Trevor Ariza

With the preseason set to begin on October 6th, there’s lots to be excited about in the Washington Wizards world. After an impressive 2013-2014 campaign that saw five players average double figures in scoring, John Wall average nearly nine assists and two steals per game, and a first round playoff victory against the Chicago Bulls, the Washington Wizards are again set to make a run into the playoffs. Here’s how:

Last year, the Wizards ranked ninth in points allowed, a nod to their defensive ability at each position. Down low, Marcin Gortat averaged a respectable 1.49 blocks per game (9th among pure centers) while Nêne averaged 1.2 steals per game. On the perimeter, the Wizards are stacked with young talent starting to play like NBA stars. In addition to the aforementioned two steals per game from John Wall, Bradley Beal has held down the shooting guard position (both averaged 1.5 steals in the postseason). The athleticism of this bunch, especially John Wall, makes it extremely difficult to play a two way game against them—opposing players, after chasing and containing the Wizards on defense, are simply too tired to bring it to the Wizards’ defense.

Offense has always come naturally for the Wizards. John Wall has the speed to create a shot every time down the floor and Bradley Beal eats corner threes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But what makes this group special is that they haven’t even reached their potential.

Sure, it’s easy to say that John Wall averages 19.9 points and 8.8 steals per game and that should be good enough for him–not so. What about those 3.6 turnovers per game? This was a slight uptick from the 3.2 turnovers per game that he averaged last year, so I think he can not only get back to 3.2, but drop below 3 TOPG per game for the first time in his career. That would be a huge boon to the Wizards, who are secretly one of the better passing teams in the league (Gortat and Nene are underrated in this regard).

While Otto Porter and Glen Rice, Jr. didn’t show us much last year–Glen Rice, Jr. played in only eleven games–they looked great in this year’s Las Vegas Summer League. If Otto Porter can adapt his game to play as a second- third- or even fourth-option on offense, he can be one of the most versatile players in the league.

 

Paul Brandley | Washington Wizards 2014-15 Updated Preview from Paul Brandley