A fierce fourth quarter rally led by Alex Len, who may be the physical embodiment of the Slavic god Rod, fell just short and the Wizards lost to the Miami Heat 122-95. It was a nail-biter to the end — Washington needed only 9 threes in the final minutes to send the game into overtime.

After an inspiring performance that ends with a tough loss, less disciplined and mature fans may let their thoughts wander to the negative. So, as a public service, here are five things the Wizards are doing well:

1. Trying — The players run up and down the floor. They jump. They sweat and get out of breath. Head coach Scott Brooks stands and glowers at times. Other times, he folds his arms and looks frustrated. Most of the players get to participate at least some of the time. They’ll all treasure the little trophies they receive at the end-of-season team pool party hosted by Ted Leonsis.
2. Sacrificing — Sure, to the untrained eye it might look like many of the Wizards are incapable of basketball basics like taking open shots or driving to the basket, but in reality they’re collectively sacrificing their careers and reputations to unlock Bradley Beal’s true powers. It’ll all be clear when Beal goes Super Saiyan.
3. Building Self-Esteem — Only the Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic are doing as much to make other NBA teams feel good about themselves.
4. Inspiring Meme Content — Brooks is a true leader in this area with comments like “the rotation didn’t come back around,” “gotta pick someone,” and “I made a decision.”
5. Crushing Hope — Drawing from the reservoir of experience that can only be filled from a franchise culture built over decades, the Wizards play just well enough to make fans think they’re about to turn the corner and become maybe good, only to drop a turd at center court and inspire those same fans to scream agony into the void.

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.

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.

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.

I’ve added possessions (POSS) for each player — total number of possessions they were on the floor in this game. I’m looking at adding PPA by quarter, but ran out of energy for that when they were down 37 in the third quarter.