Washington Wizards
The 2022-23 Washington Wizards can be defined by being (once again) the most mediocre team in the league.
What did we learn?
The endless treadmill of mediocrity keeps on running in D.C.
At least Kuzma’s outrageous and hilarious pre-game fits are constant entertainment and forever polarizing.
This Wizards team actually had some good stretches of ball and some really terrible stretches, too. Check it out:
Oct. 19 - Nov 21: (10-7 record). No. 24 offense and No. 7 defense. — Decent start.
Nov. 22 - Dec. 19: (1-13 record). No. 17 offense and No. 30 defense. — Horrible second month.
Dec. 20 - Jan. 31: (13-6 record). No. 10 offense and No. 7 defense. — Great bounce back.
Feb. 1 - March 3: (6-6 record). No. 10 offense and No. 22 defense. — .500 ball for a month.
March 4 - April 9: (5-15 record). No. 25 offense and No. 23 defense. — Awful finish.
Maybe instead of a treadmill, this season should be classified as a roller coaster of mediocrity.
Did the Wiz actually have three players average 20 points per game? They did! Beal (23.2), Porzingis (23.2) and Kuzma (21.2) each pulled it off.
Bradley Beal, freshly inked last summer to a $251 million contract paying him an average of $50 million annually, played the fewest games of the Wizards’ “three-headed monster.” Beal played 50 games this season, which was actually 10 more than last season and right on par with his average games played over the last four seasons after playing all 82 games in both 2017-18 and 2018-19.
Beal actually shot the ball better this season and was more efficient, but it did not move the needle for his baseline stats, which look eerily similar to last season, if not a little bit worse.
2021-22 Blue Panda: 23.2 ppg, 6.6 ast, 4.7 reb.
2022-23 Blue Panda: 23.2 ppg, 5.4 ast, 3.9 reb.
$50 milly for a non-All-Star, Wizards’ max contracts stay holding the franchise in place.
Porzingis had his best season since being a Knick, playing 65 games, his most since 2017-18. He averaged a career-high in points and looked as nimble as ever on defense, regaining his footing as a solid defender of the paint. He sure popped off for some high-scoring games as well, dropping 43 points and seven 3s against the Hawks in March and six 3s and 41 points on the Wolves back in late November.
Kuzma continued his upward trajectory in D.C., also averaging a career-high in points with his highest usage rate ever. He rang up the Knicks for a 40-7-7 game back in January. But as previously mentioned, his iconic pregame outfits have become his calling card.
Daniel Gafford deserves a shout-out for sneaking onto the T-Shirt All-Star team and for being the Wizards’ iron man, playing in a team-high 78 games.
No. 10 overall draft pick Johnny Davis didn’t play a lick until the end of the season when he finally showed some much-needed signs of life. Davis did not play more than 10 minutes in a game until fucking March 14.
A week after the season ended, the Wizards fired GM Tommy Sheppard. After four years on the job, he only made it a fourth of the time as the immortal and infamous Ernie Grunfeld’s 16-year reign.
The Wizards are retaining head coach Wes Unseld Jr. for now, but until proven otherwise, the Wiz’ destiny remains the same.
The treadmill keeps on running.
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Additional Notes
Deni Avdija might not have played in all 82 games this season like he did last year, but 76 games is still commendable. His 3-point shooting at 29.7 percent, however, is not. But Deni is a solid defender and an excellent rebounder.
On the contrary to Avdija, Corey Kispert shot 42.4 percent from 3 on high-volume 5.2 attempts per game. Kispert also shot 63.7 percent on 2s.
Monte Morris gets the final mention here for averaging a career-high 5.3 assists per game. Morris’ shot has been the model of consistency, connecting on 48 percent from the field for a third consecutive season.
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Did our preseason Over/Under prediction hit?
This one feels like it will be especially close for the mediocre Wiz. Leaning to the Under. Under 35.5 wins.
Wizards 2022-23 record: (35-47)
Yes! It was a sweat, but the Rockets had our back on the last day of the season!
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What’s Next?
The No. 8 pick in the draft. KOC’s mock draft currently has Anthony Black from Arkansas. “Shades of Lonzo Ball” does sound perfect here.
Kuzma will surely decline his $13 million player option and become a free agent, but Porzingis and his agent will contemplate his $36 million player option for next season.
The Wizards new front office is taking shape, hiring new President of Basketball Ops Michael Winger, who has already brought in former Hawks GM Travis Schlenk to help him. Some whispers have suggested that this new Wizards regime will opt for a full-on tear-it-down rebuild.
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