NBA: Predicting the Eastern Conference playoff mess

5. Washington Wizards

The Washington Wizards have had an up-and-down March, but they don’t call it March Madness for nothing. The Wizards turned a corner in their last victory against the Boston Celtics, a 125-124 double-overtime win on Wednesday night.

Washington trailed the Celtics by as many as 20 points before coming all the way back to tie things in regulation. It took some extra time but the Wizards ended up winning in the end, without John Wall at that. They got 34 points out of Bradley Beal, 20 from Markieff Morris and 18 from Otto Porter Jr.

The Wizards have missed John Wall, that’s been evident. Finishing fifth in the East without him would be no small feat.

One huge sigh of relief in Wall’s absence has been Ian Mahinmi. Mahinmi put up 14 points and 11 rebounds, his first double-double of the season against the Celtics. While Marcin Gortat seems to be souring, Mahinmi seems to be stepping up in his place.

Washington getting the fifth seed isn’t a blessing in-disguise, though, as they’d face the fourth seed, a team surging in their own right.