This season has been about the development of the Washington Wizards young core and positioning the team for a pivotal offseason ahead of their future rebuild.
Washington took their first big steps last offseason selecting Alex Sarr with the No. 2 overall pick in the NBA Draft. Entering the season with high expectations, Sarr had a heavy chip on his shoulder as his development and what he showed in year one could alter how the team decided to build their roster ahead of this upcoming offseason.
The French product started things off on a rough patch with a horrible outing in the NBA Summer League. Not only did he show struggles refraining from fouling, but the big man could not show any potential in his ability on the offensive end.
Those struggles carried over into the regular season, where Sarr has had a tough time proving that he can be the star in the front court the team drafted him to be.
Not only was his field goal percentage a low point of the team, but his inability to capitalize in the paint with his size at his position was quite literally the opposite of encouraging.
However, over recent weeks, Sarr has seemingly heard the criticism as he's looked to silence the noise of his doubters with his recent play.
Sarr seems to be figuring it out
The last two weeks, the media across the basketball landscape, including us at Wiz of Awes were very critical of the reigning No. 2 overall's play throughout the season. Sarr was struggling to string together solid performances, and his inefficiency on the offensive side of the court made it hard to be positive about his play and ability to develop into a star moving forward.
Sarr seemingly heard all of the noise surrounding his name, as he's now stacked four-straight respectable performances in Washington's recent stretch.
The big man has scored 20+ points in each of the team's last three games, which included a cateer night against the Denver Nuggets, where he finished with 34 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Not only did he look the part, but his efficient shooting (42.9% from FG & 55.6% from 3PT) was a very promising sight to see.
Obviously, there's still plenty of areas that Sarr needs to improve, but if he can end the season stacking on these recent performances, it can give the fans and the front office comfort heading into the offseason.