The Washington Wizards left the playoffs in the first round and once again showed their two faces. Why is the team chemistry in the capital so bad – and what happens next this summer? The most important questions in the analysis.
In six games, the wizards were eliminated by the top seeded Raptors in the first round. Especially Games 3 and 4, which Washington won relatively clearly at home, revealed the following bizarre reality: Although Toronto had won 16 games more than the Wizards in the Regular Season, their talent was not necessarily worse than that of the Canadians, at least at the top.
Of course, John Wall’s injury during the season had a big impact on the modest record, but a fundamental difference between Washington and Toronto is also: while the Raptors almost always act professionally and as a team, the Wizards are almost entirely dependent on the form of the day, which version of them you see.
Some of them looked like a team that could normally have challenged the Raptors for the top seed, but others were like a team that just wanted to go on vacation. Especially towards the end of the series, the Wizards ran out of breath.
The latter had to do with the lack of depth again, of course, as in the last few years Wall and Bradley Beal had to bear a rather unhealthy burden. Wall had still dominated games 3 and 4, but towards the end he wanted to force it too much. The threesome also didn’t want to fall after game 1 in the whole series.
Raptors stars Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan both had to work just over 30 minutes in their sixth game, while Wall and Beal worked hard for well over 40 minutes in some cases – throughout the series. The load even increased when Otto Porter, who had already been struck before game 6, signed out completely.
Wizards coach Scott Brooks lost a little confidence in some of the bankers who had played important roles during the season, especially Tomas Satoransky at the end of the season – curiously enough Ty Lawson was preferred to the Czech at the end of the season, Satoransky’s minutes were reduced from 22.5 in the regular season to only ten per game in the playoffs.
Although Washington sold out well against Toronto, they ended another season with the Wizards disappointed and not being exclusively blamed for their elimination against a better, deeper team.
Page 1: What happened?
Page 2: Why do the wizards have two faces?
Page 3: How is the Wizards season in general to evaluate?
Page 4: What happens at the Wizards in summer?
Page 5: Do John Wall or Bradley Beal have to be traded?