Analyst Makes Suggestion for Wizards Offense

The Washington Wizards should have the ball in Bilal Coulibaly's hands more often.

Dec 8, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly (0) collides with Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke (15) while dribbling the ball in the first quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

At the beginning of the season, Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly was able to showcase his playmaking abilities.

However, in recent weeks, Malcolm Brogdon arrived in the point guard role and more reps were given to Jordan Poole and Bub Carrington. This iced out Coulibaly a bit as his scoring averages began to decrease.

Bleacher Report writer Grant Hughes suggests that the Wizards need to put the ball back in Coulibaly's hands more often.

"Jordan Poole and Bub Carrington are both more efficient as pick-and-roll ball-handlers, but second-year wing Bilal Coulibaly should get more reps in that role. He draws shooting fouls more often than either of them, and his turnover rate on those plays is actually lower than Poole's. He's also easily the team's most efficient isolation scorer at 1.13 points per isolation play. That's nearly triple Kyle Kuzma's average on isos, yet the veteran wing gets twice as many one-on-one attempts per game," Hughes writes.

"Coulibaly isn't a point guard, but his extremely low usage rate stems partly from his team's lack of reliable distributors. Put the ball in his hands, let him make mistakes and hope the learning experience eventually turns him into a primary on-ball scoring threat."

The Wizards view Coulibaly as a playmaker, but they are learning how to incorporate several people into the offense at once, making it tricky to navigate.

The Wizards will win more often if the ball is in the right person's hands, and Coulibaly could be that player for the team. But with the juggling act the Wizards are trying to perform right now, it's difficult for Washington to maintain that and it's part of the reason why the team continues to struggle.

Coulibaly and the Wizards return to the court tomorrow to face off against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

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