Which Washington Wizard is going to have the biggest post break growth?
By Keith Cork
There’s a lot to like about this Washington Wizards squad, but mostly we like the youth. Which Wizard will experience the most growth in the home stretch?
The Washington Wizards have 28 games remaining and the playoffs in their sights, but more importantly they have eight guys that are 23 and younger. Garrison Mathews, Thomas Bryant, Moritz Wagner, Jerome Robinson, Admiral Schofield, Rui Hachimura, Troy Brown, and Isaac Bonga.
Looking back, some young players have really turned it on after the all-star break due to increased minutes, more usage, or just individual player development. In the 2018-19 NBA season, Trae Young went from 16.9 points on 40.6 percent shooting to 24.7 points on 44.2 percent shooting from pre to post all-star. He also went from 7.6 assists per game to 9.2.
Bojan Bogdanović, Collin Sexton, and Lauri Markkanen saw drastic increases in production as well after the break last season, but to a lesser extent.
It just seems that young players, as we come out of the break, “get it” sometimes and they make a dramatic leap, going from contributor to a player that really tips the scales.
Obviously, some of these results are also the result of teams tanking, injuries, and teams changing up their playbook to feature younger players in situations with very little playoff hopes. But in the Washington Wizards’ case, it would be more about developing a key piece or two (or three) for a deep playoff run next season.
It seems that the Washington Wizards are bent on making a push for the 8th seed (or even 7th seed) this season, and that could definitely accelerate the growth of one if not all of those young guys mentioned above. However, the growth will ideally start right before that and will contribute to a Wizards playoff berth in the 2019-20 season.
So who, among the cadre of young talent the Washington Wizards currently have on the roster, is most likely to take that rare next step in the next 29 games? Here’s our list of five potential candidates, and the last one just might shock you!