Wizards Bench Deandre Ayton for Tre Johnson in Second-Half Lineup Shuffle

Deandre Ayton getting benched at halftime is not exactly breaking news, but getting benched for a shooting guard is a special kind of demotion. According to Underdog NBA, the Washington Wizards opted to start Tre Johnson over Ayton to open the third quarter on Friday night against the Atlanta Hawks.

If you were holding an over ticket on Ayton's second-half rebounds, you have my deepest sympathies. Going small out of the locker room is a direct message that the coaching staff would rather completely change their defensive geometry than watch their backup center jog through another rotation.

"Underdog NBA reported the lineup alert that Tre Johnson was starting the second half ahead of Deandre Ayton."

Ayton was only on the floor for the opening tip because Anthony Davis was sidelined with an ankle injury. He joined a starting five featuring Trae Young, Kyshawn George, AJ Dybantsa, and Alex Sarr.

The leash was always going to be short. In Ayton's previous spot start this season, he managed a grand total of four points and six rebounds in 25 minutes of cardio.

Enter Tre Johnson. The second-year guard has not exactly been lighting the world on fire, averaging 8.4 points on 37.9 percent shooting in about 20 minutes a night off the bench this season.

When a coach looks at a guy shooting under 40 percent and decides that is a better frontcourt solution than a former number one overall pick, that is not a tactical adjustment. That is a loud vote of no confidence.

Washington will have to figure out their rotation quickly before their next matchup. Until Anthony Davis gets his ankle right, expect the Wizards to keep throwing guards at the problem rather than trusting Ayton with heavy minutes.