The Washington Wizards’ upcoming schedule will make or break their season

The Washington Wizards currently sit in 12th place in the Eastern Conference with an 11-18 record. They have lost eleven of their last twelve games, including the last eight in a row. Unfortunately for the Wizards, things could get even uglier in the next couple of weeks.

The Wizards are currently on a west coast road trip. They play the Clippers, Lakers, Suns, Jazz, and the Kings away with two sets of back-to-backs. It is highly improbable for the Wiz to win more than one of those games during that slate with the way they have been playing. More likely than not, the Wizards will fall to 11-23 next week.

Even worse, the schedule won’t let up after their road trip. The next slew of games includes the Sixers, Suns, Magic, and two against the Milwaukee Bucks.

These next 10 games will either make or break the Wizards season. My money is on it breaking.

Bradley Beal has still not returned from his hamstring injury. Kristaps Porzingis missed the last game against the Denver Nuggets with a back injury. After being extremely lucky with Porzingis’ health all season -this was only his second missed game- the Wizards will be drawing a blank if he misses an extended period. Although, both Beal and Porzingis will likely return soon as they were listed as questionable ahead of their matchup against the Denver Nuggets.

However, there is a chance this losing streak could be a blessing in disguise. It might force the front office to finally face the music and recognize that this team is not good enough.

The Wizards owe their 2023 first-round pick to the New York Knicks unless it is in the lottery. Bottoming out this year would guarantee that the Wiz get to keep their pick and use it in the offseason for a talent upgrade, or maybe actually draft a high-potential young player for a change.

If they commit to the tank, it is still early enough in the season that they could have one of the best odds to land Victor Wembanyama or Scoot Henderson come draft time.

To achieve this, they would need to trade away their veterans like Kyle Kuzma and Will Barton and start resting Beal and Porzingis for the second half of the season.

Bottoming out has not been the modus operandi of the Wizards front office over the last few years. Nevertheless, an extended and embarrassing losing streak that pushes them to the bottom of the conference might make that decision easier for them.