ground running on Thursday, scoring 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting with five rebounds and two assists across 20 minutes off the bench. Washington went with a small starting lineup, using three guards with Kyle Kuzma at power forward and Sarr at center. However, with the Cavaliers’ big-man duo of Mobley and Jarrett Allen, expect Valanciunas to get more minutes.</p><h2><b>Jonas Valanciunas is a vital piece for Wizards</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Karl-Anthony-Town-goes-for-a-dunk.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Valanciunas is not only a valuable rim protector, but his screen-setting on offense helps generate open looks for his teammates. The 6-foot-11, 265-pounder is essentially a brick wall for whoever he’s screening for.</p><p>Second-year shooting guard Bilal Coulibaly loves having Valanciunas<a href="https://x.com/bijan_todd/status/1849130931489038587?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1849130931489038587%7Ctwgr%5Ed88eee469a1e8b0e797d13de04f16dad9cd7a604%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwp.clutchpoints.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D3093022action%3Dedit" rel="noopener"> at his disposal,</a> via Monumental Sports Network’s Bijan Todd.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Bilal Coulibaly LOVES playing with Jonas Valanciunas.</p><p>“He’s a force. Whenever he sets a screen for me, I feel like I’m wide open right after.” <a href="https://t.co/GpQbfEtLHq">pic.twitter.com/GpQbfEtLHq</a></p><p>— Bijan Todd (@bijan_todd) <a href="https://twitter.com/bijan_todd/status/1849130931489038587?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“Oh, he’s a force, like whenever he sets a screen for me, I feel like I’m wide-open right after,” the French international said. “Whenever he sets a screen to me, I’m like damn, I can’t get over it. So yeah, he’s a force…”</p><p>Coulibaly is one of several young Wizards still finding his way in the NBA, so having a big man like Valanciunas to help him get open is an invaluable asset. The 20-year-old struggled to find open looks against Boston, scoring just eight points on 1-for-2 shooting across 30 minutes, although he did have six rebounds and six assists.</p><p>However, Valanciunas’ role isn’t all about helping his teammates develop. The Lithuanian international must also produce individually for Washington to find success, especially against tough matchups like Allen on Saturday night. The 6-foot-9, 243-pounder already has five blocks through just two games and is one of the NBA’s best rim protectors.</p><p>Valanciunas, though, is a good bet to be an efficient shooter around the rim and a dependable rebounder. The 2011 fifth-overall pick averaged 12.2 points on 55.9% shooting with 8.8 rebounds across 23.5 minutes per game for the New Orleans Pelicans last season. Having such a high-percentage shooter provides a good safety net for a Wizards offense which often has peaks and valleys.</p><p>Valanciunas may not be around for the end of Washington’s rebuild, but there’s no question that he’s one of its most important helping hands at the moment.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Wizards rookie Alex Sarr’s defense draws Jonas Valanciunas ‘best in the league’ admission

