Wizards Midseason Grades: Bilal Coulibaly Has Room for A's

The Washington Wizards mid-way point means it's time to dive into midseason grades, and there are some players with room for improvement. Starting with their guard who still holds one of the league's brightest futures.

Where does Bilal Coulibaly grade at the mid-way point?

I give Bilal Coulibaly, aka, B-Coul a B+ for the 1st half of this season. The reason for that is offensive improvement. Bilal has been a high-level defender coming out of the gate. He has All-Star level defense and can be depended on being that guy who can put the clamps on the other team's best player but what about offense? His scoring average has gone from 8.4 to 12.6 PPG. With better ball handling, he has become more of a playmaker and it shows statistically, his assist numbers have gone from 1.7 to 3.4 APG. He has also shown less hesitancy to shoot the 3-point and mid-range shots. He's gotten better and it shows but the question is, where can he improve?

Where can he improve?

While it appeared that Bilal Coulibaly was breaking out offensively in the 1st half, he has a ways to go before he's a finished product. He's less hesitant to shoot from 3pt but with Kyle Kuzma being traded to the Milwaukee Bucks, Bilal is now Jordan Poole's running mate, and with more power comes responsibility.

Confidence is key with young players and again, he has shown less hesitancy to shoot from 3pt and mid-range but consistency now has to be the priority. His FG% and 3pt% have both dipped from his rookie campaign to year two and it has a lot to do with his aggression. He's aggressive because his confidence is high but now he'll have to learn to be more of an efficient player. When he finds that balance, he'll not only be Jordan Poole's running mate but the Wizards can count on him to pick up the slack if Poole struggles or if opposing teams gameplan and focus on Poole, which forces players like Bilal or Alex Sarr to step up.

Can one player pick up that amount of slack or take pressure off of Poole? Good question and the answer is not quite. It will have to be a collective effort between the young core and veterans like Khris Middleton to help take the pressure off of Poole. Is Bilal Coulibaly ready to be the second-best player on a team? I believe so but he'll have to show consistency on a nightly basis. Kuzma is gone, it is now Bilal's time. Will he capitalize, only time will tell but the ball is in his court.

Stay tuned.

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