Washington Wizards: 2018-19 NBA season preview

Best-case scenario

The Washington Wizards finish as a top-five team in the East. They’ll have their challenges with the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers, but their starting lineup should be one of the best in the NBA. By their own standards, the Wizards underachieved last season and it didn’t help fearless leader John Wall wasn’t there to save the day.

By the time the postseason arrived, the Wizards looked ready to go home, losing 4-2 to the Toronto Raptors in the first round. This season, Washington could be a 9-10 man squad if all goes well. They aren’t short on depth at all in the backcourt or in the frontcourt, which should allow for them to make a deep run in the playoffs.

Worst-case scenario

The Wizards’ experiment with Dwight Howard goes terribly wrong, leaving a big hole at the center position for them to fill. Ian Mahinmi just isn’t a starting center and that’s not a knock on his game. He just hasn’t been what they expected when they signed him to a four-year, $64 million deal. Through two seasons, he’s putting up 5.0 points and 4.3 rebounds in 15.7 minutes of action.

In this case, they don’t have a solid frontcourt option outside of Howard to fill the void. There’s Jason Smith but he’s played sparingly since joining the team in 2016. He appeared in just 33 contests in 2017-18. If Howard doesn’t work out in the rotation, though, Washington will really have to rely on a small-ball lineup to get it done. Looking across the landscape in the East, things could be difficult for them if they have to rely solely on Mahini and Smith at the center position.