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| At the midway point, the struggling Wizards are far from panicking | At the midway point, the struggling Wizards are far from panicking |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| In the days leading up to their 106-87 trouncing of the Miami Heat on Wednesday, the Washington Wizards, losers of two straight games, did not watch one second of film on their opponents. The focus, the coaching staff decided, should be on themselves, so the team instead viewed a summary of its recent four-game winning streak — of better times, when they were playing their best basketball of their turbulent season. | |
| The players saw themselves stifling offenses. Layups were at a premium. They deflected balls and turned teams over. They converted the mishaps into points and spread the offensive shine around. | The players saw themselves stifling offenses. Layups were at a premium. They deflected balls and turned teams over. They converted the mishaps into points and spread the offensive shine around. |
| “That’s our identity,” point guard John Wall said. “We know what it is.” | “That’s our identity,” point guard John Wall said. “We know what it is.” |
| Knowing and executing, as the Wizards can testify, are very different. They had promptly followed that promising four-game run with consecutive losses at Verizon Center, surrendering a combined 227 points, before pulverizing the Heat. The sequence was a fitting sample of Washington’s enigmatic season. | Knowing and executing, as the Wizards can testify, are very different. They had promptly followed that promising four-game run with consecutive losses at Verizon Center, surrendering a combined 227 points, before pulverizing the Heat. The sequence was a fitting sample of Washington’s enigmatic season. |
| [Porter, Gooden could return for Monday’s game vs. Celtics] | [Porter, Gooden could return for Monday’s game vs. Celtics] |
| At the halfway point of their schedule, the Wizards are 20-21, good for ninth place in the Eastern Conference through Saturday’s games. There have been nights when they look like a top-flight contender — their resume includes a home win over the San Antonio Spurs and road victories against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Heat (at full strength), Dallas Mavericks, Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers — and just as many nights when they assume the identity of a team bound for the lottery. | At the halfway point of their schedule, the Wizards are 20-21, good for ninth place in the Eastern Conference through Saturday’s games. There have been nights when they look like a top-flight contender — their resume includes a home win over the San Antonio Spurs and road victories against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Heat (at full strength), Dallas Mavericks, Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers — and just as many nights when they assume the identity of a team bound for the lottery. |
| They have already lost more games at home than they did all of last season — 13 to 12 — and have not played a game with a record better than .500 since Thanksgiving Eve. | They have already lost more games at home than they did all of last season — 13 to 12 — and have not played a game with a record better than .500 since Thanksgiving Eve. |
| “We’re not nearly where we want to be,” Washington guard Garrett Temple said. | “We’re not nearly where we want to be,” Washington guard Garrett Temple said. |
| Inconsistent intensity and defensive efforts, intertwined elements, have regularly sabotaged them. When shots don’t fall, they often fold at the other end. There have been flashes of the defense that ranked in the top 10 each of the past three seasons, but they’ve tumbled to 18th in defensive efficiency. After giving up 100-plus points in 33 games last season, they’ve already allowed teams to score at least 100 points 25 times, though the inflated number is partly the product of their faster pace. | Inconsistent intensity and defensive efforts, intertwined elements, have regularly sabotaged them. When shots don’t fall, they often fold at the other end. There have been flashes of the defense that ranked in the top 10 each of the past three seasons, but they’ve tumbled to 18th in defensive efficiency. After giving up 100-plus points in 33 games last season, they’ve already allowed teams to score at least 100 points 25 times, though the inflated number is partly the product of their faster pace. |
| “It’s simple,” Wall said. “We’ve proven it. Just play defense.” | “It’s simple,” Wall said. “We’ve proven it. Just play defense.” |
| But for all their injuries and struggles, the Wizards are still just 1.5 games behind the Boston Celtics and Heat, who are tied for the final two playoff spots, despite playing the NBA’s toughest schedule based on opponents’ winning percentages. A mere 4.5-game gulf separates them from the third-place Atlanta Hawks. Another win streak catapults them right into the postseason mix for the third straight season, though they would probably be wise to not finish in fourth, fifth or eighth place and avoid the Cavaliers until the conference finals. | But for all their injuries and struggles, the Wizards are still just 1.5 games behind the Boston Celtics and Heat, who are tied for the final two playoff spots, despite playing the NBA’s toughest schedule based on opponents’ winning percentages. A mere 4.5-game gulf separates them from the third-place Atlanta Hawks. Another win streak catapults them right into the postseason mix for the third straight season, though they would probably be wise to not finish in fourth, fifth or eighth place and avoid the Cavaliers until the conference finals. |
| “It gives you a belief,” Wittman said. | “It gives you a belief,” Wittman said. |
| [Wizards reunite the two towers, Gortat and Nene] | [Wizards reunite the two towers, Gortat and Nene] |
