Head Coach: Scott Brooks (4th Season)
Record: 24-40 (9th in Eastern Conference)
All-Stars: None
Scoring Leaders: Bradley Beal (30.5 PPG), Davis Bertans (15.4 PPG), Rui Hachimura (13.4 PPG)
Rebounding Leaders: Thomas Bryant (6.8 RPG), Hachimura (6.0 RPG), Ian Mahinmi (5.7 RPG)
Assists Leaders: Beal (6.1 APG), Ish Smith (4.8 APG), Shabazz Napier (4.4 APG)
Offense: 115.6 Points Scored/Game (6th)
Defense: 119.7 Points Allowed/Game (29th)
Key Wins: 76ers (119-113, Dec. 5), Heat (123-105, Dec. 30), Nuggets (128-114, Jan. 4), Celtics (99-94, Jan. 6), Mavericks (119-118, Feb. 7)
Season Summary: The Wizards play at one of the fastest paces in the league, and it has resulted in an exciting brand of basketball that has final scores looking a lot like pinball scores. Bradley Beal has led the way for Washington, averaging 30.5 points per game, which ranks second in the NBA behind only James Harden (34.4 PPG). Washington has also had significant — if not surprising — contributions from rookie Rui Hachimura (13.4 PPG) and Davis Bertans (15.4 PPG). The Wizards will have to find a way to replicate the scoring output from their top two produces somewhere on the rest of the roster after the Latvian sharpshooter and pending unrestricted free agent Bertans reportedly announced he would not be playing in Orlando, while Beal also pulled out of the restart due to injury. With their absence, young players like Hachimura, Thomas Bryant, and Moritz Wagner will have to shoulder the load.
The Wizards force a lot of turnovers, ranking third in the league with 16.3 per game. They’re also the sixth-highest scoring team in the NBA and rank 12th in offensive rating. Washington currently sits in ninth in the Eastern Conference, five and a half games back of the Orlando Magic for the final playoff spot. Even with the NBA’s playoff format rules, Washington still has significant ground to make up on its Eastern Conference foes if it wants to secure the No. 8 seed, and with no Beal or Bertans to help boost the scoring, Scott Brooks’ squad could use the additional seeding games as a way to evaluate future roster spots.
Memorable Moment: It came in a loss, but the most memorable game of the Wizards’ season thus far has to be the 159-158 thriller against the Houston Rockets on October 31. Washington shot a searing-hot 62.6% from the field and 55.6% from 3-point range (20-36) that night. Their 158 points were a franchise record for a single game, and the game didn’t even go into overtime. It was the third highest-scoring non-overtime game in NBA history. It wasn’t the only time Washington put up an absurd amount of points in a game this season (they scored 140, 138 and 137 in wins over Phoenix, San Antonio, and Minnesota respectively), but the back-and-forth duel against one of the league’s most prolific offenses won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
Player to Watch: Rui Hachimura – With no Beal and no Bertans, the No. 9 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft is the top returning scorer for the Wizards. An average of 34.2 shots per game are now available, and a large chunk of those should head towards the Japanese wing, who has impressed for large stretches of his rookie season. Hachimura figures to be a key piece in Washington’s future, so an impressive showing for him as the leading man in Orlando would be a huge confidence boost ahead of his second season.
