Washington Wizards: 3 players that have failed to meet expectations

Davis Bertans

If a guy’s only real job is to make three-pointers and he’s making them at a 40 percent clip, most of the time, that wouldn’t be considered underachieving. But with Davis Bertans, the shooting percentage alone doesn’t tell the full story. After signing a massive five-year deal worth $80 million in the offseason, Bertans just hasn’t been good enough this season. With five games left in the season, here’s how his stats with the Wizards pre and post-payday compare.

• 2019-20: 15.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 43.4 percent field goal, 42.4 percent three-point
• 2020-21: 11.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 40.3 percent field goal, 39.7 percent three-point

With Bertans, it’s all about the three-ball. His percentage on the season may be decent enough, but it’s inflated by a couple of red hot months. A month-by-month breakdown of Bertans’ season thus far highlights just how severe his struggles have been.

• December: 5 games, 28.6 three-point percent, 7.0 three-point attempts per game
• January: 8 games, 34.8 three-point percent, 8.6 three-point attempts per game
• February: 15 games, 43.5 three-point percent, 7.6 three-point attempts per game
• March: 7 games, 37.1 three-point percent, 5 three-point attempts per game
• April: 13 games, 45.5 three-point percent, 7.6 three-point attempts per game

Luckily, it looks like the worst of things are behind Bertans. In April, he looked like the weapon Wizards fans fell in love with last season. But it might be too little too late, as the best the Wizards can do at this point is a play-in birth. If they had gotten the Bertans we’ve seen recently for the whole season, maybe the Wizards could have skipped the whole play-in situation altogether.