NBA play-in: 3 ways the tournament could lead to total chaos

NBA play-in scenario No. 3: The Washington Wizards get into the NBA playoffs

The Washington Wizards must feel like they’ve been to hell and back. They started the season 0-5 and 3-12, and they had almost two full weeks of games obliterated from their schedule when COVID ran rampant through their locker room.

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They played no games between January 12th and 23rd, simply trying to get healthy and recovered from the plague that afflicted them. Eventually, they did indeed get back at it, and from that point forward their season went on a series of streaks both good and bad. The Wizards had a five-game losing streak in March, with two losses against the Milwaukee Bucks, a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, and remaining two against the Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings.

Then, in April, they went on an eight-game winning streak, although they were mostly beating up on the league’s worst teams. Of course, signature wins against the top-ranked Utah Jazz and the Golden State Warriors were in the mix, but it was a streak they needed to get back into contention for that final play-in spot.

Now, they’re in 10th, 1.5 games behind the ninth-seeded Indiana Pacers and 2.5 games ahead of the 11th-seeded Toronto Raptors. The Wizards always want to make the playoffs, regardless of what seed they get, so they’re a franchise that would be delighted if they could make the most of this opportunity and squeeze into the playoffs in the most stunning of fashions.