The Washington Wizards started off the season blistering hot. A lot of people predicted them to be a clear-cut playoff team behind the play of Bradley Beal and a new supporting cast.
But then, the mid-season scaries hit. The Wizards plummeted in the standings and Beal went down with an injury that will now keep him out for the remainder of the season.
And while their chances of making the playoffs are increasingly slim, they still have a shot at sneaking into the play-in tournament behind the play of one guy in particular – Kyle Kuzma.
Can Kyle Kuzma lead the Washington Wizards to the play-in?
Since the All-Star break, although the Wizards are only 1-2, Kuzma has been on an absolute tear. He’s playing some of the best basketball of his young career.
In three games, Kuzma is averaging 30.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists while shooting 51.6 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from behind the three-point line.
No one else on the Wizards is averaging more than 17.3 points (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope). Needless to say, they’re making the Lakers look pretty foolish for making the Russell Westbrook trade.
Washington currently sits at 11th in the Eastern Conference, but they are only one game back of both the Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Hornets, who occupy the ninth and tenth seeds in the East.
Missing Beal is certain to hurt their chances, but with a little less than 20 games left to play in the regular season, they are in a quiet position to overtake the Hawks or Hornets.
Charlotte, in particular, has been playing terribly. They’ve lost 11 of their last 13 games. Even Atlanta is struggling to stay afloat, as they’ve gone 4-6 in their last 10.
And while the Wizards haven’t been doing great, either, with how well Kuzma has been playing, who’s to say he can’t lead them to the play-in (and possibly beyond).