Washington was one of the worst teams in the league in the early part of the season. They started the season with a 0-5 slump and then were 4-16 in their first 20 games.
Since then, talks about making trades and starting rebuilding have come up and their fans were losing hope.
Recently, things have started to shift in DC as the Wizards are now producing high-level play this February.
Washington have won nine out of their 15 games this month and six out of their last seven games.
Their most recent win came after defeating Denver in a tightly contested game, 112-110, that saw All-Star Bradley Beal drop 33 points. Russell Westbrook had a triple-double outing with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Washington is now 12-18 and sitting as the 12th seed in the East, and are now only three wins behind the current eighth seed holder Charlotte (15-16) and four wins behind the fifth seed Miami (16-17).
Before their hot streak, it was only Beal and Westbrook who were putting up great numbers.
The University of Florida product has been producing 32.8 points 5.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists. In January, Beal was averaging 36.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists.
The former UCLA standout has been putting up almost a triple-double this season with 19.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 9.7 assists. Last month, Westbrook was putting up 21.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.8 assists.
Despite their good numbers, they still failed to rack up wins.
However, this month, their role players are finally stepping up and playing well.
Rui Hachimura, who missed out on some games in the initial part of the season has been averaging 15.6 points and 5.2 rebounds, Raul Neto has been proving himself as a productive point guard with his 8.2 points and 2.4 rebounds. Rookie Deni Avdija has been averaging 10.0 points and 5.6 rebounds this month while Robin Lopez is showing his veteran leadership and has been averaging 8.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists.
Washington is ninth in points per game and is now 11th in rebounding, which shows their development in the hustle category. They’re also in the top 15 in assists which means more players are now getting buckets for the team compared to before where they were only relying on Beal and Westbrook.
Although they’re still one of the worst defensive teams in the league with their defensive rating of 115.9, there is no doubt that consistency will be they key for the Wizards to fully bounce back from their horrible start and somehow make it to the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
Do you think the Wizards can be consistent with their stellar play? Sound off in the comment section!
