Can Wizards sustain defensive excellence without their unsung hero?

Through four games into the Washington Wizards’ season, they currently sit with a 3-1 record. We know not to get ourselves excited after a good start due to the collapse of last year’s team. However, there are some bright spots, especially on the defensive end. One of the main additions to a new and improved defense has been Delon Wright.

Delon Wright was one of the additions this past offseason but sort of flew under the radar. Wright had played for six teams in his seven-year career entering the offseason. Nobody truly paid a great deal of attention to him and what he can bring to a franchise — that was until the Wizards decided to scoop him up.

They gave him a two-year, $16 million deal, which some might have thought was a slight overpay for a guard that hasn’t been able to stick with a team. However, the Wizards saw something and it has come to fruition.

The Wizards’ defense has been spectacular thus far, as they are fifth in points allowed at 105.8 points per game as of Friday morning. Wright has been one of the key cogs in these defensive machines. When he is off the court, the Wizards’ defensive rating is at 109.5, but when he is on the court, it falls to 102.7. That is a 6.8 difference on defense from Wright being on the court versus when he is not.

Also, despite playing less than 25 minutes per game, he ranks in the top 10 of deflections within the league. That is better than defensive stalwarts such as Alex Caruso and Patrick Beverley.

Furthermore, Wright is third in steals. This is all occurring without him playing starter minutes.

Unfortunately, Wright did get hurt in the Wizards’ last game against the Detroit Pistons. He was running back on defense and suffered some hamstring tightness, and the news that came out was not good.

The defense needs to try and hold down the fort until he can come back. His defense was superb, but the injury bug had to bite him.

Hopefully, Wright can come back sooner rather than later. He has been the unsung hero on defense for this squad. The team is on an upward trajectory, and some of that is because of the stellar play of Delon Wright. Now the question is can they succeed on defense without him for a while?