Washington Wizards: 3 Biggest surprises from the first half of the season

No. 1 – Wizards are six games below .500

In a totally unpredictable year, I’m still not sure anyone could have predicted the severity of the Wizard’s early-season struggles. Yes, they’ve dealt with their fair share of issues, just like any other team. For one, starting center Thomas Bryant’s season was cut short after tearing his ACL in only the tenth game of the season. Bryant had a career start to the year (14.3 PPG) so losing him for the entire season was a huge blow to the Wizards. His production has now been replaced by the trio of Moritz Wagner, Robin Lopez, and mid-season signee Alex Len.

It took a while for them to come together, but the group is finally gelling and winning some games. Before the season, the Wizards chose to swing for the fences by trading their former franchise point guard, John Wall, for Russell Westbrook. The uncertainty with Wall’s health made this an easy decision in the front office’s eyes. GM Tommy Sheppard hoped Russ’s triple-double prowess and dominant personality would instantly mesh with Bradley Beal and keep him in D.C. for the foreseeable future.

Sadly, it’s been a slow start. Westbrook was expected to come in and immediately help take the Wizards to new heights and end their two-year playoff drought. But as of now, Washington is currently 14-20 and six games under .500. However, the good news is that they’re only 1.5 games out of the play-in tournament with a whole bunch of games left down the stretch. The Washington Wizards will have more than enough time to move up the standings and clinch a playoff spot. All their goals are well within reach!