Do The Washington Wizards Have The Best Backcourt?

The Washington Wizards season ended on a dismal note. They weren’t blown out, which is always an embarrassing way to go out for the year. They were trailing for a good chunk of the second half, but came back, and even led for parts of the fourth quarter.

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Paul Pierce was momentarily “The Truth” again in this series, as the team trusted him yet again for the last shot. He got it up, sank a beautiful shot that I still have no idea how he was able to make, only for it to be waved off for it being in his hand for a fraction of a second too long. Had he made this shot, the game would have extended into overtime.

Now, analysts aren’t going to be making much of the Wizards’ stats from this game since their season is now over, but there was an outstanding performance from some of the Wizards players. Mainly, their backcourt.

The frontcourt actually played pretty poorly. The starting three in the frontcourt only combined for 11 points. To put that into perspective, Kevin Seraphin, who previously had only gotten 10 total minutes in this series, outscored all three of the frontcourt starters combined.

This was a huge reason for their downfall in Game 6, but that’s another conversation for another time.

What the huge highlight was was the teamwork and combination between John Wall and Bradley Beal. Beal was left solo for three games in this series to run things without his partner in crime, but when Wall came back they certainly tore things up.

Beal is an emerging star, and in my opinion, one of the most underrated shooting guards that currently plays in the NBA. He’s getting more recognition now, but I think it’s long overdue.

As it was brought up by many news stations the day of the game, Beal is high on the list for most 20-point games for a player 21 years of age.

Impressive, right? Even more impressive, he’s only actually played 21 total playoff games.

There’s not really a need to show why John Wall is a great player and a great point guard since he’s been recognized as that for a while now, but just coming back and scoring double digits in both games that he played with a broken hand is extremely impressive.

Per game this year in the playoffs, Wall averaged nearly 12 assists, proving his ability to get everyone on his team involved.

Together in Game 6, the duo scored 49 of the Wizards 91 total points. It’s pretty safe to say they are the reason the team was afloat through the fourth quarter.

In Game 5, they scored 38 out of the team’s 82 total points.

They’ve immersed themselves as necessary components to the Wizards and their wins. While other players have huge contributing roles like Pierce and Marcin Gortat, the team is devastatingly lost and without identity if they are to go without either of these two players long term.

Together, they hold the team’s No. 1 and 2 two slots as far as points, assists, and steals.

So, there’s obviously a case for them to be considered as the NBA’s best backcourt, but who are their contenders?

One of the teams that is generally accepted as having the “best backcourt” is the Golden State Warriors. The Splash Brothers, Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry, both play great basketball and have led their team to the Western Conference Finals.

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Together, they averaged a whopping 45.5 points per game, and on top of that average more than 10 assists per game together.

What they’ve been able to do in the Bay Area this year is outstanding, and it’s not yet come to an end. In my opinion, they are still the best backcourt in the league, and have proven so all year long. Stephen Curry proved himself as an individual having a great year, and claiming the title of MVP.

However, that doesn’t mean the Wizards are very far behind. With what they were able to do in the playoffs this year, they showed they are certainly a playoff team. They have some of the best teamwork between two players in the NBA, and appear to have a great relationship. That can only get better with more time, and more collaboration together.

While questions surround the status of Pierce and if he will stick around in the NBA next year, Wall and Beal can still keep the team going with their great play together and great teamwork. They will be the factors that keeps the team going no matter who stays, and who goes this offseason.

It’s fun watching these two play together, and it’s something Washington isn’t even close to letting go of.

Next: NBA Awards Watch: Final MVP Pick For 2014-15

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