Washington is three games behind the Boston Celtics for the second spot and one game ahead of the Toronto Raptors for the third.
The standings are super close right now and it will likely remain that way for the rest of the season.
Given their current run – the Wizards have been a top-five team record wise since the beginning of the new year – Washington has more momentum than those competing for the same seed.
They beat the Boston Celtics in blowout fashion at home, so they have an advantage there. Washington was also one ridiculous LeBron James 3-point shot away from beating Cleveland.
There’s no way to really quantify the Wizards’ chances of moving up in the standings. They simply have to beat the teams they’re supposed to beat. Losing to a lottery-bound team would set the team back, but they seem to have moved through that phase.
The team’s success in the playoffs will all be determined by the match ups, like it always is.
Washington matches up relatively well against every team in the East. They have an advantage in the backcourt and their bigs present problems against anyone. But the Wizards would probably be better off playing the Atlanta Hawks in the playoffs than the Toronto Raptors, for instance. It’s all a matter of match ups.
If I had to make a prediction right now, I’d say the Wizards finish third in the East and make a serious push towards the Eastern Conference Finals. We’ll just have to see if they decide to upgrade their bench before the deadline. That will be the key difference.