The Washington Wizards fell to the Bulls, but they’re still in striking distance of the playoffs. Here’s the players that have been there before.
It was a tough loss last night for our Washington Wizards. Bradley Beal put up a career high, on efficient shooting even, and still couldn’t pull out the win. It’s depressing, I can understand that Wizards fans, trust me.
But let’s calm down a moment, take a breath, and look at the facts. The Chicago Bulls are still firmly behind our Washington Wizards by a game and a half, and the Wizards are just 3.5 games from sneaking into the playoffs.
I’ve written before that there are a ton of benefits to getting this young squad into the playoffs, and it could accelerate the growth of players like Isaac Bonga, Moritz Wagner, and Troy Brown. But which guys on the roster actually already have experience in the “big dance?”
It’s an interesting question because these would be the guys, should we get there, that would be leading our squad to a likely first round exit. But they’d also be the guys that would be most facilitating the growth of our younger players by setting expectations and offering advice.
Experience is the name of the game in the NBA, as we see year after year when young teams get to that moment they falter. Only to play better the following year.
Scott Brooks is no stranger to this specific phenomenon, having lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to the playoffs and a first round exit in 2009-10 only to bring them back and go all the way to the Western Conference Finals in the following 2010-11 season.
So which Washington Wizards might we expect to step up if the team can get to the postseason? Let’s take a look at each player’s experience on the roster.