It’s Time For The Wizards To Face Reality
After a hot start to the year which saw them receive high praise, the Wizards are falling apart. And boy, do I LOVE IT!
I’m going to enjoy this a lot more than I should. Ever since the John Wall trade, it seemed like the right time for a rebuild. Bradley Beal could score as much as he wanted to, but this team was going nowhere.
The Russell Westbrook trade on draft night didn’t do much for me. It was good that they got something for Westbrook, but would it make the Wizards a good team? I had the Wizards as the 12th seed in the East. My expectations for them were low, as were most people’s. 2022 was another year of mediocrity. Or so I thought.
On November 13th, 2021, the Wizards were defying reality. A win over New Orleans gave them their 10th win, a 10-3 record, and the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference. What the (censored).
Rookie head coach Wes Unseld Jr. was pushing all the right buttons. The defense was elite. The trade pieces acquired from the Westbrook deal were seamless fits. Everything was going their way. Hell, even their GM got a contract extension and the title of team president. Nothing could go wrong for this team.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. After having the #1 seed, the Wizards are now out of the playoff picture. The defense has gone through the Matterhorn. They aren’t developing their youngsters. Spencer Dinwiddie sucks. Nothing is going this team’s way, and I love it.
The Luck of the Draw (part 2)
The biggest reason the Wizards started the year off so well was because of their defense. A roster filled with ok defenders was one of the league’s best units for two weeks. Their success boiled down to one thing; luck. I’ve talked about this occurrence with the Knicks earlier this season. When you allow teams to shoot a lot of open 3’s, it drastically changes your defense.
| Washington’s 3-PT Defense (First 13 Games) | Washington’s 3-PT Defense (Since That Point) |
| 35.3% Opp Wide-Open 3-PTA (7th) | 40.1% Opp Wide-Open 3-PTA (27th) |
| 5.0 “Tight” 3-PTA Allowed (4th) | 4.3 “Tight” 3-PTA Allowed (10th) |
| 18.5% Opp “Tight” 3-PTA Allowed (5th) | 36.1% Opp “Tight” 3-PTA Allowed (28th) |
Through the first 13 games of the season, the Wizards allowed the fewest 3-pointers in the league (9.4) and allowed the lowest percentage (30.7). Those numbers were clearly not sustainable, a big reason for their defense slipping.
You Can’t Win Close Games If You’re Getting Blown Out
Another reason for their hot start was Washington’s innate ability to win close games. Talent is irrelevant in close games. Some teams find ways to win, and the Wizards are one of those teams.
Even with their poor record, the Wizards have an 18-8 record in the clutch. When they get into close games, the Wizards feel comfortable. They have struggled to keep games close during this prolonged stretch of sadness.
They blew a 35-point lead against the Clippers. Yesterday, they lost to Memphis by 20. The Wizards have lost by double-digits thirteen times this year. They’ve lost by 20+ points six times this season. They have these slow starts and they can’t dig themselves out.
The Wizards have a -6 net rating in the first half. They have a 1.1 net rating in the 2nd half. If they stay in games, they give themselves a greater chance to win. But since they start so slowly, they aren’t in the opportunity to steal close games.
It’s like if Robin Hood got arrested before giving money to the poor.
Bye-Bye Beal
I don’t get why this team won’t rebuild. They haven’t made it to the Conference Finals since 1979. They’ve made the second-round a few times over the past two decades, but they’ve never been contenders. This team is the epitome of false hope.
Bradley Beal is likely going to leave this offseason. When he’s saying “you have to be selfish at some point,” that’s not good. The Wizards should have traded Beal well before his impending free agency, but they didn’t. I find it hard to believe that Beal stays or that Washington gets any sort of return for their All-Star.
Trading Beal would kickstart their rebuild. Oh, wait. The Wizards already have the pieces for a rebuild. They’re just too blind to see it.
You Have Everything You Need
When he’s not standing in the corner, I love Deni Avdija. Rui Hachmiura is back on the floor. So is Thomas Bryant. Corey Kispert should be a solid role player. Daniel Gafford is a great spark plug when he gets minutes.
I didn’t even mention youngsters like Aaron Holiday or rookie Isaiah Todd. With that many assets, it becomes even harder to fathom why this won’t rebuild.
They gave Davis Bertans $80 million in 2019 after his one great shooting season. He’s now one of the worst contracts in the NBA. They gave Spencer Dinwiddie a three-year contract this offseason. He has proved to be a disappointing acquisition.
They keep spending big money in hopes of being good, but this roster is better suited to be rebuilding. I want to see what Deni Avdija can do with the ball in his hands. Who is your future center, Gafford or Bryant? Are you going to keep Rui Hachmiura long-term?
All those questions would be answered if they blew things up. Trade Beal. Move on from Dinwiddie. Get rid of Bertans, Harrell, and KCP. Start from scratch. It would be surprising if this team made the playoffs with how poorly they’ve been playing. If they did make the playoffs, they would get swept in the first round by a contender.
Instead of helplessly being mediocre, this team should restart. Build for the future. It’s the only way this team will find the success they had in the late-70s when another Unseld was leading them. Until this team changes its ideology, things won’t get better.
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