4 Reasons the Washington Wizards need to continue their playoff push

The playoffs are slowly slipping out of focus for the Washington Wizards but now is not the time to give up.

When the season started, the playoffs weren’t really on the Washington Wizards’ radar. After failing to get there at the end of last season, finishing a whopping nine games out of the final playoff spot, and expecting to miss John Wall for all of this season, expectations were tempered, to say the least. That didn’t stop Rui Hachimura or Bradley Beal from talking about a postseason run during media day, though.

But, for the most part, the playoffs were off the table. Then, the Wizards started scoring in bunches, and the East became a tire fire outside of the conference’s top 6 teams, the Bucks, Raptors, Celtics, Heat, 76ers, and Pacers.

Then the All-Star break came – the unofficial “halfway” point in the season, even though it’s technically long after any team’s 41st game – and the Washington Wizards were somehow not totally out of the playoff hunt. Coming out of the break, the Wizards were just a few games behind the Orlando Magic and ready to make a move.

So far, they haven’t. The only moving the Wizards are doing is moving further and further from the Magic in the standings. With every post-all-star-break loss, the Wizards get further from the playoffs, and the light at the end of the tunnel gets dimmer.

Given that the postseason wasn’t in the plan when the season began, it may seem like missing it isn’t a big deal. But it is. Expectations have changed and the Wizards have a great chance to capitalize on a unique playoff opportunity.

Here are four reasons why the Wizards need to continue their playoff push…