Pacers potential playoff opponents preview: Washington Wizards
In taking a peek at potential playoff matchups for the Indiana Pacers, we come to the Eastern Conference’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: the Washington Wizards.
The Washington Wizards are confusing. Somewhere, swaddled in those patriotic uniforms, a dangerous team lurks. Few teams have a point guard like John Wall, a player who can blaze past you like a gasoline trail lit on fire but also hit bullseyes from 26 feet away. Likewise, there aren’t many teams that can pair their Wall with Bradley Beal and flank those two with Otto Porter. The Wizards also have interior players who are unafraid to exert their muscle and a bench that can force you on the run and keep you on the run. The Wizards at their best are really, really good.
But you’d be mistaken to not see them that way. Because there is another version of the Wizards, a much more dysfunctional, much more beatable version that has been far more present as of late.
Washington is 6-10 since the beginning of March, including 3-3 against Eastern Conference playoff teams (by comparison the Pacers are 6-2 against playoff competition). Over that stretch they are 20th in points scored, 16th in offense rating and 17th in defensive rating, just below average in each category. So it’s not like the Wizards are roaring into the postseason, even if John Wall missed a portion of that stretch.
The key to not only Washington’s success potentially against the Pacers, but in the postseason in general, is John Wall. What a weird year he’s had. His teammates responded to his most recent injury by immediately winning eight of ten and inspiring plenty of Ewing theory stories that the Wiz were better without Wall. Those stories were, of course, premature. Washington has won 54.8 percent of their games without Wall and 57.9 percent with him this season.
Wall’s back now, more or less, and he looked pretty good against Charlotte on March 31, but not so well against Houston soon after. If Wall plays up to his potential, Washington becomes very dangerous. But if recent history is our guide, that potential may be out of reach this year.
Many factors are at play, and that could make a Pacers-Wizards first-round matchup very intriguing. Let’s break it down.