Will Wizards fit Loserville narrative?

The Wizards may be the latest part of a trend of failure that has beset Washington-area teams in recent times. had a three-run lead, and then a one-run lead in the fifth inning, with Max Scherzer coming in to nail it down — and gave up four runs in an inning that included four straight batters reaching base without a hit, and just one of those being an unintentional walk.

The Wizards have not specialized in that kind of anguish. They just haven’t made it to the conference finals for 40 years, but you can see how they are part of the mix, part of a legacy of failure at crucial moments that has developed into a fan base’s existential dread. Washington’s teams have had 12 shots over those years in a game with a conference-final berth on the line. They are 0-12.

This is the kind of thing a visiting team can turn to its advantage. Should the Raptors jump on the Wizards early in Game 3, there’s a good chance they could turn the Washington crowd into a sea of nervous murmuring, as has occasionally happened to the Air Canada Centre in recent playoff years. If it doesn’t take the Wiz crowd long to assume the worst, I mean, could you blame them?

I do recall, though, writing something similar about the mindset of the Cleveland fan, having touched down there for the East finals two years ago. A couple of weeks later, Cleveland was the city of champions.

Washington’s fans will probably keep such ideas to themselves, at least for now.