Wizards could be 2017 NBA champions

John Breeden, Staff Reporter

It’s been an up and down season for the Washington Wizards. Even though they lost 8 of their first 10 games to start the year, the Wizards have rallied back now at the halfway point of their season with a record of 22-19 and to be ranked 5th in the Eastern Conference. They’ve went 7-3 in their previous 10 games, including an outstanding record on their homecourt.

The Wizards currently have the best home record in the NBA this season of 18-6, including their streak of 13 in a row and counting, following their win on Jan. 18 against the Memphis Grizzlies. They haven’t had a winning streak that long at home since 1989, when they won 15 straight. The Wizards, however, couldn’t have put up those great team stats without some of their key players. Their point guard, John Wall, who’s known to most people as the franchise players, has put up outstanding numbers this season. Through 41 games, Wall has averaged 22.9 points per game, 10.2 assists, and is still on a 29 straight game streak of having at least one steal. Last month, John Wall broke the Wizards all time record for most steals and continues to play at an All Star level every night they play.

Some Wizards fans believe that Wall is carrying this team right now. Though that might be true, I don’t think they’d be as good if shooting guard, Bradley Beal and small forward, Otto Porter, didn’t put up some good stats as well. Bradley Beal has averaged 22.2 points per game, and shooting 81% from the free throw line. Otto Porter is statistically the 2nd best 3 point shooter in the NBA right now, averaging 14 points per game, including a career-high six 3 point shots made against the Grizzlies on Jan. 18. Not only have they had a excellent season, don’t forget about the second year small forward, Kelly Oubre Jr. and center, Marcin Gortat either. In just his second year in the league, the 21 year old Oubre Jr. is already getting double the amount of playing time he did last season. Averaging 6 point per games and shooting 78% from the foul line, isn’t too bad for just a second year player. Marcin Gortat has been solid on the rebounding side. Not only averaging 11.2 points, but his 11.6 rebounds per game is outstanding.

Although the player and team stats look good, they aren’t the best team right now, but they’re continuing to improve. I believe they will be able to keep the momentum going and stay inside the top 8 in the conference to make it to the playoffs. When they do make the playoffs, I don’t believe they’re just going to settle for a “solid playoff run.” If the Wizards can get home-court advantage in the playoffs, they will be almost unstoppable. John Wall believes that if it wasn’t for the fans, they wouldn’t be so good at playing home games. So just imagine how much excitement and motivation the fans of D.C. will deliver to the players. Now of course, not every playoff game they would have wouldn’t be in D.C., so they need to figure out how to carry that momentum on the road games.

If they can start winning away games as much as they do home games, they’ll be the best team in the NBA. I think that momentum from the home games will carry over to the away games which will give them more wins. Also, they need to make sure they avoid technical fouls. John Wall currently has the most technical fouls in the NBA, and after getting into a fight with some of the Celtics players, he’s lucky he didn’t get suspended. If Wall can keep his composure, he has the potential to take his team to an NBA championship, and cement his legacy as the “Wall Star,” and be known as one the greatest Wizards players of all time. It would be the first NBA championship under the Wizards’ name, having the Washington Bullets win it back in 1978, it would be their first championship in 39 years. D.C. should be excited, because they may just be called NBA champions in 2017.