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/wizards-news-jordan-poole-cant-stand-alex-sarr-slander');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why Wizards’ Jordan Poole can’t stand Alex Sarr ‘slander’');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Wizards-news-Why-Jordan-Poole-cant-stand-Alex-Sarr-slander.jpg"></figure><h1>Why Wizards’ Jordan Poole can’t stand Alex Sarr ‘slander’</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-24T22:51:25-07:00">October 24th, 10:51pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-24T22:51:25-07:00">October 24th, 10:51pm</time><address><a>Joshua Valdez</a>Joshua Valdez started his journalism career as the Sports Editor for the Rutgers University newspaper before becoming an associate editor and Washington Wizards/Mystics reporter for ClutchPoints. He is a diehard Yankees, Jets, Knicks, Rutgers, and Tottenham Hotspur fan. When Joshua is not either watching a game or writing about one, you can find him in an art-house movie theater or working on a screenplay.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Washington <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wizards-news-alex-sarr-roasted-hideous-summer-league-game-numbers">Wizards rookie Alex Sarr was criticized</a> for his shooting woes in NBA Summer League, and the naysayers may get louder now that he shot 1-for-7 against the Boston Celtics in his NBA debut on Thursday night. However, veteran point guard Jordan Poole won’t have it.</p><p>Poole <a href="https://twitter.com/bijan_todd/status/1848800766015787286?s=46" rel="noopener">discussed his distaste</a> for Sarr slander at Tuesday’s practice, via Monumental Sports Network’s Bijan Todd.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Interesting quote from Jordan Poole on Alex Sarr.</p><p>Noted that “everybody was slandering him” coming out of Summer League, but he looked way better the instant he started meshing with vets.</p><p>“Our job [as vets] is to make the game easier for you.” <a href="https://t.co/Kpv00yHegX">pic.twitter.com/Kpv00yHegX</a></p><p>— Bijan Todd (@bijan_todd) <a href="https://twitter.com/bijan_todd/status/1848800766015787286?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“Something that I told him earlier, it’s funny because right when he got to the league everybody was slandering him talking about his Summer League performances, blah, blah, blah,” Poole said. “I was telling him that when you get on the court with other NBA guys and guys on your team, our job is to make the game easier for you.”</p><p>With Sarr being just 19 years old, it’ll take time for him to adjust to the top level, especially against an elite <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wizards-news-brian-keefe-plans-emulate-celtics-success-rebuild">opponent like the Celtics</a>. However, veterans like Poole, Jonas Valanciunas, and Kyle Kuzma will help guide him through the storm.</p><p>Eventually, Sarr will be able to take advantage when said veterans have hot shooting nights, as defenses will eventually key in on stopping those players, thus creating more open looks for the rookie. In Thursday’s case, it was Poole’s show, as the former Golden State Warrior registered 26 points on 9-17 shooting, including 17 in the first quarter.</p><p>Poole explained how he’ll help Sarr settle into the offense.</p><p>“I think in the Toronto [Raptors] game when we played, you kinda saw the same thing, if you’re in ball screens with me, teams are gonna chase over, and a lot of the bigs are gonna press up heavy, so you’ll have opportunities to get your catch-and-shoots in the pocket, get your catch-and-shoots on the three and also get out in transition ’cause he’s mobile, he can run, he’s athletic,” Poole continued.</p><p>“He’s been good, he’s asking a lot of questions. I think he’s getting more comfortable playing multiple positions. I’m really excited for him…”</p><p>Poole isn’t only excited about Sarr, though.</p><h2><b>Jordan Poole praised Wizards rookies after Celtics loss</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Jrue-Holiday-and-Derrick-White.jpg"><figcaption>Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Fellow Washington rookie Bub Carrington was a talking point after the game. The Pitt alum showed flashes, recording two blocks and playing tight defense on Jrue Holiday before going down with an ankle sprain.</p><p>Poole<a href="https://twitter.com/bijan_todd/status/1849645575567716848" rel="noopener"> discussed how proud he was</a> of Carrington and the unit as a whole, via Todd.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jordan Poole loves what he’s been seeing from the Wizards’ rookies and gave some long, thoughtful answers on them.</p><p>Some words he used: fearless, weren’t afraid to guard anybody, very connected as a group… <a href="https://t.co/50c7t5SVGg">pic.twitter.com/50c7t5SVGg</a></p><p>— Bijan Todd (@bijan_todd) <a href="https://twitter.com/bijan_todd/status/1849645575567716848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 25, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“I think something that’s really special about this team is especially with our young guys and a lot of our older guys is that we’re fearless. I like how Bub right away in the first quarter was battling with Jrue,” Poole said. “He’s bumping Jrue, nothing easy, he’ll take a hard foul. We’ve got guys who aren’t afraid to back down.”</p><p>The rookie trio of Sarr, Carrington, and Kyshawn George didn’t light up the box score, as they collectively scored just nine points. However, what matters is that they each showed signs of promise and got vital experience. It doesn’t hurt to have Poole’s leadership, either.</p><p>“If you wanna be good, if you wanna continue to stay in this league for a long time, you’ve gotta have confidence in yourself. I’m telling them that I’m behind them every time, and I think we’re really connected as a unit,” Poole continued. “It’s good to have guys that are fearless, and once we start getting a little bit more games in and a little bit more comfortable, I think we’ll start putting all the pieces together.”</p><p>Speaking of being fearless, Sarr scored his first NBA points on a put-back dunk after a block on the other end, and George had a two-hand slam of his own while also getting defensive experience against Boston superstar Jayson Tatum.</p><p>“They both really did well. Ky, he’s been really good, really good. Impressive over the last couple of months just watching him play, watching him grow,” Poole continued. “He really wants to learn, really wants to get better. He looks comfortable out there to me. He’s built to guard whoever’s the best player, and same thing for Alex.”</p><p>For now, Wizards fans can expect defensive promise with occasional flashes on offense from the rookies. It takes time to put it all together, and Poole won’t rush their process.</p><p>“Obviously there’s a learning curve with every single player that comes into the league, but luckily enough for them they get to learn on the court. They get to learn in in-game experiences, and that’ll be so big for them down the line,” the 25-year-old said.</p><p>“I just told Alex that I’ll continue to be in his ear and build confidence in him, ’cause we all know how good he can be, we all know how good Kyshawn can be, we all know how good Bub can be. I’m excited just to help them and be apart of their process.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why Wizards’ Jordan Poole can’t stand Alex Sarr ‘slander’

