NBA Standings: Wizards lose ground on Bulls after loss to Pacers

1. Wizards-Raptors looking more and more likely

Losing a game at home to the Pacers was a rough blow for the Wizards, but the loss, coupled with Chicago's win in Toronto is going to make it extremely hard for the Wizards to move up to the fourth seed. Here's how the standings look in the East after last night's action:

The good news is, Milwaukee's struggles have almost guaranteed the Wizards can't fall below the fifth seed, but it's looking more and more like they won't be able to rise above that seeding either. The Wizards don't have the tiebreaker against the Raptors, so they would need to make up three games in the final ten to pass Toronto, and they need to make up 3.5 against the Bulls. For a full explainer on how the playoff tiebreakers unfold in the East, SB Nation has you covered.

Additionally, since Chicago won in Toronto last night, the Bulls now have the tiebreaker advantage over Chicago. So barring a collapse from the Bulls, it's going to be hard for the Raptors to move up past the fourth seed. A lot can still happen in the final 10 games for Washington and Toronto, but it's looking like the Wizards should be getting their passports ready for some trips to Canada.

2. Randy Wittman walks it off after blowing late lead to Pacers

Sure, there's a lot to quibble with about how the Wizards handled things in the closing minutes of last night's game that were more egregious from a coaching perspective, but still, this just isn't a good look:

3. Wizards are among the best on the fast break

Zach Harper has a great breakdown about how well and how often NBA teams push the ball in transition over at CBS Sports. Not surprisingly, the Wizards are above-average in both how frequently they score in transition and how effectively score in transition. What's unusual is despite being so good in transition, they're still 18th in the NBA in overall pace according to NBA.com, which speaks to how slow the Wizards make things when they're not on the fast break.

4. Just gonna leave this here

From J. Michael at CSN Washington:

This is a few months away, but a major roster overhaul is needed. Priority No. 1: A defensive stopper (a la Trevor Ariza). No. 1A: A perimeter shot creator off the dribble. No. 1C: A big who come off the bench and be that kind of change-of-pace player, like Brandan Wright's skill set, to complement Gortat. Coach Randy Wittman has a fully guaranteed deal for 2015-16 and isn't going anywhere