Markieff Morris

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On Tuesday night, the Wizards acquired guard Austin Rivers from the Clippers in exchange for center Marcin Gortat.

Rivers, 25, just finished his sixth NBA season after spending time with the Hornets/Pelicans and Clippers. The son of Clippers head coach Doc Rivers was a five-star player out of Winter Park, FL and the No. 1 player in the Class of 2011. The younger Rivers would go on to play at Duke for one season before being selected No. 10 by New Orleans.

The 6’4” guard averaged career-highs in 15.1 points, 4.0 assists, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game during the 2017-18 season with the Clippers. Rivers improved his 3-point shot during his three seasons in Los Angeles, making a career-high 37.8% from beyond the arc last season. He took 5.9 3-pointers per game last season, which will bode well as the Wizards want to attempt more triples in the 2018-19 season.

"Acquiring Austin gives us another versatile, experienced player who provides scoring and playmaking,” said Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld. “He is coming off a career year and his ability to create offense for himself and others will help our second unit and allow us to play a variety of lineups throughout the season.”

A combo guard, Rivers has decent size and gives the Wizards another ball handler. He can play off the ball, knock down 3-pointers, and finish at the rim. Rivers can create his own shot and has proven himself as one of the better isolation players in the NBA. Per Synergy, among the 47 NBA players that used over 100 isolation possessions last season, Rivers ranked 5th in scoring efficiency making pull-up jumpers at a very high rate. He has shown an ability to make tough shots with opponents in his face; he made 51.5% of his shots with a defender within four feet or less last season.

Starting 59 of 61 games last season, Rivers played 33.7 minutes per game and will give the Wizards an experienced guard to play behind and with John Wall and Bradley Beal. He provides more depth for a Wizards team that is built on versatility. Expect the Wizards to play him alongside Wall and Beal, as well as the other guard when one of the team's All-Stars needs to rest. The Wizards plan to play small once again next season, which could mean seeing Markieff Morris at the center position at times.

The Wizards hope Rivers can build off of his 2017-18 campaign and give the team a boost in the backcourt next season. The NBA is such a small-ball league now that it never hurts to have as many ball-handlers, shooters, and defensive wings as possible.

With the trade of Gortat, the Wizards will likely look to add depth at center during the rest of the offseason. Free agency begins in July, and trades are always a possibility.

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Wizards boost backcourt with Rivers trade

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Photos: Best #NBAKicks of the 2017-18 Season

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Photos: Markieff Morris 2017-18 Season in Review

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Markieff Morris 2017-18 Season in Highlights

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Photos: Wizards vs. Raptors - Game 6 (4/27/18)

The Wizards evened the series with the Raptors on Sunday night, coming back from down 14 points in the second half in 106-98 win. Bradley Beal and John Wall combined for 58 points to lead the Wizards in the Game 4 victory, while DeMar DeRozan scored 35 for Toronto.

Beal finished with 31 points in 31-plus minutes after being in foul trouble most of the game. The first time All-Star made 10-of-19 from the field, including 5-of-7 from deep and 6-of-7 from the free throw line. He fouled out with 4:58 left in the game, but the Wizards were able to lock the Raptors down the rest of the way and get the win. Washington ended the game on a 14-4 run en route to the win.

"I just gathered my emotions, gathered my thoughts and told my team we were going to win, regardless," Beal said. "I knew if we still had John [Wall] in the game I loved our chances. He did a great job of leading the guys and icing the game with a nice jumper in the corner and getting stops. So, that was definitely a maturity level that I hit, and a face of adversity that I had to overcome, just gather myself and be a leader, being vocal and keeping everyone encouraged in the game.”

Wall led the charge once Beal fouled out, scoring eight of his 27 points in the final five minutes of the game. He added 14 assists, six rebounds, and three steals in another key performance, willing the Wizards to victory with a 3-1 deficit looming with a loss. His defense on DeRozan down the stretch anchored the team defensively and was the on-court leader the team needed in a tight situation.

"When Brad went out, I knew I had to do whatever it took: guarding DeMar DeRozan, making plays, scoring the ball and passing the ball," Wall said postgame. "I just wanted to do whatever, so that we could advance to Game 5, tied 2-2.”

“You have to have resolve to win in this league,” Scott Brooks said about the comeback and the last five minutes of the game. “We’ve had some tough moments this year with John [Wall] missing half the season, but we found it and it put us in a position to make the playoffs through resolve.”

The Raptors got out to a 15-4 start and controlled the game in the first quarter, getting to the line at will. DeRozan attempted 12 free throws in the opening 12 minutes, but did not make a field goal. Players were hearing the whistle constantly, as the game slowed down with a lot of foul calls. In the first half, Kyle Lowry, Jonas Valanciunas, Mike Scott, Markieff Morris, and Beal all had two fouls early on.