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/wizards-news-jonas-valanciunas-drops-alex-sarr-truth-bomb-stopping-celtics');   ga('set', 'title', 'Wizards’ Jonas Valanciunas drops Alex Sarr truth bomb on stopping Celtics');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Jonas-Valanciunas-drops-Alex-Sarr-truth-bomb-on-stopping-Celtics.jpg"></figure><h1>Wizards’ Jonas Valanciunas drops Alex Sarr truth bomb on stopping Celtics</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-23T17:03:38-07:00">October 23rd, 5:03pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-23T17:59:18-07:00">October 23rd, 5:59pm</time><address><a>Joshua Valdez</a>Joshua Valdez started his journalism career as the Sports Editor for the Rutgers University newspaper before becoming an associate editor and Washington Wizards/Mystics reporter for ClutchPoints. He is a diehard Yankees, Jets, Knicks, Rutgers, and Tottenham Hotspur fan. When Joshua is not either watching a game or writing about one, you can find him in an art-house movie theater or working on a screenplay.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Washington Wizards host the Boston Celtics to open their regular season slate in one of their hardest tests of the year on Thursday night. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-broadcast-trolls-lakers-mickey-mouse-title">defending-champion Celtics</a> are coming off of a nearly record-setting shooting performance against the New York Knicks, but Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas thinks that he and Alex Sarr can slow them down.</p><p>Valanciunas <a href="https://twitter.com/joshvaldez100/status/1849159582989406656?s=46" rel="noopener">explained why he’s confident</a> at Wednesday’s practice.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jonas Valanciunas on him and Alex Sarr matching up against the Celtics defensively:</p><p>“Alex is a really athletic guy, he can block shots…I’m bringing physicality, controlling the paint…I don’t like to talk before the fact, we gotta do it first, right?”<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/wizards?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#wizards</a> <a href="https://t.co/Hxs3U82owx">pic.twitter.com/Hxs3U82owx</a></p><p>— Joshua Valdez (@joshvaldez100) <a href="https://twitter.com/joshvaldez100/status/1849159582989406656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“You know, Alex is a really athletic guy. He can block shots, he can add a lot with his length,” Valanciunas said. “Steals, being in passing lanes, long arms poking at the ball. Defensively, he’s perfect. I’m bringing physicality, controlling the paint. We’ll see. I don’t like to talk before the fact, we gotta do it first, right?”</p><p>While Valanciunas is going into his 14th season, Sarr will make his NBA debut. The No. 2 overall pick from this past summer won’t have it easy, as he’ll likely guard five-time All-Star Jayson Tatum at the power forward spot. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-jayson-tatum-goes-viral-amid-hot-start-vs-knicks">Tatum was unconscious against the Knicks</a>, scoring 37 points on 14-of-18 shooting, including 8-of-11 from deep, with 10 assists and four rebounds. Boston made 29 three-pointers as a team, tying the NBA single-game record.</p><p>Valanciunas, though, <a href="https://x.com/joshvaldez100/status/1849146825770410267?s=46" rel="noopener">kept things in perspective</a> for Washington’s rookies.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jonas Valanciunas on advice for the Wizards’ rookies making their NBA debuts tomorrow night against the defending-champion Celtics </p><p>“It’s a beautiful day to play”<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/wizards?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#wizards</a> <a href="https://t.co/6C9Mi9BkMc">pic.twitter.com/6C9Mi9BkMc</a></p><p>— Joshua Valdez (@joshvaldez100) <a href="https://twitter.com/joshvaldez100/status/1849146825770410267?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“It’s a beautiful day to play. It’s a really good team coming in, defending champions. Can’t ask for anything better,” Valanciunas said.</p><p>Valanciunas’ celebratory mindset is appropriate here. Sarr, as well as fellow rookies Bub Carrington and Kyshawn George, have worked their entire lives for this moment, and this game will be an unforgettable moment in their lives.</p><p>Pre-game nerves are understandable, but Sarr and company can ill-afford to be sheepish on the floor against a team of the Celtics’ caliber. Will Washington’s young group hold its own?</p><h2><b>Celtics present major test for Alex Sarr, Wizards</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/07-18-24-sarr-french-image.jpeg"><figcaption>© Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>One major factor that will help Washington is the absence of Boston center Kristaps Porzingis, who’s out with a foot injury. The 7-foot-2, 240-pounder averaged 20.1 points on 51.6% shooting with 7.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game last year and would’ve made life more difficult for the Wizards on both ends. Instead, Valanciunas will match up with Al Horford, who normally comes off the bench at this stage of his career.</p><p>While Valanciunas is mobile enough to defend the perimeter, expect him to stay down low more often than not in case Tatum drives past Sarr on the outside. The seven-foot, 205-pound Sarr has the talent and physical attributes to keep up with the Celtics’ star, but Tatum’s experience and craftiness will be tough for the rookie to handle consistently. As a result, Horford may get open looks from deep, which Washington must live with.</p><p>If Sarr does a credible job defensively, though, it’ll be a great first step for him. The French international was brought in primarily for his defense, and having a respectable outing against the class of the league right off the bat is nothing to take lightly.</p><p>However, basketball is a team sport, and Valanciunas’ presence will be vital to Sarr’s development. This game will be the first of many in which two big men at opposite points in their respective careers will partner up both in the paint and on the perimeter, protecting the rim and contesting shots as much as possible. Even if Thursday’s game doesn’t go as the two would like, it’s only the first episode of a long series.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
11.2	6.4	2.1	1.8	0.8

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
11.2	6.4	2.1	1.8	0.8

Alex Sarr news

Alex
Sarr news