Hello everyone, happy 2019! I hope you all had a great holiday season and start to the new year! It is a new year, and we have new stuff to talk about. I said in my last post that this 10-game stretch would tell a lot about which direction the season is headed, and I believe we got our answer. The Wizards went 4-6 in the last 10 games. In this past stretch, the Wizards lost to the Hawks, Bulls, and the Heat. Those are 3 losses that cannot happen while on the outside looking in to the playoff picture midway through the season. Through following this team and this blog, all of you and I know that the Wizards struggle with 3-point shooting, defense, and rebounding. Along with those known issues and the injuries piling on, the Wizards simply are not looking like they can make a push for the playoffs. The injuries that have happened in the last couple weeks will hurt their record, will affect the rotation, and will most likely impact who is on this roster at the end of the season.
Injuries (Wall & Kieff)
Howard is still out recovering from surgery, and the effect of that on this team’s defense and rebounding has been discussed to exhaustion by me in previous posts. On top of that injury, Wall will now be out the rest of the year, and Markieff Morris will be out the next 4-6 weeks.
Kieff recently sustained a neck injury and will be held to non-contact basketball until his 4-6 week recovery period is up. That will thin out the Wizard’s already lacking front court rotation and take away scoring from their bench. However, Kieff has been playing very poorly on defense because of his non-existent lateral quickness, so hopefully time to get healthy will allow his legs to come back underneath him.
John Wall’s injury is a little more serious. He has been having bone spurs in his heal throughout the season, and it has been clearly affecting his play. Wall’s bone spurs were causing him so much pain that he decided to go see a foot specialist for a second opinion. The specialist determined he had a condition in his foot that was impacting his Achilles, and he was at an increased risk for tearing his Achilles as a result. He and the specialist agreed that surgery was the next step. The procedure will keep him out the rest of the season, but it should get rid of his heel pain and greatly reduce the risk of an Achilles rupture. Wall had not been himself this year, and apparently, he could not even walk some days due to his pain being so severe. I have been a huge critic of his inconsistent effort and have said that he needs to give it his all or be injured and out. This clip of him against the Rockets perfectly encompasses his issues this year:
The Wizards do not need these kinds of plays from him. They need his full effort or for him to be out, and now he will be out the rest of the season. I do not think that it is valid to argue that this team is better without John Wall when he is on top of his game, but this team is 100% better without him than they are with only a fraction of him. This was the right time for him to get this procedure done, and I really really hope that this surgery will get him back to being the John Wall we have come to know and love over the years.
Rotation
A lot of the individual performances have stayed the same, but the rotation has not. Jeff Green continues to be great, Thomas Bryant is getting more and more comfortable out there, and Trevor Ariza has been very good since coming here. Bryant had his best stretch these last 4 games averaging 14.6 points and 9 rebounds a game. On the wing, Ariza has been hitting 3s, rebounding, and getting steals as to be expected. Since becoming a part of the team, he has averaged 15.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.1 steals a game, but unfortunately, none of this has equated to more wins.
John Wall being out has changed the rotation a lot. Thomas Satoransky is now starting at point and has been playing very well. In the last 10 games, Sato is putting up 10.3 ppg, 4 rpg, and 3 apg while shooting 50% from the floor. He is a very smart player, and his length allows him to defend opposing guards very well. I really hope the Wizards can retain him past this season. Also, Otto Porter has come back from injury recently. After missing 10 games with a quad injury, he has played the last 3 games on MINUTE RESTRICTION while he gets his legs back. He has been flying all over the court getting rebounds, steals, blocks, and hitting shots. He scored 20 points, ripped down 6 boards, dished out 5 assists, and added 3 blocks in just 24 minutes tonight against the Thunder. He has been the aggressive version of himself that the Wizards need him to be. Unfortunately, a lot of this probably has to do with Wall being out.
Porter does not get the ball a lot with Wall on the court, so his numbers going up without Wall on the court makes perfect sense. Porter is 100% worth his contract when he is utilized, and I would expect him to continue to put up very good numbers the rest of the year with his touches increasing.
