What have the Wizards done right?

Image from NBA.com.

All of a sudden, I think the Wizards may have the best chance to upstage LeBron and upend the Cavaliers in the East. From a team that was up for discussion in the "Hey, which roster should get blown up this year?" conversation, Washington has zoomed up into the third seed in the conference and are just 2 wins shy of tying the Boston Celtics for 2nd spot. 

Just how good has Washington been? Well, look at this — they began the 2016-2017 season losing 8 of their first 10 assignments. They were on pace for a 16-win season. Where are they now? They are 15 games over .500, and they are looking down on more ballyhooed clubs like Toronto, Atlanta, and, ahem, Chicago. Don't even get me started on Derrick Rose's super team languishing at 13th spot. 


It is something unprecedented not just in franchise history but in league history. No other team has been able to start so badly and suddenly have a shot at not just the #2 seed, but, mathematically speaking, even the #1 seed in the East.

I mean, the Wiz snatching homecourt advantage in the first three rounds from Cleveland probably won't happen, but the very fact that it could already makes heads turn.

Washington has actually been the East's best team since the Times Square Ball dropped in the new year. John Wall's crew have won 24 of their 32 games in 2017, which is so good they are second right behind (who else?) the Spurs. 

What has made Washington so good? We can begin with their stars - John Wall and Bradley Beal.

As recently as a year ago, this seemed like a match made in heaven gone awry. Wall didn't seem happy in Washington, and Beal seemed like pretty good trade bait. Now, however, with Wall channeling his aggression more purposefully and Beal finally healthy, the backcourt duo seems to be brimming not just with star power but intense productivity. This is, by all intents and purposes, Wall's best season so far. He is scoring at a career-best rate while maintaining his effectiveness as a rebounding guard and as a top-tier playmaker. Something similar can be said for Beal, who has rediscovered his fine form after the disaster that was 2015-2016. He is hitting shots at a career-high 48.2% field goal percentage and his three-point accuracy is back to the low 40s compared to the mid-to-high 30s in the past two seasons. 

Of course, much can also be said about Washington's supporting cast. Marcin Gortat has been foul-prone, but when he is on the floor, he has been regularly churning out double-doubles. He is making close to 60% of his field goals, and has just been a tough nut to crack in the slot for coach Scottie Brooks. His back-up, Ian Mahinmi, has been solid of late as well. He had a 15-point, 9 rebound, SEVEN-steal line against Phoenix earlier in the week, and though it is unrealistic to expect that of him at a consistent level, it's still good to know the Polish Hammer's reliever can hold his own in the trenches. 

Others who have also stepped up include Otto Porter, Jr. Markieff Morris, and Jason Smith, but perhaps the guy who has really given Washington a big boost is new acquisition Bojan Bogdanovic. The 6'7 Croatian star has the size to give teams trouble on either wing position, and he has the skill-set to give bigger opponents the slip. His shooting has been reliable, and he has been versatile enough to be a productive plug-in with the starters or the top gun off the bench. No less than John Wall himself recently said that he's happy to have another guy who can help him out, and that guy is Bogdanovic, or, as Wall calls him, "Bogey."

Bogey has just been thriving in Washington's free-flowing, almost chaotic offense, and it has shown in his clutch performances. Look at this particular factoid - Bogey is one of just FOUR players over the last four seasons to score two go-ahead three-pointers, including a game-winner, in the final 70 seconds of the fourth quarter. The other three are LeBron James, Klay Thompson, and Stephen Curry. Not bad at all, eh?

Here's the rub, though - can the Wiz keep this up? They have the second-toughest remaining schedule among the East's top eight teams. They still face the Celtics, Clippers, Cavs, and Warriors to end the regular season, and though their last three matches are Miami-Miami-Detroit, those won't be easy because the Heat and Pistons are both still scrambling to make the postseason.

There are many things the Wizards have done right, but now that the playoffs are looming, the big questions is can they turn it up a notch even more?