Washington Wizards get set to start the second half of their season
The first half of the NBA season is in the books, and it is time to look forward to the second part. Much like last year, the Washington Wizards made their presence felt on All-Star weekend. Here is where we stop and flash back a little:
It was last year that the Wizards nearly grabbed two competitions in Saturday’s events. The two most notable contests from All-Star weekend are the three-point contest and the very famous slam-dunk competition. Starting shooting guard Bradley Beal participated in last seasons three-point shootout, and fell just short of the crown, finishing in second-place.
The Wizards star player, John Wall, participated in the most highly anticipated event from All-Star weekend: the dunk contest. Not only did he take part in it, but he also placed himself on the historical list of some of the all-time greats that have won this event, topping his competition, and grabbing the 2014 Sprite slam-dunk crown.
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By Saturday, everyone knew who the Wizards were, but it got even better on Sunday. Wall was selected to the first All-Star game of his career, and totaled 12 points, five rebounds, and four assists in his debut. Fast forward to this season, and Wall lead all Eastern Conference guards in All-Star votes, receiving the first start of his career.
He recorded 19 points, seven assists, and three rebounds in the 2015 All Star game. Only two players on the East side topped his scoring total, and four in the game. Although Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook won MVP of the game, that’s not the important thing. The big thing is that everyone now knows that Wall is legit, and that he is one of the best point guards in the league.
Him and this Washington Wizards team have 28 games left to the regular season. That’s 28 more games to try and set themselves up even better for a nice and lengthy playoff run. They lasted until the second round last season, and are looking to achieve even greater things this time around.
16 out of their 28 remaining games will take place against teams that are currently ten games below .500 or more. They don’t have such a tough road ahead, but no team should be taken for granted in this league. However, the Wizards are a team that have realized that.
While they have not been finding success against the tougher teams in the league, they have wiped off almost every single weak team they have faced this season. They own a remarkable record of 24-6 against teams that currently have records of under .500 this season.
While that might not be saying much considering that they are against teams in the lower echelon of the NBA, a lot of quality teams overlook the weak ones and lose some games that they shouldn’t. The Wizards have played like a veteran team and made sure that they don’t fall into that trap.
However, they will have to start beating tough teams eventually, and that is something that they will definitely work on as we approach the last 28 games of the 2015 NBA regular season.