As the NBA season officially hits the All-Star break, the Washington Wizards have won three of their last four contests, and currently sit at 20-33.
Despite losing their franchise point guard John Wall for the entire season, their All-Star shooting guard very publicly stressing the need for a “culture change”, and being forced to endure a boatload of injuries that decimated the starting lineup, the Washington Wizards sit just one spot out of playoff contention in the Eastern Conference. Few, if any, imagine they would be in this position just a couple of months ago. But here they are.
Now sure, the Eastern Conference is far less competitive than the West, but making the playoffs in the NBA, in general, requires a team that can consistently and confidently win basketball games. Recently, the Wizards have shown that they can do that. In their last 12 games, the Wizards have gone 7-5 and are playing their best basketball this season.
On paper, the Wizards should be nowhere near the playoffs. However, otherworldy play from All-Star super snub Bradley Beal and a huge help from a plethora of relatively unheralded hoopers have propelled the Wizards into the playoff picture. For better or for worse.
As the Wizards and enjoy a long break and get ready for the playoff push to come, here are the grades for some specific players on this Wizards team who have made the most notable contributions to this point in this season…