Wizards Big Man Continues to Flash Immense Upside

The 7-foot Frenchman was aggressive from start to finish, something fans have been looking for him to do on a consistent basis all year. Sarr wasn’t afraid in the slightest to attack Portland's own young big in Donovan Clingan, who wasn’t able to keep up with Sarr’s mobility and athleticism.

Improved Approach

Sarr's performance vs. Portland wasn’t a one-off aggressive night either, as in recent games he has seemingly turned a corner in his offensive approach. Over Sarr’s last five games prior to the Blazers matchup, he was posting a 20.2 points-per-game average on 15 shot attempts a night — both of which are well above his season median.

However, just because Sarr has been more aggressive doesn’t mean he has been perfect. Yes, it is refreshing to see him — and the team in general — be more cognizant about creating looks for him and making an effort to get him involved for the entirety of the game. But because Sarr is still somewhat underdeveloped, especially in regard to his frame and overall approach to the game, his impact still wavers.

Improvement Areas

There are games, like last night's against the Trail Blazers, where Sarr is able to assert himself as a shooting threat early, forcing opposing bigs to respect him on the perimeter, which in turn creates driving lanes and opportunities for him to get downhill.

On the contrary, there are games where he doesn’t have that same luxury and gets off to a slow start as a shooter, making it more difficult for him to assert himself. These problems are only exaggerated when Sarr is matched up with bigger, more physically developed bigs, as he is no longer able to overwhelm his opponents on the inside.

At the end of the day, though, this recent stretch has been encouraging. It’s clear that Sarr has the highest upside compared to any other player on this young Wizards roster, so seeing him develop not only from a skill perspective, but also mentally is a refreshing sight. There are still some things Sarr will have to clean up before he reaches his full potential, but it seems like every day is a step in the right direction.