Bilal Coulibaly, Johnny Davis lead near comeback against Pacers in Summer League

Bilal Coulibaly, Johnny Davis lead near comeback against Pacers in Summer League originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

LAS VEGAS -- The Washington Wizards lost to the Indiana Pacers 91-83 on Saturday night in the Las Vegas Summer League. Here are five takeaways from what went down...

Near comeback

The Wizards kicked off their five-game 2023 Summer League schedule with a matchup against the Pacers, offering everyone their first look at seventh overall pick Bilal Coulibaly in a Wizards uniform. Johnny Davis is also back for his second year in Vegas, plus 2023 second round pick Tristan Vukcevic and other newcomers like Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Ryan Rollins made appearances.

They nearly got blown out, as Indiana went up by 22 points. The Wizards, though, charged back to take the lead early in the fourth quarter and nearly earn the victory. It's not easy to come back from 22 points, especially when the quarters are only 10 minutes long.

Coulibaly's debut

As promised by Wizards Summer League head coach Landon Tatum, Coulibaly was deployed on some tough defensive assignments. Early on he was matched up with Bennedict Mathurin, a top-10 pick a year ago who made first team All-Rookie last season. That's about as difficult a test as you can have in the Summer League.

Mathurin ended up getting 27 points, but shot a modest 9-for-21 with Coulibaly contributing to some of those stops. He had a block on Mathurin in the first quarter as he drove to the basket, plus a really nice swat against Kendall Brown in the second half on a fastbreak. Coulibaly wasn't on Mathurin exclusively, as Davis also got a shot at him. They moved Coulibaly around to guard other players like Jarace Walker, who was picked one spot behind him in the 2023 draft.

Throughout all of it, Coulibaly's athleticism was on display. He can sky above the rim with his long arms to snag rebounds or block shots. And his speed for his size in the open court will catch your eye.

"I liked it. I matched up with Mathurin, he was a good player last year. Defending on him and everything was pretty good. I just had fun," Coulibaly said, adding he and Mathurin were talking back and forth in French on the court.

More aggressive in second half

It is no secret Coulibaly's defense is ahead of his offense at this stage in his development. On the offensive end, we didn't see a ton of Coulibaly because he wasn't a primary focus of their plays. The Wizards plan to work him in as an on-ball play-maker during Summer League, but he spent most of his time playing off the ball with Ryan Rollins and others running the offense.

Coulibaly only attempted one shot in the first half, but was more aggressive as the game went on. He said Kyle Kuzma came over to him during halftime and told him to let it fly. Coulibaly had some standout moments like a nice finger roll on the fastbreak, plus a dunk assisted by Rollins in a give-and-go. He ended up with nine points on 4-of-13 shooting, including 0-for-2 from three, adding four rebounds plus the two blocks.

"I think the offense will come to him once the game slows down, but I like how hard he plays. He was playing the whole first quarter and he didn't even look tired at all," Davis said.

Davis looked better

As Coulibaly will likely demonstrate soon, experience matters and Davis is a testament to that. After a rough Summer League last year, he was noticeably more comfortable this time around. He missed a few midrange shots early, but only after getting to his spots off the bounce. Soon after, the shots started falling and he made some nifty plays around the rim, sinking floaters in the lane. That included one where he drove to his right and tapped it in high off the glass.

"Just having that year of experience, whether it was in the G League or the NBA, it just causes everything to slow down for me. I definitely felt a lot more comfortable," Davis said.

Davis passed up an open three in the first half, which was an issue for him last year, but then showed more aggression in the second half. Xavier Cooks found him for a three from the slot in transition which Davis sank with ease. Last summer, the coaching staff got on him about being more aggressive, so that is something to watch for throughout his time in Vegas.

Summer League approach

Here's something for the big picture about the Wizards' Summer League approach. I asked general manager Will Dawkins before the game if he will follow the same philosophy of his former team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, who tend to play second-year prospects no matter how good they were as rookies. For instance, Jalen Williams was first team All-Rookie last year and nearly won Rookie of the Year, yet he is playing this year. Josh Giddey played last year after standing out as a rookie the season before.

Dawkins said yes, the Wizards will do things similarly. He added a history lesson, that during his OKC days they had Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden all play Summer League their first two years in the NBA. The Wizards have in recent years held their young first round picks out of what would have been their second Summer Leagues. Sounds like that is going to change.