Tre Johnson was a bright spot in the Washington Wizards’ 115-101 home loss against the Phoenix Suns on Monday night, and it’s easy to see why the team took him with the sixth overall pick last summer.
The 19-year-old scored 24 points on 9-for-12 shooting from the field and a perfect 5-for-5 from three-point land for the Washington Wizards. Johnson recently drew comparisons to Devin Booker, who knows a thing or two about carrying the team’s offense at such a young age.
“I wouldn’t say I want that as a comparison. I really don’t want any comparison to a player to be honest, but I feel like there are things going back and watching the film, there are things I can get from the game cause he got to the free throw line quite a bit, especially with aggressive defense, and that’s probably something I’m going to start seeing,” Johnson said about the comparison via AZ Central’s Duane Rankin.
“He has a knack for scoring, getting in the paint, and making plays. I thought he was really good in that first half with that. I liked him with that starting unit, and I liked what I saw. He is growing. I don’t know how many games he’s been back right now, but each game, he is a little bit better and a little bit more rhythm,” head coach Brian Keefe said of Johnson.
Washington Wizards News: Marvin Bagley III laments lackluster first half in loss vs. Phoenix Suns
After trailing by seven points at halftime, the Washington Wizards managed to cut the deficit to two points during the third quarter, but the Phoenix Suns went on a 16-3 run to build a double-digit lead and never looked back.
“We were more aggressive overall on both ends. Defensively, getting some stops, trying to cut the game down, and just trying to make winning plays. I think we did a good job of that in the 2nd half, but like I said, whenever you don’t do it in the 1st half, it always puts you in a tough spot going into the 2nd half,” Bagley said.
“They were physical, but we didn’t combat that with good ball movement or getting into our stuff quickly or making the correct swing, swing. We tried to beat them on the first pass. That’s what they do. They do a good job of playing in the gaps,” head coach Brian Keefe added.
