Three Washington Wizards we want to see play better post all-star break

The Washington Wizards are nipping at the heels of the Orlando Magic for the 8th seed. Here’s three key guys that have to play better to give them a shot.

The Washington Wizards are better than anyone gave them credit for. That’s a fact.

Yes, they’re on pace for only 30ish wins, which is about where they were predicted to land before the season began. And yes, they still stand virtually 0 chance of winning a playoff series.

But they’re 5-2 in their last 7 games. They are still on pace for 30 games despite enough injuries to force them to play multiple G-Leaguers. And there’s some cautious optimism permeating everything in DC when it comes to the Wizards.

Bradley Beal has made it clear that he doesn’t want to lose anymore, even if the organization’s plans are otherwise. He just doesn’t wanna part of a team that doesn’t want to try to win, and most fans seem to have his back.

For better of for worse, it seems the Wizards are going to make a play for the 7th or 8th seed, and a first round series against the Milwaukee Bucks or Toronto Raptors as things stand now. Or perhaps against the Boston Celtics or Miami Heat.

While I don’t think we’ll win those series by any stretch of the imagination, the culture and theory behind tanking is absolutely one of the most controversial topics in NBA basketball, and there’s no denying that the Washington Wizards, one of the youngest teams in basketball, could use the postseason experience.

But if they want to make the playoffs, they’re going to have to come out of this all-star break and not just play as well as they have been playing, but better. The competition will only get more stiff and the Washington Wizards just so happen to have the fourth highest opponent strength of their remaining schedule in the league according to Tankathon.com.

There are three guys on the roster I’d really like to see step up to make this playoff push a reality.