The Washington Wizards are entering the home stretch on what many would define as a meaningful, yet exhausting regular season.
Sitting at the bottom of the NBA standings, Washington has yet to prove their young roster is ready to compete in the Eastern Conference just yet.
However, the team's struggles has put them in prime position to land a premiere talent this offseason as their NBA Draft Lottery odds continue to standout by the day.
At the same time, while the Wizards young core hasn't proven they're ready to compete; they have proven that they're more than capable of being a key piece in the team's future plans.
One player in specifc who has turned heads this season is sophomore standout Alex Sarr, who's put together a career-year that was desperately needed to silence the noise following his inefficient rookie campaign.
Averaging 17.2 points, 7.8 rebounds 2.8 assists and 2.0 blocks on the season, while posting shooting splits of 49.6% from field goal range and 33.6% from beyond the arc, the French product has proven to be one of the best two-way players in the league.
Nonetheless, even with the flashes shown from the 7-footer up to this point of the season, basketball mind Andrew Schlecht of The Athletic believes the best is yet to come.
Alex Sarr can reach another level post All-Star Break
In a recent episode of The Athletic NBA Daily, Andrew Schlecht made his anticipation for Sarr down the stretch crystal clear,:
"I just think that Alex Sarr, who's had an awesome season so far, is just due for a bump," Schlecht said. "I just think he's had a really under the radar season. I think he's a guy that is taking a decent number of threes. He can score around the hoop. His rebounding has been a lot better, his passing has been better."
" I just think that he's a developing player and I think that this is around the time where guys like him can really up their production because teams are not going to be competing that hard against the Wizards," the NBA mind continued. "And he's somebody who I think has made an actual meaningful lea in his time this season with the Wizards."
Considering his start to the season, Sarr has high expectations moving forward and it feels safe to say those expectations are warranted.
However, he'll need to recover fully from his recent hamstring issue before he's ready to meet the high bar placed on him down the stretch.