Washington Wizards 2017 NBA Playoffs Mailbag: How the Wizards Could Continue Dominating the Atlanta Hawks
By Ben Mehic
Recency bias is real.
Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Zaza Pachulia (who’s often swapped for Andre Iguodala) still exist.
Don’t get me wrong – the Washington Wizards’ starting five is really, really good (and productive). But let’s not forget about those four, plus Iguodala. Washington is disadvantaged at every single position against the Warriors.
If you mean “most cohesive” by “best,” then you might have a point. Talent-wise, though, there’s really no comparison.
Sometimes, having a more cohesive unit is better than having a more talented team. I mean, just look at the Cleveland Cavaliers. They were a possession away from losing to the Indiana Pacers in Game-1 and have looked rather uninspired since the All-Star break.
Cleveland has three All-Stars and a few more former All-Stars, albeit past their primes. LeBron James got the playmaker he wanted in Deron Williams, yet the Cavaliers’ offense still looks discombobulated at times.
Washington wins because they move the ball and trust each other. They also genuinely love sharing the court together.
John Wall, Bradley Beal, Otto Porter, Markieff Morris and Marcin Gortat all have each other’s backs. If one player finds his rhythm, the rest of the team goes out of their way to make sure he gets the ball. Other teams don’t have that chemistry.
So I wouldn’t necessarily say they have the best starting five in the league, but they do have one of the most cohesive starting fives. In the playoffs, that tends to matter more than talent.
The Miami Heat, with LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, were more talented than the Dallas Mavericks in 2010, yet they failed to keep up in the NBA Finals. That Mavericks team is a great example of one that made up for talent with cohesion.