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Atlanta Hawks Playoff Preview: Round One vs. Washington Wizards

By Andrew Snyder

Nov 4, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards forward Otto Porter Jr. (22) and Atlanta Hawks center Dwight Howard (8) reach for a loose ball during the second half at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 4, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards forward Otto Porter Jr. (22) and Atlanta Hawks center Dwight Howard (8) reach for a loose ball during the second half at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 8, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) is fouled by Miami Heat forward James Johnson (16) during the second half at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 8, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) is fouled by Miami Heat forward James Johnson (16) during the second half at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /

Washington Wizards, 49-33

The Wizards have had a crazy regular season. It wasn’t always a forgone conclusion that they would be a playoff team. In fact, they had a disastrous start to the season. They lost their first three games of the season and were 6-12 after a Dec. 2 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

It was rough. I said on the Timeout With Ti podcast that the Wizards were a “dumpster fire” and needed to trade John Wall and rebuild. Oh, how stupid young people can be. The Wizards posted quite a dramatic turnaround.

Washington finished out the season 43-21 and locked down the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference. Most of their success should be attributed to their sensational offense. The Wizards have the 7th rated offense in the NBA, scoring 111.2 points per 100 possessions.

They finished top ten in the NBA in field goal percentage, three-point percentage, effective field goal percentage, and assists. They might not be as a proficient as the Golden State Warriors or Houston Rockets, but they still have a very good offensive attack.

Consider this passage from Scott Allen of The Washington Post  during a stretch in February when Washington was on a hot streak.

"Since then, the Wizards have gone 26-8 and lost just five times while scoring at least 100 points, something they’ve done in 21 consecutive games. As CSN’s Chase Hughes notes, there have been only 10 other streaks of at least 21 games with 100-plus points since the 2000-01 season, and only nine if you limit the list to streaks within a given regular season."

When they score they win. The defensive end of the court is where their weaknesses are. They have the 20th rated defense in the league, allowing 109.3 points per 100 possessions. Part of their defensive issues boil down to their lackluster bench.

Kelly Oubre, Bojan Bogdanovic, Jason Smith, and Brandon Jennings are fine role players, but they aren’t exactly known for their defense. With Ian Mahinmi out for the foreseeable future, Washington’s second unit will be left without a true rim-protector.

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