| The Wizards are confident a second-half surge is forthcoming, and the assurance starts with better health. Injuries have pilfered their roster unlike any other in the league. According to mangameslost.com, the Wizards have had players miss a combined 186 games because of injuries; the Denver Nuggets, owners of a 16-27 record, are next on the list, at 135. The deluge often left Washington with just nine or 10 players available, forcing Coach Randy Wittman to experiment with the strangest of lineups and rely on Wall, the Eastern Conference player of the month for December, more than ever before. | The Wizards are confident a second-half surge is forthcoming, and the assurance starts with better health. Injuries have pilfered their roster unlike any other in the league. According to mangameslost.com, the Wizards have had players miss a combined 186 games because of injuries; the Denver Nuggets, owners of a 16-27 record, are next on the list, at 135. The deluge often left Washington with just nine or 10 players available, forcing Coach Randy Wittman to experiment with the strangest of lineups and rely on Wall, the Eastern Conference player of the month for December, more than ever before. |
| “We’re nowhere where we wanted to be,” said Wall, who has played in every game despite several nagging injuries, averaging a career-high 19.9 points to go along with 9.7 assists. “Even with the injuries that we have we still could have been above .500. We let a lot of games slip and not come in with the focus to start games and giving teams when they’re on a back-to-back or when teams got a mindset that they don’t really want to play but when they feel like they’re in the game they close it out. We have the opportunity to do better when we start getting guys back, but even with guys injured, with the people in this locker room, we feel like we can win.” | “We’re nowhere where we wanted to be,” said Wall, who has played in every game despite several nagging injuries, averaging a career-high 19.9 points to go along with 9.7 assists. “Even with the injuries that we have we still could have been above .500. We let a lot of games slip and not come in with the focus to start games and giving teams when they’re on a back-to-back or when teams got a mindset that they don’t really want to play but when they feel like they’re in the game they close it out. We have the opportunity to do better when we start getting guys back, but even with guys injured, with the people in this locker room, we feel like we can win.” |
| The roster is finally becoming complete. Bradley Beal and Nene each recently returned from long absences, and though they are minutes restrictions, both have made substantial contributions since coming back. Drew Gooden III, who has missed 26 of Washington’s past 32 games with two left calf strains, said he was supposed to be active for Saturday’s postponed game against the Utah Jazz. Otto Porter Jr., sidelined the past four games because of a hip injury, returned to practice Friday, and Alan Anderson, who hasn’t played yet this season as he recovers from ankle surgery, is closing in on his debut. | The roster is finally becoming complete. Bradley Beal and Nene each recently returned from long absences, and though they are minutes restrictions, both have made substantial contributions since coming back. Drew Gooden III, who has missed 26 of Washington’s past 32 games with two left calf strains, said he was supposed to be active for Saturday’s postponed game against the Utah Jazz. Otto Porter Jr., sidelined the past four games because of a hip injury, returned to practice Friday, and Alan Anderson, who hasn’t played yet this season as he recovers from ankle surgery, is closing in on his debut. |
| “We’re not satisfied, obviously, with where we’re at,” Wittman said. “But I think also, with all the injuries, it could’ve been worse.” | “We’re not satisfied, obviously, with where we’re at,” Wittman said. “But I think also, with all the injuries, it could’ve been worse.” |
| [Gortat puts injury problems on the players] | [Gortat puts injury problems on the players] |
| The injuries have made Washington’s transition to the pace-and-space style they adopted this season — which the organization assumed would be bumpy even before the turmoil — all the more difficult, particularly on defense. Offensively, the Wizards have only jumped to 15th from 19th last season in efficiency, but they do rank seventh in the NBA since Dec. 1. | The injuries have made Washington’s transition to the pace-and-space style they adopted this season — which the organization assumed would be bumpy even before the turmoil — all the more difficult, particularly on defense. Offensively, the Wizards have only jumped to 15th from 19th last season in efficiency, but they do rank seventh in the NBA since Dec. 1. |
| Now it’s a matter of matching that offensive output with a stingy defense on a consistent basis to formulate a second-half surge and afford themselves another crack at the postseason. The Wizards did it two years ago, when they didn’t hurdle .500 until the 57th game of the season, on Feb. 25, then finished 44-38 and wound up two games shy of the Eastern Conference finals. Expectations were higher this season, but another dose of postseason success will bury their first-half troubles. | Now it’s a matter of matching that offensive output with a stingy defense on a consistent basis to formulate a second-half surge and afford themselves another crack at the postseason. The Wizards did it two years ago, when they didn’t hurdle .500 until the 57th game of the season, on Feb. 25, then finished 44-38 and wound up two games shy of the Eastern Conference finals. Expectations were higher this season, but another dose of postseason success will bury their first-half troubles. |
| “We’ve got to this point with a lot of guys hurt,” Wittman said. “We’ve proven that it doesn’t matter who plays. If we’re the aggressors at both ends of the floor, we’ve proven we can beat anybody.” | “We’ve got to this point with a lot of guys hurt,” Wittman said. “We’ve proven that it doesn’t matter who plays. If we’re the aggressors at both ends of the floor, we’ve proven we can beat anybody.” |