Wizards use Saunders' offense to beat the Wolves

WASHINGTON – Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders is correct, or at least he was about Tuesday's 109-95 loss at Washington.

His offensive system does work.

If any of his players — be they young or old — ever doubt him all they had to do was watch Wizards All-Star point guard John Wall orchestrate an offense retained and modified nearly three years ago by coach Randy Wittman, a longtime assistant to Saunders in Minnesota and Washington.

"They run all our plays," Saunders said. "Like I tell all our guys, it works."

Just look at the turnabout Wizards, now 18-6 and second in the Eastern Conference.

They use many of the exact same play calls as the Wolves, but do so with a proficiency befitting a team run by a former No. 1 overall pick with four previous seasons' experience who has rising star guard Bradley Beal alongside him and a considerable collection of veterans gathered around him.

On Tuesday, together they dispatched the Wolves and the Wizards' former coach by building leads of 18-5 and 30-16 as well as 109-89 late. In between, Wolves veteran forward Thaddeus Young tried to carry his team back nearly all by himself with a 19-point third quarter and a 29-point night that would have been more proficient if he — and his teammates — had shot better from the free-throw line.

Wall all by himself matched the Timberwolves in assists, 17-17.

"Not enough guys, not enough gas in the tank," Young said. "They're a good team. They know how to play. They've got a good point guard, and he ran the show for them tonight."

Newly named the Eastern Conference's Player of the Week on Monday for his part in a 4-0 week, Wall produced a 21-point, 17-assist performance that tied his career high for assists and confirmed the player Saunders thought he'd become when he and Washington drafted him first overall in 2010.

"I think this is where everyone thought he'd be, with his ability to dominate a game in a lot of different ways, not just by scoring," Saunders said. "He has just matured. He was a kid when I had him, a baby. He's turned into a man now. Earlier, he felt he had to prove he could shoot, prove those things. Now he doesn't have to prove anything.

"He's got a [maximum] contract. It's his team. He makes everybody better. But it's a little different throwing the ball to Nene, [Marcin] Gortat, Paul Pierce than it is JaVale McGee, Andray Blatche and those guys. They've done a good job getting him a supporting cast."

"I think he still has the best ahead of him," said Wittman, who replaced Saunders as coach when he was fired in January 2012. "He has been really understanding that there's nothing to rest on here. We have a chance — and he has an opportunity from a leadership standpoint — to continue to push this team. I don't want him to take his foot off the pedal and be satisfied."

Wall pushed the Wizards to their fifth consecutive victory and their ninth in the past 10 games, calling many of the same plays that rookie Zach LaVine and other Wolves did while losing for the ninth time in 10 games.

"A little bit strange," Saunders said about hearing the same calls from both benches. "I yelled out, '552,' and they didn't run it right away, but John called it next time down. Maybe he remembered it a little bit."