Winning tops agenda after return from break
After brief spark, team reaches lowest point
The Washington Wizards didn’t exactly flourish before the All-Star break. The newest players Bobby Portis, Jabari Parker and Wesley Johnson gave an adrenaline boost to the battered locker room as their presence carried the Wizards to a pair of immediate wins, but the spark has since faded. On Wednesday in Toronto, Washington lost their second consecutive road game and stumbled into the break 10 games below the .500 mark, matching the worst mark of the season.
Before leaving for Charlotte to compete in his second straight AllStar Game, Bradley Beal was asked about what the Wizards (24-34) must do to get back in the playoff hunt.
“That’s kind of an obvious answer,” Beal deadpanned. “We got to win. That’s the only way.”
If only the Wizards had more clear-cut resolutions to their most pressing problems. Here are three questions facing the Wizards over the final 24 games of the season:
1. With the additional depth in Portis, Parker and Johnson, what is the best rotation moving forward?
When Washington made the trade deadline move to send Otto Porter Jr. to the Chicago Bulls, Portis wasn’t shy about proclaiming who had won the deal. The Wizards did, according to Portis, who shared this assessment with NBC Sports Washington following his 30-point debut on Feb. 8.
Portis clearly has a bias. But when considering how much depth the trade afforded his new team, he raises a solid point.
In the four games since joining the roster, Portis and Parker have played significant minutes together. Johnson, who came over in the Markieff Morris trade with New Orleans, has also logged most of his time with the former Bulls. Coach Scott Brooks TV: Radio: clearly likes the versatility of each wing/forward — how Johnson can defend the one through four spot, if necessary, and how Portis has instantly become the team’s best shooting big — and has utilized the players over counterparts Sam Dekker and Ian Mahinmi in the rotation.
With point guard Tomas Satoransky missing the last two games before the break due to personal reasons, however, the Wizards haven’t seen much of a sample size of a lineup with their starting backcourt together with any combination of Portis and Parker or Trevor Ariza, Jeff Green and Johnson thrown into an interchangeable position. Instead, they have previewed a Beal-Green-JohnsonParker-Portis lineup and for an 11minute stint in one game, that group shot 9 of 18 from the floor and poured in 26 points. Is this a small-ball lineup Washington can effectively use for a playoff push? There’s little time to solve that puzzle.
“Ever since we’ve made the trade, [we’re] just trying to figure out just what’s the best rotations, what’s the best group that can play with one another,” Brooks said. “The marathon is over, it’s a sprint now. So we’re going to have to manage every game if we’re going to keep fighting for that spot. The rotations — maybe guys get more minutes but it remains to be seen.”
2. What becomes of the development of rookie Troy Brown Jr.?
Dekker, a veteran in his fourth season, has not appeared in the last four games. If the trade disrupted his regular rotation minutes, then forget about finding time on the court for a rookie.
Last summer, the Wizards selected Troy Brown Jr. 15th overall but he has since played the fewest minutes of any of the top 20 picks in his draft class. Brown has logged just 208 minutes in his first season — Los Angeles Clippers guard Jerome Robinson, the 13th pick, is close behind with 218 minutes — and the Wizards guard hasn’t played since Feb. 2 when he sustained an ankle injury. As Washington tries to mount a comeback, Brown’s development will likely happen away from an NBA court.
“He has to get healthy and once he gets healthy, we’ve got the G League right in our backyard and we have practice and try to fit him into as many games as I possibly can,” Brooks said. “This year for a lot of rookies, it’s a learning experience and he has to pick things up as much as he can on the practice floor, in the film room. The minutes are slim. I can’t say he’ll play more minutes. Right now, we have guys ahead of him.”
3. Will Dwight Howard play again this year?
It’s been 2 1/2 months since his spinal surgery and still no sight of Dwight Howard. However, the brief Howard chapter in Washington might not be over.
“Don’t know,” Brooks said Wednesday night, in responding to a question of whether Howard will return to action before the end of the season. “Hopefully, we will see him in the next 10 days or so [in Washington].
“Right now he’s still doing the rehab down in Atlanta,” Brooks continued. “Our staff met with him the last few days and he’s progressing well. So we’re hoping to see him. I can’t put a date on it but we’re all hoping see him. I’d like to have him around.”
Brooks believes Howard, who had previously undergone back surgery in 2012, can share advice with Portis and young center Thomas Bryant and still be a veteran presence, even though he has not been around the team since November. Much has changed within the Wizards locker room since Howard’s position as the starting center, for one, now belongs to Bryant.
If and when Howard returns to Washington, his presence does not necessarily mean that he would be ready to play.