Washington Wizards: Why It’s Time To Push The Panic Button
By Osman Baig
The Washington Wizards have lost five games in a row.
Don’t tell me to relax, don’t tell me they’re tired, don’t tell me this is what happens over the course of an 82 game season. What we’re seeing is a result of the faults we’ve observed being exposed. It is time to panic. Sound the alarms! This is Code Red!
It’s the second half of the season. What are they waiting for? Although this is their best start in years, it’s clearly not good enough to compete against the elite.
The problems which are aplenty start on the offensive side of the ball. Here’s where they rank offensively:
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The sample size is substantial and the results speak for themselves.
This offense has been poor to mediocre over the past three (3) seasons. The Washington Wizards have arguably one of the best and fastest point guard in the game and somehow have not cracked 15th in Pace over the past three (3) seasons! How is that even possible?
Last year, the Washington had two (2) players – Bradley Beal and Trevor Ariza – who shot over 40 percent, Martell Webster (39 percent), and John Wall (35 percent), yet still managed to rank only 19th in the NBA in 3-point attempts per game.
During media day, the constant theme was “Get to the free throw line.”
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51 games later and the Washington Wizards are 22nd in the NBA in free throw attempts. Bradley Beal, half of the self-proclaimed best backcourt in the NBA is shooting a putrid 2.5 FTA per game this year. (Just for comparison’s sake: Jimmy Butler – 7.6 FTA per game, DeMar DeRozan – 7.1 FTA per game)
Isn’t it fair to question Randy Wittman’s offensive system at this point?
The Washington Wizards don’t get to the free throw line, they don’t shoot threes, the spacing is awful, and they don’t play with pace.
You could put the blame on personnel (I’ll get there in a moment), but when the only answer you get to consistent offensive woes is coach-speak such as “respect for the game”, “sense of urgency”, and “effort” you begin to wonder.
The only answers you do get for the offense is the defense. The belief is that their defense will trigger and therefore take care of the offense. Defense will allow them to get out on the run, and get easy attempts in transition. The problem with that belief:
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The defense has been a top ten (10) unit for the past three (3) years and the corresponding offensive results have never shown.
The other problem with pleading for more defensive intensity – the Washington Wizards have the oldest roster in the entire league. There’s no fountain of youth. Old legs aren’t going to get better as the season progresses. To expect the oldest roster in the NBA to keep up great defensive play for 82 games is a fool’s errand.
How did this happen? How did the Washington Wizards go from being one of the youngest teams in the NBA just a few seasons ago to the oldest? (I told you I’d get to Ernie Grunfeld eventually).
The Washington Wizards had or acquired eight 1st round draft picks or players who were 1st round draft picks between the 2010 and 2015 draft. Additionally, they also used four 2nd round draft picks during that same time frame. What do they have to show for it?
Trevor Booker – Utah Jazz (shooting 3 pt FGs he was never encouraged to try here), Jordan Crawford– Chinese Basketball Association, Hamady Ndiaye- Lebanese Basketball League, Jan Vesely – Europe, Chris Singleton – D-League, Shelvin Mack– Atlanta Hawks, Tomas Satoransky- Europe (The Wizards maintain his rights), Glen Rice Jr- Waived/D-League.
You just can’t have this many misses.
This is where bench depth should be coming from, not from 35-year-old journeymen like Rasual Butler. The Washington Wizards should not be in a position where they’re forced to find a backup point guard two seasons in a row because of ineffective play at that position.
The Washington Wizards talk a good game when it comes to roster balance, but when they are the oldest team in the NBA is that really balance? Or is it because the Wizards are so worried by the trouble they had with the likes of JaVale McGee, Andray Blatche and Nick Young that they’re gone too far towards the other spectrum?
Glen Rice Jr. was the Summer League MVP this past season and showed an ability to score and get to the free throw line, yet just a few months later is not part of the organization. The Wizards are in desperate need of a combo-guard who can create his own offense and be a secondary ball handler, yet Jordan Crawford was given away to the Boston Celtics.
Some picks were clearly misses (Jan Vesely), but isn’t it Randy Wittman’s responsibility to develop young players and show some patience? Banishing players to the bench (Jordan Crawford) or the D-League (Glen Rice) isn’t the answer to adversity. The answer also isn’t adding a soon to be 40-year old shooting guard who has sat out the season.
The rumored interest in Kevin Martin is a positive.
A guard capable of creating offense in bunches is what this team needs. If you’re being honest with yourself, Kevin Martin has outplayed Bradley Beal when healthy this year.
He’s a little long in the tooth, but would be a welcome addition. His contract running through 2017 is a concern, but the Washington Wizards can’t let the looming free agency of Kevin Durant paralyze them from improving now. Being the best team possible as his free agency approaches should be paramount, clearing a little cap room at the appropriate time should be secondary.
The division race is basically over.
Lebron James has left the Southeast Divison, yet the Washington Wizards are 11 games out of the division lead (12 when you factor in the tiebreaker) with 31 games to go. They are a combined 0-5 versus the two top teams in the Eastern Conference (Atlanta and Toronto) and are 10-15 versus teams that are .500 and above. They even have a losing record within their division!
It’s time now for them to truly assess where they are and better position themselves to compete come playoff time. As currently built and coached, they are not a contender in the conference and only have 31 games to figure things out.
If they don’t, their window to compete this season may have closed before it ever really opened.