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Four positive trends from the Wizards’ performance during the NBA restart so far

The Washington Wizards are not making the field of 16 after a rough start in the Orlando NBA bubble. But here are some promising things to look at.

By Albert Lee
Indiana Pacers v Washington Wizards
Troy Brown and the Washington Wizards don’t have to hold their heads down, even if the wins aren’t there for the NBA season restart.
Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

The Washington Wizards are 0-3 in the 2019-20 NBA season restart in field of 22 teams. Barring a miracle, they’re not going to force a play-in game to get the eighth seed since they are currently the only Eastern Conference team without a win.

In many ways, the Wizards should be thankful to be there. After all, they had a 24-40 regular season record before the season was interrupted due to the coronavirus pandemic. They were also slumping heading into the restart.

But not everything is bad. After all, Washington came to Orlando without Bradley Beal and Davis Bertans, their two most potent scorers. And even more important: the Wizards have effectively made the playoffs by making the 22-team field for the season restart.

It wouldn’t shock me to see them lose all of their remaining games. But there have been some encouraging signs nevertheless, in particular around most of the younger players who figure to have future in D.C. beyond this season.

Here are three stats around the Wizards to consider since the restart began last week:

  • Washington isn’t dead last in team defense — Teams have played between two to three games so far in Orlando, with Washington ranking 15th in defense (115.3 points per 100 possessions). That’s about the same as their overall defensive rating of 115.8 points per 100 possessions. The problem with the Wizards since the Wizards has been their offensive rating which is 19th among the 22 teams at 104.5 points per 100 possessions during the season restart.
  • Thomas Bryant has stepped up big time — The center is averaging 20 points and 10.3 rebounds in the season restart while also making over 50 percent of this threes (AND 4.3 attempts per game). After an injury-riddled start to the regular season, Bryant appears poised to be Washington’s starting center for the rest of the restart. For the season, he is averaging 12.7 points per game.
  • Troy Brown is showing his all-around potential — In the restart, Brown is averaging 15.7 points, 6 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game, the latter being a team-high.
  • Jerome Robinson has shown his offensive touch — He is averaging 16.3 points per game on 46.2 percent shooting from the field. Though his three point shooting could improve (33 percent), Robinson isn’t afraid to let it fly.