With the 7th win in 8 games, the Wizards are on a roll. Their only loss was as much to the schedule as it was to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Even including the defeat, Washington has a +4.6 efficiency differential over the last eight games. That’s about the same level as how the Los Angeles Lakers, Brooklyn Nets, and Denver Nuggets for the full season.

If this is the “real” Wizards and they continue playing at this level, they’d likely finish the season with a better than .500 record and homecourt advantage in the playoffs. The schedule, replete with back-to-backs, doesn’t get easier. Of course, after weeks of looking terrible against a weak schedule, the Wizards went on their winning jag against a difficult stretch of schedule.

In beating the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Wizards accomplished something of a first for them this season: a victory in a game where they were favored. The best part of winning easily was the opportunity to shave minutes for Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook.

Four Factors

Below are the four factors that decide who wins and loses in basketball — shooting (efg), rebounding (offensive rebounds), ball handling (turnovers), fouling (free throws made).

I’ve simplified them a bit. While the factors are usually presented as percentages, that’s more useful over a full season. In a single game, the raw numbers in each category are easier to understand.

PACE is possessions per 48 minutes.

Player Production Average

Below are Player Production Average (PPA) results from last night’s game. PPA is my overall production metric, which credits players for things they do that help a team win (scoring, rebounding, play-making, defending) and dings them for things that hurt (missed shots, turnovers, bad defense, fouls). PPA is a per possession stat that includes accounting for defense and role. In PPA, 100 is average and higher is better.

PPA is a per possession stat. The table below is sorted by each player’s total contributions for the game.

POSS is the number of possessions each player was on the floor in this game.