NFL
By: Joe Cardoso
Last season the Washington Wizards made it to the second round of the NBA playoffs. They lost a heart breaker to the Atlanta Hawks; a series I say they would have won with a healthy John Wall. So coming into this season Wizards fans expected a big bounce back. Otto Porter was set to take the next step, and Bradley Beal would join forces with Wall Star and they’d be the Splash Brothers of the East. Fast forward to February 2, 2016 and here be what we have:
Washington is 21-25 five games out of first place
Bradley Beal can NOT stay healthy and wants a max deal, but is talking minute’s restrictions? What star player does that?
The Big Men, Nene and Gortat, are hardly on the floor together
The defense is horrible
30th in rebounding
24TH in Points allowed
11th in the East
Most Wizards fans are shocked by the results so far, but expected a bounce back after a few weeks. As we head into the all-star break, this team is uneasy. John Wall is having to carry the load night in and out, with little to no hope. What they need is to really get back to the level of defense Wittman had them at last year. Beal needs to be on the court, and Porter needs to continue to grow.
Will they make some moves at the trading deadline and shake things up a bit? The good thing is playing in the East All is not lost for the Wiz Kids. A couple of wins and lock down D, along with taking care of the ball, and they can be right back in it.
Even so, this is not the season Wizards fans had in mind. Coming into the season most people said a trip to the Conference Finals was the next step. Now I would say getting off the mat and fighting back into playoff talk would be a huge win for the team. To truly not be seen as the same old Wizards they need to show some fight and make some moves. With all the KD2DC talk how must Kevin Durant feel looking at what this squad has done so far? Also, look for rookie Kelly Oubre to get more and more playing time moving forward; he’s shown flashes.
Fear not Wizards fans! The season is not over. Now it’s on the players to sink or swim…stay tuned.
