Coach Scott Brooks
Wall returns, Bertans re-signs, lottery pick is added. It all sounds pretty good so far. But Scott Brooks still needs to coach them. He’s staying for one more year, and with the poor job he’s doing, all this talent won’t mean a thing if he can’t figure out how to make it work.
Scott Brooks has been with the Wizards since 2016 and has taken the Wizards to the playoffs in two out of the five seasons he’s been in D.C.
Sure, injuries were one of the main reasons the Wizards haven’t reached the playoffs in either of the last two seasons. But there were other issues. The Wizards, under Brooks, have struggled in a number of ways.
The biggest way – the way that could still be an issue next season – is defense.
During the past two seasons, the Wizards’ defense has been atrocious. No way to sugar coat it at all. Brooks can run somewhat of an offense, but no defense. During the 2018-2019 season, the Wizards let up an average of 116.9 ppg, which ranked 25th in the NBA. During the 2019-2020 season, the Wizards were worse, letting up 119.1 ppg. Only the Atlanta Hawks gave up more.
The Wizards really need to step up their defense if they want to make a run in the next playoffs. A high-powered offense is no good if opponents can score on you with ease.
Having Wall back won’t mean anything if Brooks can’t run a good defense. Zone, man, whatever it is, they need a strong defense to make the playoffs.
If all goes well for the Wizards, they could be a scary playoff contender in the East. Hopefully, this happens. Hopefully, the Wizards can finally pull it off next season. All us Wizards fans can do is hope.