Identity Crisis: The Anatomy of the Washington Wizards

Throughout an NBA season there are always surprise teams, dominant teams, underachievers, and flat out disappointments. The Washington Wizards have been a mix of all four categories this season, which makes it even more unpredictable to forecast just how the rest of their season (and postseason) will shake out. At a casual glance, the Wizards are currently 27-22, good enough for the fifth seed in the NBA Eastern Conference standings. So what signs can we look towards to figure out just how everything will fall into place (or pieces) for the DC faithful?

For starters, the lingering injury news on John Wall’s knee does not look very promising, since he already missed a chunk of games with the same issue. Coach Scott Brooks said that Wall is currently “day-to-day” with this injury, but that should make many Wizards teammates and fans alike incredibly nervous moving forward.  This team will go as far as the five-time All-Star John Wall can take them, and if they have to take a cautious approach throughout the rest of the season, it would leave very little optimism of a deep postseason run.

Let’s just say for the sake of argument, John Wall turns out to be just fine moving forward. That still leaves this squad stuck without a true identity as they continue to tinker with rotation changes and a mixed bag of production from last season’s stars such as Otto Porter Jr. and Bradley Beal. The latter, Beal, is making his first All-Star game appearance this year, and deservedly so. The majority of the offensive production from the Wizards this season has come from him, and they will need him to continue his stellar play to remain a force in the Eastern Conference.

Post All-Star Game Predictions:

After the All-star break, I expect the Wizards to have an adjusted attitude towards winning the majority of their games down the stretch, especially against teams with losing records. Far too often, this Wizards squad has fallen into the trap of playing down to lesser competition and up to the elite teams. Look for the Wizards to finish with the fourth-best overall record and their second consecutive Southeast division title.

Featured Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports

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