Washington Wizards: 3 takeaways from the first month of the season

3.  Team defense is improving steadily

The Washington Wizards have allowed 100 points or less in five of their last seven games. They’ve held opponents to an average of 98.1 points per game in that same span. It is well below the 104.3 points per game they have allowed as a team thus far in the 2017-18 season.

The Wizards rank 12th in the NBA in opponent points per game this year, well above their 21st ranking from a season ago. They’re 6-6 so far in the month of November. They had won four straight games before falling 91-88 to the Miami Heat last Friday night. If John Wall hadn’t sat out that game, who knows what may have happened. They are 1-1 so far this season without Wall in the rotation with their defense improving despite their early record.

Last season, the Washington Wizards allowed 107.4 points per game, ranking 21st in the NBA. That defensive effort produced a 109.3 defensive rating as well, which ranked 20th in the league. This season, the Wizards boast a defensive rating of 103.5, which ranks 11th in the NBA.

Washington is beginning to find their bearings on defense as the schedule really gets into gear these next few months. They look primed for a run, they just need to find the right offense to go with it.