The Washington Wizards are sitting at the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference with a record of 26-20. Unfortunately, the NBA is predictable, and the Wizards will make the playoffs most likely as the fourth seed, and exit the playoffs in a similar fashion to the way they did in three of the past four seasons they found themselves in the playoffs.
High hopes of fans turned into expectations, as NBA analysts agreed the team was perfectly capable of being the two or three seed in the East, and reaching the Eastern Conference Finals. The East got worse over the offseason and more reasons for potential Wizard’s success developed such as the Boston Celtics losing Gordon Hayward and the Cleveland Cavaliers being without an all-star point guard for the first 38 games of the season. However, the Wizards have forced their way into the fifth seed, on pace to win four less games than last year with no excuse except for John Wall missing 10 games.
People claim the team is “broken” and that the team simply does not have the tools to reach the Eastern Conference Finals. Fans blame Scott Brooks, the head coach, an overpaid wing in Otto Porter, and the lack of chemistry between John Wall and Bradley Beal. The bottom line is that there needs to be a change and everyone on the team knows that.
Scott Brooks and players such as John Wall have spoken to the media, admitting the needed change. That was addressed a few days ago, and fans are yet to see much of a change, but predictions have to do with increasing Kelly Oubre’s minutes and lowering Markieff Morris’s. However, at this point in the season their minutes have already fluctuated accordingly, so in order to make a real impact, some speculate Oubre needs to be inserted into the starting line-up. Regardless, the team’s problems are more complicated than one change to the starting five.
In no way are the Wizards in a bad position, and a push is not required to make the playoffs and make the second round. However, changes must come so when the Wizards get eliminated from the playoffs, there are no regrets. It is up the organization to help themselves out during the regular season to give themselves the best chance possible in the playoffs. That means finishing as a four-seed or higher for home-court advantage, and figuring out minute distributions so players can find their groove. With the all-star game approaching the time for changes in shrinking so we can expect something new in the near future.
PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
