Washington Wizards’ Christmas List
For those who were fortunate enough to do so, forming a Christmas list always brought a ton of excitement. Ideally, your list composed of the toys/objects that you wanted most right at the top.
Depending on your age, you had an idea of what was a realistic gift and what wasn’t.
When would I ask for a pair of Nike’s, I had a good feeling that when I looked under the tree, a bright orange box would be sitting underneath. The bigger, more expensive presents like an Xbox or a new basketball hoop were more just being hopeful that somehow my parents would surprise me.
Each year, a kid is hoping to find the top listed item under the tree. But if they for some reason don’t get it, the smaller items could make up for missing the biggest. The same could be used for plenty of NBA teams this season.
Envision the Washington Wizards as the kid that has a list on one of those giant scrolls that are seen in cartoons. They had quite the list heading into last summer’s free agency period and famously whiffed on just about every big-named player they had as a target including Kevin Durant, Al Horford, and Ryan Anderson.
If this offseason was any indication for things to come, this list could be considered a pipe dream, but it’s clear that wishful thinking is needed at this point. The Wizards are currently 13–15, good enough for 10th in the Eastern Conference. Although they have shown signs of life of late, they still need major factors to come into play in order to be a playoff team come April.
PRODUCTION FROM THE BENCH
Striking out on big-named free agents meant the Wizards were left to scramble amongst role players that were available to help bolster their bench depth. After inking Ian Mahinmi for four years and $64 million, Andrew Nicholson for four years and $26 million, and Jason Smith for three years and $16 million, the frontcourt seemed to be set.
Fast forward to today and Mahinmi has played in just one game after having to undergo a surgical procedure to repair a meniscus tear, and now will be sidelined another six weeks after undergoing a platelet-rich plasma treatment on both knees. Smith and Nicholson haven’t lived up to their respective contracts either. Combined the two of them are averaging a mere 6.2 points and 2.5 rebounds per game.
Other reserves such as Trey Burke, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Marcus Thornton can only claim to have been consistently inconsistent in the 23 games thus far.
As a group, the Washington bench ranks 29th in the NBA in points per game with 23.5. To put these numbers in perspective, the Los Angeles Lakers are leading the league in that category with 51.
In almost every loss the bench can be solely blamed. Countless situations occur where head coach Scott Brooks has implemented wholesale substitutions with a double-digit lead only to watch it disappear in the matter of minutes.
A SOLIDIFIED ROTATION
No matter how cliché in sounds, establishing a consistent rotation is critical in forming a successful team throughout the 82 game season. Brooks has been stuck in between a rock and a hard place due to the lack of production from the bench, so it’s forced him to get creative with his substitutions. As stated earlier, he tried to sub in five bench players at once and it was a travesty. After the first handful of games, Brooks adjusted to mixing in the bench players with the starters a little bit at a time.
This method worked in stretches, but the production wasn’t close to the level needed to build leads or decrease deficits. Nicholson and Tomas Satoransky have seen their playing time drop significantly to the point where both players have been handed DNP-CD’s by Brooks.
Although the majority of fans want Satoransky to get more time for developmental reasons, his inability to impact a game by scoring holds an already crippled offensive bench lineup.
After a slow start, Kelly Oubre Jr. has emerged as the sixth man for Brooks. Prior to the season, this wouldn’t have been a surprise, but Oubre struggled out of the gate and Brooks started relying heavily on Marcus Thornton as his primary option.
It’ll be difficult for Brooks to solidify his 8–9 man rotation with Mahinmi still out with injury. If he manages to stay healthy once he returns, it’ll be easier to see exactly how good this Wizards team can be. No one is expecting Mahinmi to light it up offensively, but finishing around the basket and being a shot-blocking presence on defense can provide spark for the reserves.
WALL AND BEAL’S CONTINUED DOMINANCE
There aren’t many backcourt duos in the NBA that are better than the two in Washington.
However, the argument for Wall and Beal has been tainted since Beal’s inability to stay healthy. When he is though, the two are lethal in the way they fit each other’s game. Constant criticism has been sent their way of whether or not they can coexist. Wall’s comments last summer about Beal living up to his max contract didn’t help calm the critics whatsoever. But if you had to formulate a backcourt that complemented each other’s game, Wall and Beal could be used as the example.
Wall is a playmaking point guard who is elite at forcing the defense to collapse on his drives as he creates open three’s for teammates. While Beal’s three-point percentages haven’t indicated him to be an elite shooter, he has hovered around 40 percent each season and has one of the prettiest strokes in the league.
So far this season, Beal has played in 22 of the 25 games as he and Wall have been this team’s only hope for sealing a victory. The two are averaging a combined 46.2 points, 13.1 assists, and 3.6 rebounds per game.
If the Wizards want to have any chance of making the postseason, these three main wishes need to come true. It can’t be a two out of three, either. All must be checked off the list. They’ve shown signs during games of how good they can be, but the problem is they are just spurts, not consistent efforts in consecutive games.
Crossing off all three of these wishes could be a long shot, but some can believe in Christmas miracles.
Right?
