The Wizards’ interesting lineup change leads to their first preseason win over the Raptors

The Washington Wizards played against the Toronto Raptors on Friday evening after two preseason games without a win.

With head coach Brian Keefe searching for a winning formula, the first-year coach relied on a bold roster move to get the job done.

During the offseason, the Wizards signed free agent Jonas Valanciunas to a three-year contract. The big man’s addition seemed to raise questions about the veteran’s pursuit of an NBA championship and the state of the team’s rebuild.

Still, the team had a vision for the center in their lineup, which led to the team inserting the 32-year-old into the starting lineup right from the jump. In the first two games of the preseason, the Wizards’ starting lineup consisted of Jordan Poole, Bilal Coulibaly, Kyle Kuzma, Alex Sarr and, of course, Valanciunas.

However, after their poor performances in the first two games, the Wizards fielded a new starting lineup for the team’s second game against the Raptors.

Washington opted to add rookie Kyshawn George to the team’s starting lineup in place of Valanciunas. With Kuzma being deployed at power forward and Sarr manning the center position, this move seemed to help the Wizards succeed.

To start, George finished the night with nine points, five assists and four rebounds while shooting 75% from field goal range. While his stats don’t jump out at you, the Miami product’s ability to serve as an additional ball handler, in addition to his ability to stretch the floor at his size, made the lineup seem a little more versatile. Not to mention the rookie’s impressive defense in the first few games.

Washington was able to play faster, which led to the rest of the night being more efficient on offense. Meanwhile, Valanciunas was on the bench for the first time in his career.

The former top-five pick played 22 minutes in the win and totaled 12 points and eight rebounds.

It’s unclear if this lineup change is permanent, but it shows the Wizards’ willingness to focus primarily on developing their young roster in hopes of winning sooner rather than later.

If Valanciunas accepts a role off the bench, he could be the anchor up front that helps the team’s bench unit keep up with stiff competition across the league. However, the better the bench, the higher the team’s chances of being competitive.