Recap: Wizards fall short against Celtics in season opener, 122-102

The Wizards got torched by Jaylen Brown and the defending champs in the second half.

The Washington Wizards got torched by the defending champion Boston Celtics on opening night in Capital One Arena in a 122-102 loss. After a solid first 20 minutes, Washington’s dam broke and the Celtics started attacking the basket at will. Boston went on a 50-20 run from the 3:50 mark of the second quarter to the beginning of the 4th quarter to put Washington away. Jaylen Brown led all scorers with 27 points to go along with 8 rebounds and 4 steals. Jordan Poole had a nice outing with 26 points on 17 shots including six threes.

Unfortunately, he was the only Wizard to hit a three-point shot until garbage time. The offense generated good looks for typically good shooters, but just couldn’t put the ball in the basket. Poole went 6 of 11 from deep, while the rest of the team went 1 of 25. Patrick Baldwin Jr. notched the only three for the rest of the team late in the fourth quarter.

Alex Sarr, in his first NBA game, struggled from deep and defensively. He missed all five of his three-point attempts, all open looks. He also struggled to defend Boston’s deadly guards in the pick-and-roll. But he did get his first NBA bucket on a putback dunk and flashed his athletic ability on both ends. Bub Carrington got his first start and played fearlessly. He went down with an ankle injury that looked bad in the moment. The Wizards seem to think he will be okay.

On the bright side, Jordan Poole and Jonas Valanciunas had solid outings. Poole exploded for 17 points in the first quarter. He showed his normal array of flashy moves but also played in control for most of the first half. Poole led all players with 4 turnovers, but he balanced it out with 4 assists and 4 steals. Valanciunas is just great. He has some Marcin Gortat vibes to him. There’s nothing quite like feeding the ball into a large Eastern European man and watching him work. He finished with 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists.

The Wizards take on another Eastern Conference contender, the Cleveland Cavaliers, at home on Saturday at 7 pm. You can watch that game on Monumental Sports Network, NBA League Pass, or on Playback with your favorite Bullets Forever personalities doing the commentating!