Washington Wizards: Assessing the team at the midseason mark
Defense
Defensively, the Washington Wizards have improved mightily from a season ago. Last season, they ranked 21st in opponents points per game and 20th in defensive rating in the NBA. This season, they rank 11th in opponents points per game (104.0) and eighth in defensive rating (106.4).
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The Wizards have made strides to improve on defense and it’s shown, just not on a consistent basis. Take the Wizards’ 47-point drubbing at the hands of the Jazz back on Dec. 4. Washington shot 28.8 percent from the floor while allowing Utah to shoot 56.6 percent. The Wizards were also out-rebounded 51-32.
Washington has had a tough time finding consistency on defense despite the numbers. Some of it has to do with scoring droughts while most of it has to do with setting a tone early. In their game against Utah, the Wizards were outscored 29-15 in the first quarter and things took on a snowball effect from there.
Washington is 14-2 when allowing 100 points or less on defense, which isn’t bad considering they’ve only played 40 games. But factoring in losses to the Brooklyn Nets twice and Atlanta Hawks once changes your outlook on this team.
Going forward they need to start winning games where they’re better than the other team on paper. This week should be a good test for them as they face three teams with losing records (Utah, Memphis Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets).
Grade: B