Bilal Coulibaly signs a return full of energy and intensity

« I had so much energy to put into the game », coward Bilal Coulibaly shaking his head. And it showed. Back on the NBA floor, on that of GromThe Frenchman showed that he has ants in his legs after missing several weeks due to a thumb injury during the Euros with the French national team.

After five minutes of play, for example, we saw him go at Aaron Wiggins on a penetration attempt. ” It got me into a rhythm, like I said, my defense gets me going every time », said the Frenchman after the meeting. Confirmation seconds later when he recovered the ball on defense before going for a two-handed dunk.

Injured in his hamstring at the end of last season, Bilal Coulibaly has not played in the Big League since March 10. The Wizards had no intention of starting him again except as a starter. Brian Keefe put him back in his top five in place of Bub Carrington.

The leaders are looking to build a formation focused on defence, and Bilal Koulibaly immediately returned to his usual role as the main defender in relation to the opposition’s best creator. The idea is that by pairing him with Keyshon George, Alex Sarr or even Khris Middleton, he has a solid collective defensive framework.

Rebalancing with the bench

«It gives us a defensive presence, this size. This gives Bub a chance to lead the other five and really pick up the pace. I thought the second five was really good tonight. They gave us very good passes in both halves. Things are fluid with our team. Things will change during the year. But we wanted to see what it looked like, and we’ll probably stay that way for a while», defends Brian Keefe.

Active in defense, Bilal Coulibaly was no less active in attack. Even if his game impact didn’t pay off on a collective level (19 point loss), he finished with 16 points (6/12 shooting including 2/7 from distance), 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals in 24 minutes (with 4 turnovers and a +/- of -12 when he was in the game).

«I was working too hard to be passive. I’m just trying to be as active as possible this year. Every property, everyone has to feel me. I think this will be a really big step forward.» concludes the Frenchman after giving a good overview of what he intends to bring to the Wizards this year.

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How to read statistics? MJ = matches played; Min = Minute; Shots = Shots Successful / Shots Attempted; 3 points = 3 points / 3 points in an attempt; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive jump; Tot = Total number of jumps; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal mistakes; Int = intercepts; Bp = lost balls; Ct: Against; Points = Points.