Washington Wizards: 2017-18 NBA season preview

The Washington Wizards have a slightly retooled roster as they enter the 2017-18 season. Here’s a preview of what to expect this upcoming season.

The Washington Wizards had a productive 2016-17 season, qualifying as the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. They lost in seven games to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals, but after the type of offseason they had, they’re set to make another deep run in the NBA Playoffs.

The Wizards had a bit of a rollercoaster season with bench depth issues down the stretch. They began the season 6-11 through the months of October and November before turning things around before the new year. They went 29-12 through the months of December, January and February before finishing up 14-10 in the final two months.

The team found its groove before the All-Star Break and new additions of Bojan Bogdanovic and Brandon Jennings helped some, but the duo wasn’t enough as the Washington Wizards ultimately fell in the end.

Point guard John Wall finished as an All-NBA Third Team selection after averaging 23.1 points, 10.7 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game last season. Wall was the unsung leader for the Wizards all season long and backcourt mate Bradley Beal was right beside him, averaging 23.1 points, 3.5 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game.

Forward Otto Porter Jr. had a career year as well, averaging a career-high 13.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He was rewarded in the offseason with a max contract as a restricted free agent.

Wall, Beal and Porter are the core to build around going forward and the Wizards have more talent (old and new) to work with in 2017-18.

2016-17 Vitals

49-33, 1st in Southeast Division, 4th in Eastern Conference
109.2 PPG (5th)/107.4 OPP PPG (21st)
111.2 Offensive Rating (7th)/109.3 Defensive Rating (20th)

Team Leaders
Scoring:  Bradley Beal, 23.1 PPG
Rebounding:  Marcin Gortat 10.4 RPG
Assists:  John Wall, 10.7 APG
Steals:  John Wall, 2.0 SPG
Blocks:  Ian Mahinmi, 0.8 BPG

Honors
All-NBA Third Team:  John Wall
All-Star:  John Wall