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Washington Wizards Continue To Be Overlooked

By Colby Giacubeno

Dec 3, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) celebrates in front of Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) and Wizards center Marcin Gortat (4) against the Los Angeles Lakers in the fourth quarter at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 111-95. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 3, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) celebrates in front of Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) and Wizards center Marcin Gortat (4) against the Los Angeles Lakers in the fourth quarter at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 111-95. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Washington Wizards haven’t yet been able to become one of the teams in the Eastern Conference that is a realistic title contender. Let’s face it, before John Wall and Bradley Beal partnered together in the backcourt, they were a pushover throughout the entire NBA, missing the playoffs five consecutive seasons.

The past two seasons however, they’ve made it to the Eastern Conference semifinals and lost in both appearances in six games. Going from the doldrums of the league to the conference semifinals is a pretty impressive feat and now Wizards fans are raising their expectations. But how come the rest of the league isn’t giving this team more notice?

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Right away, people use the loss of Paul Pierce as the reasoning for why the Wizards won’t be able to have as good of a season as last year. There is no discounting Pierce’s impact on this team all season long, starting with the development of Otto Porter.

Pierce brought the confidence out in Porter’s game that the Wizards have been waiting on since taking him with the third overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. Pierce was also able to bring the toughness and confidence to the team heading into the playoffs, and letting his presence be known immediately after stating Toronto didn’t have “it.”

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After supplying the tea with the routine big shots throughout the series, Wall and Beal carried much of the production and Washington was able to cap off a 4-0 sweep of the Raptors, the first sweep in franchise history.

Besides his presence, will the Wizards miss him as bad as everyone is saying? Pierce had the lowest usage rating of his 17-year career at just 19.94. He had his lowest scoring, rebounding and assists averages of his career as well. It was clear that though Pierce’s presence had an impact, his numbers and skills just weren’t there as they used to be. That being said, this team clearly ran off the production of Wall, Beal and Marcin Gortat. Last time I checked, the Wizards still have all three, plus they added veteran leadership to replace Pierce.

The three veterans the Wizards added in the offseason — Jared Dudley, Gary Neal and Alan Anderson — should even produce more statistically that Pierce did. Dudley gives them an outside threat and at 6’7,” an open option to have him play minutes at the stretch-4 as he did in Milwaukee last season.

Feb 20, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Jared Dudley (9) during the game against the Denver Nuggets at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Milwaukee won 89-81. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 20, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Jared Dudley (9) during the game against the Denver Nuggets at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Milwaukee won 89-81. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports /

Many of Dudley’s shot attempts will come off penetration of Wall. Considering that he shot 38.5 percent from deep last season, it is safe to assume that number will only increase playing alongside Wall.

Gary Neal is another seasoned veteran with championship experience during his time in San Antonio. Since then, Neal has bounced around from Milwaukee, Charlotte, and Minnesota, all of which he averaged from the 9-11 point range coming off the bench. With the Wizards, Neal can look to continue to come off the bench at either the point guard or shooting guard position. Neal is a 38.1 percent three-point shooter for his career.

Anderson is a better all-around scorer in comparison with the previous two. Although he doesn’t average as many points per game as Dudley and Neal at just 7.4 last season, he depends more on his midrange and ability to finish at the rim rather than shooting from outside. The Wizards desperately need a player who can do just that this upcoming season off the bench.

If Anderson can be that at just a little more of an efficient rate than his time with the Nets, he will be a key contributor. The only thing to watch with Anderson is his tendency to be a gunner with shots. Head coach Randy Wittman has been known as being very firm with not playing guys who like to get a lot of shots up in a short amount of time. This will all depend on Anderson’s understanding of his role prior to the season, and I’m sure Wittman will let him know exactly what that entails.

These three will definitely be enough to replace the production of Pierce, which is why I am still baffled at the critics who have them finishing worse than last season. Yes, the Eastern Conference definitely got stronger in regards to the weaker teams, but the Wizards should still remain in at least the top four of the conference.

Wall is an All-Star point guard. Beal is one of the rising shooting guards of the league. Porter finally took the necessary steps to prepare him for the starting position this season. Nene, well he’s still around and will have his impact, but could be replaced often to go with a smaller lineup. And Gortat will continue to be one of the most efficient big men working in the paint.

All that with a very solid bench, should mean nothing but success for the Wizards, and I think it’s time they start getting noticed for it.

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