John Wall and the Wizards’ Magic
Whoever says that they saw it coming is a liar. The Wizards are heading into the All-Star break as the third seed in the Eastern Conference. One could make a real argument for John Wall as the east’s top point guard. Bradley Beal is doing what was expected of him when he inked a 5 year, $127 million contract in July.
Otto Porter is a bust no longer; in fact he is the NBA’s best three-point shooter. Yes, Otto Porter is leading the National Basketball Association in three point field goal percentage. He is shooting 46 percent from beyond the arc.
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The Wizards are 9th in the NBA in offensive rating and 12th in defensive rating. Being above average on both sides of the ball hints at the idea that Washington’s three seed is no fluke. If there was one aspect of the team’s game which could be categorized as a true weakness, it would be on the glass. Washington ranks 26th in the league in total rebounds per game.
The presence of a true big-3 has been proven as the recipe for success for all of the league’s contenders, and the Wizards are no different.
John Wall, the face of the franchise, is averaging career highs in points, assists, and steals (which he currently leads the league in). His career year is much of the reason for Washington’s sudden success. Although he is the leader of the young, rapidly improving roster, he is not the most improved player on his team.
Bradley Beal played 55 games all of last season, and he started 35 of those games. In 2016-17, he has played 50 games and started all of them. The main critique of the 23-year-old throughout his young career has been that he is unable to remain healthy for an entire season. That was also the main criticism of the monstrous contract that he signed last season to remain in Washington for the foreseeable future.
However, Beal has proven his critics wrong. He is averaging over 22 points per game, a career high, and was considered to be a serious candidate as an all-star replacement for Kevin Love before Carmelo Anthony was named to the squad.
Beal’s burst onto the scene has paid dividends to John Wall, who had carried quite the workload over the past couple seasons while Beal dealt with injury.
Otto Porter has morphed into the third head of the Wizards’ three-headed monster. His lights-out three point shooting and all-around improved offensive game (leads the league in offensive rating) has taken Washington to the next level. Porter’s and Beal’s emergences, paired with perennial all-star John Wall, has made the Wiz a legitimate threat in the Eastern Conference.
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Washington is currently 29th in the NBA in bench points per game, so they may look to add a bench piece or two at the trade deadline, which is on February 23. However, the Wizards look poised to make a playoff run as their roster stands. The combination of the big-3 with Markieff Morris and Marcin Gortat forms a starting unit that no team in the east would want to play.