They brought in some new faces, but February 2019 was a return to losing ways for the the Washington Wizards.
The Washington Wizards had some momentum riding into February 2019. In January, they posted their first month with a winning record at 8-6 and were just 2.5 games out of the No. 8 seed.
Unfortunately, they failed to capitalize on their upswing.
They started off February with three consecutive losses, including twice to the Milwaukee Bucks, first on the road and then at home (February 2 and 6, respectively), and then blowing a winnable opportunity to the Atlanta Hawks at Capital One Arena (February 4).
Then the roster got a bit of a facelift at the trade deadline. The team shipped out Otto Porter to the Chicago Bulls for Jabari Parker and Bobby Portis, and Markieff Morris to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Wesley Johnson.
With the new acquisitions, the team went on a two-game win streak that, in retrospect, wasn’t all the impressive with back-to-back victories over the Cleveland Cavaliers at home (February 8), including 30 points from Portis in his debut, and a revenge game against the Bulls on the road (February 9). Nevertheless, it gave the team and fans optimism that the newcomers might breathe some new life into the squad in the playoff chase.
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, as the Wizards dropped their final two games before the All-Star break on the road to the Detroit Pistons (February 11) and Toronto Raptors (February 13).
Their losing streak continued after the break at the Charlotte Hornets (February 22), even though Bradley Beal had 46 points, and then the following night at home to the Indiana Pacers (February 23). Thankfully, a triumph on a visit to the Brooklyn Nets (February 27) allowed them end the month on a high note.
Somehow, despite being 3-7 in February, the Wizards are still only 3 games out of the final playoff slot in the Eastern Conference heading into March, thanks in large part to the porous play at the bottom of the playoff race. They’ll continue to battle the Pistons, Hornets, Orlando Magic, Miami Heat, and perhaps even the Nets for the final two or three spots.
We would be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge another spectacular month by Beal, who celebrated his second All-Star Game appearance over this time as well, including contributing to Team LeBron’s comeback victory. For the month of February, Beal averaged 30.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 6.8 assists per game. He’s earned a place in the All-NBA discussion if he keeps this up.
The Wizards have both Beal and the dwindling bottom half of the Eastern Conference playoff teams to thank for February not being as bad as it could have been. Let’s see if March is any different, and if the team can follow Beal’s lead.