Evaluating Washington Wizards’ competition for the 8th seed

The Washington Wizards still sit four games out of the playoff picture. Who are they battling for that final spot for the postseason?

The Washington Wizards have 22 games remaining in the 2019-2020 NBA season. And they sit just 4.5 games out of the playoffs.

It’s an unlikely spot for a Washington Wizards squad that was projected to finish 12th in the eastern conference by ESPN during the preseason. Behind the Chicago Bulls and even the lowly Atlanta Hawks. No respect.

A big part of the Wizards still having postseason hopes is that the east is fairly top-heavy, with the top three teams only having 45 losses between them, and the ridiculous Milwaukee Bucks in record-setting position still with just nine losses on the entire season.

But another big piece is just that the Washington Wizards keep winning against teams they have no business beating, with a recent win against the current 8th seeded Brooklyn Nets. And behind a ridiculous tear of scoring displays by snubbed all-star Bradley Beal.

The playoffs are a possibility, and getting there might just prove to be a boon to the young core of the Washington Wizards, and a potential springboard for big things in the 2020-2021 season. It’s something many Wizards fans are hoping for, and it’s something the Wizards front office would love to deliver to drum up interest in the team again and enable the sale of postseason tickets and merchandise.

But before they can get there, they’ll need to beat some pretty good teams. Who exactly are those teams and what are their strengths and weaknesses? What are their odds of making it?

In the following slides, we’ll examine the four teams currently in the mix to land the 8th seed in the eastern conference, what makes them tick, and how to beat them.