With Sato being put in to the starting lineup, Chasson Randle has become the backup PG for the Wizards. He was previously a part of the team’s G-League affiliate Capital City Go-Go. Since becoming a rotation player, he has been solid. I like his aggressiveness, his confidence, and his effort. He has shown the ability to shoot the ball and be a capable guard off the bench. Over the last 4 games, he has been averaging just over 7 points and 2 assists while shooting 38.5% from 3 and 50% from the field overall. This has been a very nice surprise to me especially after his first couple shaky games earlier in this 10-game stretch.
The thing that I am most puzzled by is the lack of minutes for Troy Brown Jr. Earlier in this stretch, Ron Baker, recently waived by the Knicks, was signed by the Wizards and did not produce at all in his opportunities. He only got up 4 shots in 3 games with playing time and missed all 4 of those attempts. I do not understand at all why the Wizards did not use this time as an opportunity to let Troy Brown get valuable minutes. After Ron Baker proved to be ineffective, Troy Brown finally received a couple opportunities. 3 games ago in a 4-point win against the Hornets, Brown got 18 minutes off the bench going 3/4 from the floor with 9 points. Surprisingly, his jump shot was smooth which has been the biggest concern for him, and he made all of the right plays. I was very impressed. However, outside of that game, Brown really has not been given minutes, and I would like to see that change moving forward.
Outlook and Possible Future Moves
The Wizards are a good team when Porter is healthy and when an injured John Wall is not in the lineup. Trevor Ariza, Jeff Green, and Otto Porter are all very good wings, Bryant is improving, Beal is undeniably a star, and Sato is very solid. All of this was showcased tonight in Oklahoma City where the Wizards won 116-98. This was just the Wizards 5th road win of the year and first ever win in Oklahoma City. Although this was a great night, I do not believe they will win enough games without Kieff, Wall, and Howard to push up the standings before the season ends. Even if they did, I do not think they could position any better than being the 7th or 8th seed playing the Bucks or Raptors. If the Wizards do not make the playoffs, they will have a lottery pick next year, and I think that would be much more beneficial long-term.
A lottery-pick would be great especially since Wall is getting another surgery meaning he is 100% un-tradable anytime soon. The Wizards are stuck with him and his crazy super-max deal for better or for worse. All we as fans can do is pray that his surgery fixes his injury/effort issues, and he can get back to being the John Wall he was back when the Wizards took the Celtics to 7 games in 2017.
A player that may be moved is Trevor Ariza. He has produced as stated before, but I do not expect him to be in a Wizard’s uniform in about a month. He is a fantastic trade asset for a team that will not accomplish anything more than a first-round exit this year. The NBA trade deadline is on February 7th, and someone looking to make a push will want Trevor Ariza just as many teams wanted him before the Wizards nabbed him from the Suns. Do not expect a blockbuster deal because the only type of trade the Wizards can make with him is a one for one swap as a result of the collective bargaining agreement. The Wizard’s front office should sit back, let the next month play out, and see who comes calling for Ariza if the Wizards look to be towards the bottom of the east.
Lastly, I do not know if Otto Porter will be on this team the rest of the season either. Personally, I do not want to see him get traded. I am a huge believer in Otto Porter, I do not mind his max deal, and I love that he does all of the little things. Porter is a great shooter, rebounder, and defender. I am not surprised that a lot of teams have expressed interest in trading for him, but I am surprised at how under appreciated he is by his own fan base. With Wall out, meaning increased touches, Porter might very well play himself into a trade. Wall is immovable, and I do not think the Wizards want to trade a shining star in Bradley Beal. So, Porter is the most likely of the Wizards 3 max contracts to be moved. Porter will likely put up very good numbers over the next few weeks in his bigger role, and teams will probably start giving the Wizards better offers for him around the trade deadline. I hope the Wizards are patient and do not take a poor offer just to create cap space, but I can definitely see Porter getting traded soon. The Mavericks and the Pelicans have reportedly shown interest in him, so this is a situation to definitely keep your eye on.
The Wizards have a very tough schedule coming up and as always, I will be here to cover any trades and injuries that occur in the next 10 games. Barring anything noteworthy happening soon, I will be back with post #5 on the 29th!
Please leave comments if you have any thoughts on the Wizards, thoughts on the blog, or if you would like me to discuss a certain aspect/topic of the Wizards next time!
Boo On The Bullets 