For as long as I could remember, I have been a Wizards fan. I will go far back as the year 2001, the last season Michael Jordan played, I got to see him in person but he didn’t play. Fast forward to 2006 the Gilbert Arenas era and I experienced wins and playoff appearances and playoff losses. Then fast forward to 2008-2010 alot of mess and turmoil and changes. John Wall was drafted in 2010 on the tail end of the Arenas era and now the organization would build around their #1 draft pick. Now 6 years later, The Wizards have added key pieces such as Bradley Beal and Paul Pierce (who was only here a year or so) and others who have helped the Wizards succeed and see playoff success the last couple of years.
December 6, 2016 The Wizards now see themselves with a record of 7-13 after their loss to the Orlando Magic where John Wall scored a new career high of 52 points. I began to look back and analyze the losses and tried to see where the Wizards have fallen short.
- Turnovers- in the losses the Wizards have suffered they have committed 20+ turnovers with their opponent scoring off those turnovers. Imagine if they would try to limit turnovers and play smart how good they would be and not to mention confidence.
- Defensive Stops- in times when the wizards loss close games, they would either have a small lead and not close out the game or on defense make a costly mistake costing them the game, and saying the same thing we messed up on defense and not executing once the stop is made.
- Confidence- Are the Wizards lacking confidence or am I reading too deep into this? The opportunity to win games come every night but I notice when the Wizards have a somewhat comfortable lead and the second unit comes in, they can’t build on that lead or shot don’t fall.
- Changes- I know the players on this team love what they do or they wouldn’t be in the position they are in to be successful. But then I think about this whenever Washington would go through a coaching change: Eddie Jordan, Flip Saunders, Randy Whitman, Scott Brooks the first season it would always take the entire team a few games to get adjusted and mesh. Maybe this is what is happening this season, Coach Brooks is the new coach, you have new players who are still getting adjusted to him and his system but at the end of the day this game is about trust, communication, confidence, and achieving the goal that is set in place win games, make the playoffs, win championship.
So I ask myself should I be concerned for my team in the long. The NBA season is a long grueling process and I know the Wizards will be successful and hopefully make the playoffs. It’s still to early to talk about the playoffs as the Wizards are currently 12th in the east. I love this team and I am rooting for their success but should I be concerned that the outcome of this season may not be what I want it to be? I will continue to cheer on my guys and push for their success but something has to give. The will to Win games and work hard has to be there. I can’t speak for the players but if that love isn’t there then concern starts to float in.
Washington plays Denver tomorrow night at home, I hope the lost to Orlando fuels some fire and motivates them to fight to the finish. It is a long season but it’s time for a Wizards win streak! 🙂
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy
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