Tagged: nba

Washington Wizards returning players prediction

The big three on the wizards will remain for next year as they are bound by contract. Beal and Porter are signed for three more years but Porter has a player option for the thi rd year. John Wall is signed for 4 more with a player option for a fifth year.  Other players still bound by contract include Kelly Oubre, Markieff Morris. Gortat, Smith and Satoransky for one more year. Jodie Meeks has a player option for one more year, but I think he will decline because he stated he wasn’t happy with his role on the team. Ian Mahinmi is also signed for two more years.
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Although Marcin Gortat still has time on his contract, I predict he will be traded because he is on the decline, playing poorly last season and stated he wanted to retire on the Magic. The Wizard’s GM also said that they were looking to trade Gortat, Morris, or Mahinmi. I think that they will let Ramon Sessions and Tim Frazier walk as neither of them got any minutes in the playoffs and they already have enough point guards especially if they sign Ty Lawson, which I think they will. I think they will drop Chris McCullough because he doesn’t fit the team needs and they will pursue Mike Scott because his contract is expiring and he played well this season.

Offseason moves

With the disappointing end to their season by losing in the first round, they look to the offseason to further improve their team. They started off by extending the contract of their General Manager, Ernie Grunfeld. This was an unpopular move as he has not had much success. He has been GM since 2003 and they have not made it past the Eastern Conference Semi Finals.

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They will also be developing young players such as Kelly Oubre, Devin Robinson, and whoever they pick with the 15th pick in the 2018 draft. With a high quality draft class, this pick could potentially turn into an all-star who could push the wizards further into the playoffs.  They will also be targeting big name free agents such as Deandre Jordan and Demarcus Cousins. With the decline of Marcin Gortat, a center is needed in order to get success.

Wizards Overall Postseason

The wizards postseason ended disappointingly when they lost in the first round to the Toronto Raptors. The Wizards were able to win two home games however, pushing the series to 6 games before losing 4-2. The raptors won the firs two and last two games in the series. John Wall played very well and did all he could to push his team forward, but the rest of the team wasn’t putting out as much hustle. Bradley Beal had good moments through the game, but was unable to make any shots in clutch time when the Wizards needed him most. In fact, one game the Wizards were down by a couple baskets with 5 minutes left when Beal got fouled out. The Wizards still came back and won to tie up the series. Image result for beal fouls out vs raptors

The Wizards ended up winning byu double digits that game, showing that although Bradley Beal had 31 that game, they didn’t need him to close out the game. Otto Porter was also injured throughout the series which showed as he did not play as well. He still played in the first 5 games before sitting out due to surgery. Otto Porter could have been a game changer and pushed the Wizards to win the series.

Wizards Playoff Push

The wizards are currently down 3-2 in the playoffs against the Toronto Raptors. Just one game away from elimination, they must win two in a row to advance to the second round. They will have one game at home in Washington and one game in Toronto.

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John Wall has been playing great coming off of his injury. He’s averaging about 27 points, 12 assists, 6 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, and 2.6 steals. Bradley Beal has also been playing well, except at the end of games in the clutch. He missed several open shots to tie the game and take the lead. If he was able to connect on some of these shots, the Wizards could be leading in the series.

One issue the Wizards have is their defense. They have had trouble guarding Demar Derozan as he is averaging just under 30 points a game. They are also leaving the Raptor’s shooters open, giving up many open three point shots. Their next game will be on Friday April 27th to try and tie the series.

Wizards Vs Celtics 3/14

The wizards pulled off a tough comeback win in double overtime to beat the celtics 124-125. The Wizards were down by 20 in the first half, but pulled it back in the second and were down by three with 5.5 seconds left after the ref called the ball out of bounds on a celtics player. They passed it in to Otto Porter who drove in and instead of taking a wide open layup, he passed it out to Jodie Meeks who hit the three to tie the game.

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In overtime, the wizards came out hot, taking a 7 point lead but the celtics had a comeback to bring it within two points. On the final play of the game with celtics ball, down by two Jayson Tatum drives in, gets fouled and makes the layup. He ties the game up but misses the free throw to send it to double OT.

In double OT the game is pretty close throughout the whole time but Wizards go up by 1 with celtics ball for the last possession. Jayson Tatum gets a good look at a three pointer, but misses and the wizards hold on for the win.

The Celtics were playing without Kyrie Irving, Al Horford, and Jaylen Brown

The Wizards were playing without John Wall.

Wizards vs Heat 3/6

The Wizards beat the Heat in an exciting overtime thriller. The Wizards lead by 5 with a minute and a half left in regulation but after a layup from the heat and an and one drive by Dwyane Wade tied it up. Image result for markieff morris 3 pointer vs heat 3/6

It was a close game in  OT until markieff morris hit a clutch three pointer, putting the wizards up by 4. With 12 seconds left in the game and the Wizards up by two, dwyane wade drove in but missed an open layup. The Wizards win without John Wall again to tie with the pacers for the 4th seed in the east.

 

Wizards All Star Break

The Wizards had two all stars this season; Bradley Beal and John Wall. They were both drafted onto Team Lebron by the all star captain Lebron James. However, John Wall was injured so he could not participate in the game so he was replaced by Andre Drummond. Bradley Beal came off the bench against team Steph for 14 points in 17 minutes on the way to the win.

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Bradley Beal also participated in the three point contest during the break. He had a score of 15 in the first round after a cold start and didn’t make it to the final round. He lost to Klay Thompson, Tobias Harris, and the overall winner, Devin Booker.

Wizards Vs Knicks Feb. 15th 2018

The Wizards pulled of the amazing comeback to beat the Knicks in New York 118-113. The Wizards were down 51-72 at halftime but outscored the Knicks 39-15 in the 3rd quarter. The Wizards’ biggest deficit was when they were down by 27 points. Bradley Beal was the Wizards’ leading scorer with 36 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds. Ian Mihinmi had 17 points and 8 rebounds off the bench. The wizards were playing without their all star John Wall and the Knicks played without Kristaps Porzingis.

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Wizards vs Celtics

Yesterday on February 7th, the Wizards took a tough loss in overtime. The wizards were down by double digits halfway through the fourth quarter, but managed to take a 3 point lead with a little under 10 seconds left with Celtic’s ball. They gave it to kyrie irving in the corner, who shot it and airballed, but a questionable foul was called ny Markieff Morris to give him three free throws. He hits all three to tie the game up with 1 second left. Bradley Beal misses the game winner to send it to overtime .

The Wizards, playing without their star John Wall, looked tired during OT. This is to be expected because of the increased minutes to all of the starters, but they just got out hustled during overtime. They were unable to stop the celtics as the Wizards score just 6 to the celtics 12 in overtime. They fall 110-104.

Changes coming for the Wizards

On wednesday January 17, the wizards gave up the most points all season, losing 133-109 on the road to the Hornets. The wizards lose another game to a poor team, making their record

After the huge loss coach Scott Brooks told the media, “We have to change some things. We’ve gotta find guys that will compete.”

Bradley Beal also confirmed this by saying, “He was beyond furious after the game. He’s going to make changes for sure.”

This could could mean an upcoming trade, or more likely a change in the lineup. With the trade deadline still far away, they’re not likely to rush anything.

For lineup changes, Wall and Beal are probably going to stay. Brooks could add the improving Kelly Oubre Jr. into the line up for either Porter or Markieff. When Oubre comes in for Markieff, they have had one of the most efficient lineups in the league. With Ian Mahinmi performing better they could add him in for the declining Marcin Gortat. The Wizards definitely need more defense as they allow almost 106 points per game.