The Washington Wizards have made a sudden change in effort over the last couple of weeks.
Washington has quietly found a winning strategy over their most recent stretch putting together competitive performances and knocking off teams like the Denver Nuggets along the way.
Most of the time, fanbases can find joy in their favorite team stacking wins. However, the Wizards fanbase is in an interesting position considering majority of their season consisted of watching their team stack loss after loss; 52 losses to be exact. Because of that, the Wizards and their fanbase seemingly turned their attention to the upcoming offseason and the NBA Draft.
At one point, Washigton seemed to be positioning themselves at the forefront for the opportunity to select Duke star Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.
That was, until the rumors surrounding the freshman sensation circulated that he may (or may not) have no desire to play for a team like the Wizards or the Charlotte Hornets who trailed just behind in the race for the top pick at the time.
Since then, the Wizards young core has seemingly put together an impressive recent stretch of wins with their new mixture of veterans Khris Middleton and Marcus Smart alongside them. During that stretch, the Wizards knocked off the Utah Jazz, and multiple other teams which leads them to the position they're in now: trailing in the race for the No. 1 overall pick.
However, they have the opportunity to right their wrongs Wednesday with a rematch against the Jazz.
Wizards must lose to Jazz
Washington currently holds a 15-52 record trailing one game behind the Jazz who hold a 15-54 record. Looking ahead, it's clear that neither of these teams are competing for anything outside of draft positioning moving forward.
At this point, this seems to be a competition between two teams to see who can stink the most down the stretch. If the Wizards find a way to LOSE to Utah, they will have a chance to close the gap back between them and the Jazz at the bottom of the league.
Heading into this matchup, it's unclear what their focus is on moving forward, but fans may very well be able to see the vision by the end of the night. Either the Wizards are serious about earning the top pick, or they have decided to pursue another offseason plan.
Regardless, from where I sit, it seems that losing to the Jazz is the only way to right their wrongs.