We are roughly 10+ games into the season and it’s time we start talking about which teams are looking like they’re the real deal and which teams aren’t. Let’s get into the first team, the Washington Wizards, who are sitting in first place in the Eastern Conference as of right now.
Last season, the Wizards had Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal being the only two primary options to go with the ball. At times it looked extremely rough, but by near the end of the season, the Wizards were actually playing pretty good basketball. Something that they struggled with was team defense and scoring outside of their two primary scorers in Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal.
This season looks absolutely different. The biggest thing the Wizards did was get rid of Scott Brooks. Instead, they brought in a new young coach in Wes Unseld Jr. They are currently the #4 ranked team right now in defensive rating and Unseld Jr. has helped that plenty. Not only are they the #4 defense, but they are also the #1 seed in the whole Eastern Conference. If your argument is that they’ve not played good competition… well… they have. They’ve beat the Celtics twice already and also have beat the reigning champions in the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Wizards are getting contributions from many players other than Bradley Beal. Spencer Dinwiddie has scored well and has also been a decent playmaker alongside Bradley Beal. Montrezl Harrell has looked dominant again off the bench and a player that’s having a major impact. Kyle Kuzma is making smarter plays and has been extremely clutch at times to close out games for the Wizards when Bradley Beal was out or whatever. Not only is Kyle Kuzma playing well on the offensive end, he’s also improved defensively and in the rebounding area averaging an impressive 9.1 rebounds per game, a career-high by far.
Can they keep it up?
Do I think the Wizards will stay the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference? No, I do not, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think they’ll be a team to watch out for the whole season. It wouldn’t surprise me if somehow the Wizards pull off being a top 4 team in the East. They’ve got some good pieces around Bradley Beal and are playing really well on the defensive end.
