Casual observers would look at Nic Wise's stat line -- 15 points, four assists, two steals, two turnovers -- and assume he had a pretty good game.
They would be wrong.
Wise played 34 minutes last night, the majority of it with Marcus Capers draped on him like sheet on a bed. Capers used his long arms to harass Wise into a 5-of-14 shooting night, including just 1-of-4 from 3-point range -- 39.2 effective field goal percentage. His season eFG is 47.7. Wise, who is cat quick, also only got to the line four times.
In fact, Wise was really only able to get free of Capers on ball screens and switches. Which is why the final Arizona possession of the game was so impressive.
Wise was dribbling to the right of the key, and an Arizona player (I can't remember who) came over to set a screen. It was a soft screen, though -- the player was more interested in rolling to the bucket than setting a good pick. Capers wisely fought through it -- which he hadn't done on the previous screen where Wise had gotten inside for a bucket -- and shadowed Wise at arms' length all the way to the rim.
The result? Wise forced up a high arcing shot over the outstretched arms of Capers that really had no chance of going in. Only a failure to box out Solomon Hill prevented the game from being over at that point.
For as much as we love to talk about the job the Big Three did last night, don't underestimate the contribution defensively of one Marcus Capers.