Entering this season, the Washington Wizards, under new head coach Scott Brooks, were expected by many astute basketball observers to emerge as one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference after a disappointing campaign last season in which they went 41-41, finishing 10th in the 15-team East, missing the playoffs and precipitating the firing of former head coach Randy Wittman.
Then, in August, point guard John Wall, the team’s unquestioned star, asserted that he and his talented 23-year-old backcourt mate, Bradley Beal, were a less than symbiotic pairing. “I think a lot of times we have a tendency to dislike each other on the court,” Wall said to Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic. “We’ve got to be able to put that to the side.”
Four months later, after a 6-12 start, it appeared Wall and Beal hadn’t developed the requisite chemistry to elevate the Wizards to their evident potential. But since Dec. 2, the Wizards have gone 27-9 and emerged as arguably the most viable challenger to the Cleveland Cavaliers’ superiority as the two-time defending conference champion.
They are 33-21, third in the East behind the Cavaliers and Boston Celtics, fueled by the combination of Wall and Beal, who are perhaps the second best backcourt in basketball to the Golden State Warriors duo of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
The 26-year-old Wall, the top overall pick in the 2010 draft out of Kentucky, will be making his fourth All-Star Game appearance this Sunday night at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. The 6-4, seven-year veteran has established himself as an inarguable franchise player, averaging nearly 22.9 points and 10.6 assists per game.
Simultaneously, the 6-5 Beal, who has been injury-plagued during his five years in the NBA, as he was sidelined for a total of 82 games during his first four seasons and has sat out four games thus far in the current campaign, has become a premiere player at his position, averaging 22.3 points on 40 percent shooting from behind the three-point line.
While the Wizards have risen, the Cavaliers have struggled by their own lofty standards and high expectations. Although they remain atop the East standings at 38-16 when they faced the Indiana Pacers last night, they look more vulnerable now than they have since LeBron James’ triumphant return to Cleveland.
And with Kevin Love out at least six weeks after left knee surgery earlier this week, the Celtics, charged by the sensational 5-9 dynamo Isaiah Thomas; the Wizards; and the Toronto Raptors, who acquired forward Serge Ibaka in a trade with the Orlando Magic Tuesday, believe this season the Cavs can fall from grace.
