3 reasons Washington Wizards will make the 2019 NBA Playoffs

1. Playing with a chip on their shoulder

Last season, the expectations were high for the Wizards. They went 49-33 in Scott Brooks’ first season as head coach and made it all the way to the Eastern Conference semifinals. With one of the best backcourts in the NBA, they were expected to be a top-five squad. Instead, John Wall got hurt and missed 41 games. Beal found his way for part of the stretch, but nobody else stepped up outside of Satoransky.

Now, the expectations for 2018-19 are low for the Wizards. Most of the attention has been on Wall and his frequent attendance of nightclubs in the DC area, or the belief that Dwight Howard is a roster problem, given the Charlotte Hornets’ quickness to trade him away.

Nobody outside of the Washington Wizards believes they will accomplish much in 2018-19 and that was sort of the vibe before the 2016-17 season. This time though, they’ve got experience in the backcourt in Austin Rivers and Tomas Satoransky, plus a wildcard in Jeff Green off the bench. They also have Dwight Howard in the starting rotation.

The Wizards aren’t in terrible shape entering the new season, they just need to prove their doubters wrong. Wall and Beal can play their best with solid backups now and they’ve got Howard around to possibly open up the floor for them at center. With all that each brings, they’ll be playing with a chip on their shoulder, which could mean a better result by the end of the regular season.