Toronto led 51-40 at the half, holding the Wizards to 16-of-47 (34.0%) shooting and outscored Washington 17 to four in the fast break. The Raptors’ defense was dominating the game, but the Wizards had an answer in the second half.

Sparked by Otto Porter Jr.’s quick eight points in the beginning of the third quarter, leading a 13-2 run to bring the Wizards all the way back after trailing by as many as 14. The Wizards would match their first half total with 40 points in the third quarter, making 15-of-23 (65.2%) shots including 5-of-6 from beyond the arc. The game was knotted at 80-80 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Raptors started the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run, once again taking control of the game. The Wizards would respond, however, putting stops together and tying the game at 90-90. Beal would foul out soon after, but Wall and the Wizards played tough defense and made the right plays to get the win. Marcin Gortat, Kelly Oubre Jr., Morris, and Porter all made huge plays down the stretch to help Washington’s All-Star backcourt finish the game.

The series continues on Wednesday in Toronto for Game 5. Tip is set for 7:00pm as one team will take a 3-2 advantage.

“We were down 2-0 to the number one seed,” Oubre said postgame. “We're the eight seed. We could've imploded last game and let them go up 3-0 so that we would not have a chance but instead we made it back 0-0 so now it's a series of three. We're going back to Toronto and we got to take care of business.”

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Wall, Beal will Wizards to Game 4 win, 106-98

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Photos: Wizards vs. Raptors - Game 4 (4/22/18)

The day after Game 1, two things stood out to Scott Brooks and the Wizards about Saturday’s 114-106 loss: mistakes turning into transition opportunities and guarding the perimeter.

“The bottom line is they [the Raptors] played well,” Brooks said before practice on Sunday. “We played hard, but we made a couple of critical mistakes. Some of our turnovers led to easy transition buckets. And then we lost some of their shooters in transition.”

The Raptors made a playoff franchise record 16 3-pointers in Game 1, shooting 53.3% from deep. The Wizards were able to slow down All-Stars Kyle Lowry (11 points on 4-of-9 shooting and five turnovers) and DeMar DeRozan (17 points on 6-of-17 shooting), but it was the Raptors’ other guys who got the job done.

Serge Ibaka finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds, C.J. Miles hit four triples, and Delon Wright scored 18 points, including three 3-pointers. Ibaka’s scoring ability for his size and Miles’ shooting are well-documented, but Wright’s not a guy known for his 3-point shooting. Pascal Siakam and O.G. Anunoby, both not known as deep threats, were also able to combine for three more of the 16 triples. The Wizards admittedly gave the Raptors too many open looks, contesting on 22 of the Raptors’ 30 3-point attempts.

“Certain things we’re going to have to pick our poison,” Brooks said. “Some of their shooters – who are not great shooters – stepped up and made shots. The mistakes that we had on their shooters, we can’t make those mistakes. Those are shots, when their feet are set, are 50% shots.”

Washington was able to limit turnovers most of the game, but three key turnovers in the fourth quarter led to eight Raptors points. Wright and Miles both made triples off bad passes in transition. The little things catch up to you most in the playoffs, as every possession matters. Simple mistakes like a bad pass, a missed tip, or giving a shooter any little bit of space can be costly.

“Those little mental mistakes – you have to be locked in and focused on every play in the playoffs,” Wall said on Sunday. “It really shows and tells that it means something when you take a play off or a couple of plays off.”

Still, the Wizards felt like they played well, staying in the game after withstanding a big run in the first quarter and fighting back after a strong Toronto start to the third quarter. John Wall had 23 points and 15 assists despite only shooting 6-of-20 from the field, and Markieff Morris and Mike Scott stepped up at center with Marcin Gortat and Ian Mahinmi in foul trouble in the first half.

“We feel like we didn’t even play our best basketball, we didn’t shoot the ball well from three,” Wall said. “They shot over 50%, and we still gave ourselves a chance to win.”

The Wizards have now turned their attention to Game 2, learning from what they experienced in a tough atmosphere in Toronto. They went through film from Game 1 to kick off practice on Sunday, followed by on-court drills and shooting. Washington will practice again on Monday and shootaround on Tuesday prior to the second game of the series.

A Game 2 win would certainly turn the series in a different direction, and going home down 2-0 to the No. 1 seed in the East would be a tough task. The Wizards will look to clean up their turnovers during crucial possessions, focus on transition defense, and take a closer look at their defensive schemes in defending the Raptors’ shooting.

“What we wanted to do was to come steal Game 1,” Wall said. “They had all of the right and all of the momentum to try to get Game 1. They had homecourt advantage – they definitely used that to the best of their ability in that game. Now all we have to do is to focus on trying to win Game 2.”