A few days ago, Wes Unseld Jr. admitted that he was still struggling to establish a limited rotation against his now complete squad. The Wizards coach was trying several combinations and playing too many players for his taste.
For the match against the Grizzlies, he therefore made choices with only nine players lined up and it was Daniel Gafford who was sacrificed, not playing the game. He who had been a starter since the start of the season and had even been extended three months ago, in October, for 40 million dollars over three years…
“Trying to play with three interiors is very complicated”, assures the coach, who has tried to find playing time for everyone, to NBC Sports. “I know guys don’t like it, and neither do I. “
Thomas Bryant, back for two weeks after a year’s absence, will now be the starter for the Wizards and Montrezl Harrell his replacement.
“Now that he has picked up the pace and even if he still has minute limits, why not start him”, justifies Wes Unseld Jr., referring to Bryant. “We launch it with the holders and we see how it goes. “
Is it long term or will Daniel Gafford still have a chance if the results are not there, or if the matchups are more favorable to him? The technician did not answer this question.
But this first match with this formula, against Memphis, was clearly not a success. Steven Adams feasted in the racket with 15 rebounds including 10 offensive! Ja Morant and his gang took 21 offensive rebounds and neither Bryant nor Harrell managed to contain them.
With his qualities as a blocker, wouldn’t Gafford have been a better bulwark? “We can discuss it, but only speculate, I don’t know”, evacuated the Wizards coach.
| Daniel Gafford | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2019-20 | CHI | 43 | 14 | 70.1 | 0.0 | 53.3 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 5.1 |
| 2020-21 * | All Teams | 54 | 15 | 68.4 | 0.0 | 66.7 | 1.7 | 2.5 | 4.3 | 0.5 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 7.0 |
| 2020-21 * | CHI | 31 | 12 | 69.0 | 0.0 | 65.9 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 0.6 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 4.7 |
| 2020-21 * | WAS | 23 | 18 | 68.1 | 0.0 | 67.2 | 2.2 | 3.4 | 5.6 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.8 | 10.1 |
| 2021-22 | WAS | 45 | 21 | 68.9 | 0.0 | 75.0 | 2.2 | 3.9 | 6.1 | 1.0 | 2.4 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 9.2 |
| Total | 142 | 17 | 69.0 | 0.0 | 66.3 | 1.7 | 2.6 | 4.3 | 0.7 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 7.1 | |
