In the aftermath of Gordon Hayward‘s likely season-ending injury for Boston, the question popped up: Could any other team in the East rise up and challenge Cleveland? And with the Cavaliers stumbling out of the gate, dare teams even dream of more?
The Washington Wizards popped into my head, and I am not alone.
Then I saw them play in person against the Lakers, a game where they were unimpressive and lost. A couple of nights ago they gave up 122 points to the Suns and lost at home.
The Wizards are not playing like a threat to anyone, but Bradley Beal feels they still are the best in the East and said so on ESPN’s “The Jump” Friday afternoon, ahead of a showdown with the struggling Cavaliers.
“I feel like we’re the best team. That’s just the way I feel. I always stand by it because I mean, why would I sit here and say another team’s better than my team? I’m not going to sit here and do that. I’ve got confidence in myself and my teammates and what we can bring to our team and what we can accomplish.”
Beal never lacks for confidence.
It’s early, maybe by the end of the season the Wizards can be a threat in the East, but right now they are just okay. They are not focused and certainly not consistent.
Plus, the old problem of the bench being a disaster is back. The Wizards starting five right now — John Wall, Beal, Kelly Oubre Jr., Otto Porter, and Marcin Gortat — is outscoring opponents by 23.6 points per 100 possessions, but dip into the bench and Washington gets outplayed nightly.
The Wizards are fifth in the NBA in offensive rating (points scored per possession), but take garbage time out of the equation (as Ben Falk does at Cleaning the Glass) and they drop to a pedestrian 12th. The Wizards are doing well in transition, as you would expect with a Wall led team, and the Wall/Gortat pick-and-roll is always strong, but they are not getting a lot of points in the paint (38.2 percent of their points have come in the paint, 25th in the NBA), and they are not taking enough threes (23rd in the NBA in percentage of points from three, once garbage time stats are removed). That means a lot of midrange jumpers, and while Beal and Porter can hit them, it’s not the most efficient way to score.
The Wizards will get Markieff Morris back soon and that will help with depth, allowing Oubre to return to a sixth man role (where he should thrive, he’s been impressive this year as well). It’s early, and Beal is always confident, but right now the Wizards do not look like a team threatening anyone. They need to improve to get where they think they belong.
