Washington Wizards: Scott Brooks Will Finally Be Tested In D.C.
By Ben Mehic
Washington Wizards’ Scott Brooks will have his coaching chops tested in D.C. now that he’s without the star power that bailed him out in OKC.
There are two ingredients that make up the recipe of a winning basketball team at every level: talent and health.
If a team has one but not the other, there’s a solid chance that the season is going to end in disappointment. If a team is missing both, well, then they’re the Philadelphia 76ers or Brooklyn Nets.
The Washington Wizards believed to have a talented enough roster to build on their recent playoff success this past season, but they couldn’t manage to stay healthy.
Two components – bad luck and misjudged free agent signings – ultimately ruined the Wizards’ chances of making the postseason for the third straight year.
This off-season, the Wizards did a solid job of revamping their roster, adding durable players with talent to increase the overall depth of their team.
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Ian Mahinmi, Andrew Nicholson, Tomas Satoransky, Trey Burke and Jason Smith have all been relatively healthy over the past couple of seasons and they all add something different to the Wizards’ roster.
On paper, the Wizards could have the deepest roster they’ve had since John Wall was taken first overall in 2010.
The two ingredients that are necessary to have a successful season are there.
Unless something terribly unexpected occurs between now and the start of the season, the Wizards will have their starting unit return with an entirely new second unit.
Ernie Grunfeld and the rest of the front office cleaned up their mistakes. The team hasn’t been this young in seven years. The pressure to produce is now placed on head coach Scott Brooks.
Washington is stuck in an unknown place in a hyper competitive Eastern Conference.
Currently, the Cleveland Cavaliers are the only team that seems have a legitimate chance to contend for the championship, with the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics occupying the second tier.
At this point, it would not be surprising nor shocking if the Wizards finish anywhere from top four in the East to missing the playoffs again. The East is just that much more aligned than it has been in recent memory.
Brooks’ coaching and player development, however, could make all of the difference.
Injuries, in particular to Bradley Beal, should receive most of the blame for Washington’s underwhelming season, but the coaching and instability played a large part in the team’s failures too.
There’s no question that the Wizards would have been put in a better position to win if Randy Wittman wasn’t the leading man last season.
Wittman was quick to point the finger at the players for not making adjustments, but as others – including his players – have noted, his inability to make in-game decisions hurt the team’s chances of closing contests.
Other teams, in particular the Memphis Grizzlies, made the playoffs despite dealing with an historical number of roster changes.
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Dave Joerger, who’s now coaching the Sacramento Kings, was able to make the necessary tweaks and led his team to another postseason appearance.
He never called his players out in front of the media, causing locker room tension, and didn’t play favorites off the court.
Washington performed addition by subtraction after finally deciding that the team had tuned Wittman out.
They added Brooks, a known player developer and personality, to a locker room that desperately needed a new voice.
In terms of health and roster construction, the Wizards did what they needed to do. Until we see otherwise, the front office has created a team that should be capable of competing with everyone else in the East.
Brooks’ coaching chops are now going to be tested.
Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka and James Harden aren’t suiting up for the Washington Wizards. He won’t be able to rely on getting bailed out by stars. The Wizards, as of today, only have one star – and he’s not on a Durant or Westbrook level.
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For the first time in his coaching career, perhaps, we’ll get to see what Brooks is truly made of. The Wizards, by all accounts, aren’t an elite team, but they do have the talent and health to leave a dent in the East. The difference between making the playoffs and sitting at home in April may be on Brooks’ shoulders.