Washington Wizards: Four numbers from the preseason opener

Washington Wizards Rui Hachimura RJ Barrett (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)
Washington Wizards Rui Hachimura RJ Barrett (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Washington Wizards basketball is back! What did we learn from the preseason opener?

The Washington Wizards lost their preseason opener to the New York Knicks. The final score: 104-99. But don’t pay attention to those numbers. Those numbers aren’t important, at least not for now.

In the NBA preseason, final scores aren’t as important as the journey it takes to get there. I think there’s a Miley Cyrus song about that or something. But whether you’re a Miley fan or not, don’t be too discouraged by last night’s preseason loss.

For one, get used to watching Wizards losses. There will probably be a lot of them this season.

Secondly, this team has already said that wins and losses are not how they will determine the success (or failure) of this season. With John Wall‘s injury, this season will be spent in limbo. There’s no getting around that. Of course, the team will try to win night in and night out, but they only won 30 games last season. So let’s be realistic. According to Tommy Sheppard, the focus this season is on development.

It’s even more of a focus now, in the preseason, as the Wizards try to narrow down a large roster. All the guys that are here now won’t all be here on opening night.

So instead of focusing on the score, those pesky little numbers that make it look like the Wizards lost this game and were bad, let’s take a look at four other numbers that are more important than the score. Besides, the preseason record doesn’t matter.