Washington Wizards have put themselves in a position to seriously challenge the Cleveland Cavaliers for a shot to make the NBA Finals.
It’s hard to believe that the regular season will be ending in about a month.
Before the Washington Wizards‘ surge, the internet was filled with negative pixels questioning the team’s future. A 2-8 start led pundits to believe that Washington made the wrong coaching hire, John Wall was going to force his way out of D.C. and Ernie Grunfeld would finally get the pink slip.
Since the start of the new year, Washington has been a top-five team in the entire NBA – not just the Eastern Conference. Wall has crept up the MVP ladder, the Wizards are sitting atop power rankings and the front office/coaching staff will be considered for end-of-season awards.
Washington’s historic turnaround is unprecedented. They didn’t make any roster changes nor tweak the rotations heavily, yet the team started winning games.
But before it all comes to an end, the Wizards will continue battling for positioning in the standings. Following Monday’s loss in Minnesota, the Wizards fell back down to third place, just a half game behind the Boston Celtics.
While there aren’t many left, the remaining games in the regular season will determine which team the Wizards will play in the first round and ultimately deeper into the postseason, if Washington gets there.
So, that’s how we’ll start the Monday (but actually Tuesday) Mailbag.
How dangerous would Miami be if the Wiz play them in the playoffs? https://t.co/sI0All98Xz
— Daniel Barish (@dmbarish) March 13, 2017
As currently seeded, the Miami Heat would be out of the NBA Playoffs.
Milwaukee is occupying the eighth spot in the East (32-34) and Miami is tenth (32-35).
On paper, the Bucks seem to have a significant edge over the Heat.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was an All-Star starter, becoming one of the league’s elite wing players. Khris Middleton finally made his return and will provide a much-needed scoring spark, taking some of the pressure off Giannis.
The Heat, though, are probably a better “team” than the Bucks, if that makes sense.
At one point, the Heat were rockin’ a 11-30 record and seemed destined for the NBA Lottery. They’ve won 21 of their last 26 games.
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Goran Dragic has played at an All-Star level, Hassan Whiteside continues to be one of the most intimidating forces inside the paint and Erik Spoelstra has milked all of the Heat’s limited talent.
Dion Waiters – a shoot your shot prophet – is averaging a career-high 16 points.
James Johnson and Josh Richardson, two basketball players with football player names, have flown under the radar, but have provided versatility for the team.
That momentum is dangerous.
Washington lost to Miami at home earlier in the season. John Wall and Bradley Beal both scored 40 points, but didn’t have an answer for the Heat.
They present a lot of match up problems. Dragic does a great job of keeping his dribble alive inside the paint and Wall typically struggles with staying in front of him. Whiteside has routinely dominated Marcin Gortat with his length, and while the addition of Ian Mahinmi will help, the Wizards will still be at a disadvantage there.
Outcomes in the playoffs are purely determined by match ups. The Heat are rolling, but unless the Wizards steal the first seed from the Cavaliers and the Heat take the final playoff spot from the Bucks, Washington and Miami won’t see each other in the postseason.
For the Wizards, that might be a good thing.
by strength of schedule , what are the hardest to easiest schedule for the top 5 teams in the east
— Famman (@famman93) March 13, 2017
As I mentioned earlier, the regular season is winding down (most teams have about 20 games to go), but that doesn’t mean the remaining games are unimportant. Really, the remaining few weeks will be the most important of the season.
Washington is a half game behind Boston for second place in the conference and the two will meet up again this month. The Spurs have overtaken the Warriors for the first spot in the West, too. There’s still a lot to watch as the standings take shape.
But to answer your question, Frankie, here’s the strengths of schedules for the top five teams in the East – ranked weakest to most difficult, via NBA.com.
- Boston
- Toronto
- Atlanta
- Washington
- Cleveland
The Celtics have the weakest schedule of the top five teams in the East and it’s not even close. They only have a few remaining against teams that are above .500, one of which is against the Washington Wizards.
Washington will have to hope that the struggling teams embrace the “spoiler” role and play to their potential against Boston.
A few years ago, the Wizards were in a similar position. They were no longer in the playoff hunt, but wanted to make an impact by ruining other teams’ chances of improving their place in the standings.
Everybody’s focusing on the Wizards and Celtics, but look out for the Raptors, too. They’re just a few games behind the Wizards. Their schedule is easier than Washington’s.
Nothing has been solidified, and again, it could be determined by the strengths of each teams’ respective schedules.
do you REALLY think Washington can get to the Finals? % chance?
— Eric Saar (@Eric_Saar) March 13, 2017
You’re really throwing me into the fire, aren’t you, Eric?
So, recently I wrote how the Washington Wizards have become a championship contender this season.
They’re battling for the second spot in the East and have one of the league’s best records since the All-Star break. John Wall and Bradley Beal are having career-seasons and have been the best backcourt in the NBA. Otto Porter is leading the league in 3-point percentage. Bojan Bogdanovic is a premier sixth man, and if he played in D.C. this entire season he would’ve been a candidate for the award.
/gasps for air
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Washington has all of the qualities of a championship contender.
It’s weird, isn’t it – putting “Wizards” and “championship contender” in the same sentence? But it’s the truth.
The proof is in the way they’ve played.
They’ve beaten the Golden State Warriors. They dominated the Boston Celtics. And were a LeBron James, bankshot 3-pointer away from beating the Cleveland Cavaliers.
At some point, LeBron is going to lose in the postseason. The recipe for chaos is already there. The Cavaliers have put themselves in position to lose their first place standing.
The Warriors are without Kevin Durant. This might be the year the basketball Gods flip the table.
According to FiveThirtyEight, courtesy of Bullets Forever, the Washington Wizards have a better chance of winning the championship than the Cavaliers.
The aforementioned site has the Wizards with a 6 percent chance of winning the championship – tied with the Celtics for the highest chance of winning in the East. How much stock should we put into that? Who knows.
My point is, more strange things have happened in the NBA. Maybe a Stephen Curry and Durant led Warriors team isn’t destined to win the championship, after all. Maybe we’ll all look back and say, “it looks like the Washington Wizards didn’t need Durant to win a championship.” Maybe we won’t.
Next: Why the Wizards Are An NBA Championship Contender
But the Wizards have a chance. LeBron, believe it or not, is human and will lose eventually. So why not this year?