The NBA regular season is already upon us with games tipping off on Tuesday. The Washington Wizards open their season at home against the Miami Heat on Thursday. Before gameday rolls up on us, the Hoop District staff made their season predictions for what 2018-19 has in store for the Wizards.
Abdullah Sharif
Regular Season Record: 48-34
Season Finish: No. 5 seed loses in the second round
In traditional fashion, the Wizards will tease us with their first 50-win season in decades but tank in the final stretch to fall just short of the coveted milestone. In traditional fashion, the Wizards will look sharp in the first round of the playoffs and take down the No. 4 seed. And finally, in traditional fashion, the Wizards will have an opportunity to advance to the Conference Finals and botch it because a guy like Aron Baynes decided to drop 35 and 20 in an elimination game.
Neil Dalal
Regular Season Record: 47-35
Season Finish: No. 5 seed loses in the second round
The Wizards have their deepest team in the John Wall era. The Wizards also only have the fourth best team in the Eastern Conference. Both of those can be true. Boston, Toronto, and even Philadelphia have better talent than Washington. Assuming all of the egos are put aside in the Wizards’ locker room, which is not give, they will have a decent season but come up short again. If tensions flare up, then things could be a disaster quickly.
Rob Banez
Regular Season Record: 52-30
Season Finish: No. 4 seed loses in Eastern Conference Finals
The Wizards finally make it to the Final Four of the NBA playoffs led by a healthy John Wall and a surprisingly strong bench mob. Kelly Oubre Jr. has a breakout year. Bradley Beal earns his second straight All-Star nod. And the Dwight Howard experiment leads to a season full of highlights.
Joshua Vinson
Regular Season Record: 45-37
Season Finish: No. 5 seed loses in the first round
Yes, like many people are predicting, the Eastern Conference is wide open, but that really may be a negative thing for the Wizards. Over the years, this team tends to get stuck in a mode where they will play great basketball against good opponents and down to their competition. It’s a part of their DNA at this point, and I don’t see that changing.
It’s very unfortunate because this team should go to the Eastern Conference Finals if not the NBA Finals considering how great their backcourt is. However, the question remains the same. Who will step up after John Wall and Bradley Beal? This team will struggle and be bounced in the first round for the second year in a row.
Michael Marzzacco
Regular Season Record: 47-35
Season Finish: No. 3 seed loses in the second round
The Wizards will improve this season both on the court and in the locker room. Hot take: Dwight Howard will get along with John Wall, Bradley Beal and company. This team will have a chance to compete for at least a third seed in a more open Eastern Conference. They are still missing one or two pieces but they will take a step forward and get back to the second round. Get to a Game 7 and anything can happen.
Erwin Go
Regular Season Record: 50-32
Season Finish: No. 4 seed loses in the second round
The Wizards will end up with the 4 or 5 seed in the Eastern Conference, but will fall to the likes of Boston, Philadelphia, or Toronto. The addition of a mix of veteran and rookie players such as Dwight Howard, Jeff Green, and Troy Brown Jr. bolster the roster, but it will come down to John Wall and Bradley Beal to lead this group past my prediction.
Brandon Murphy
Regular Season Record: 51-31
Season Finish: No. 4 seed loses in the second round
It’s finally the year Washington jumps over that elusive 50-win mark. LeBron is gone, the Eastern Conference is open, and the Wizards may actually have a bench. With Kelly Oubre budding into a solid NBA player and the additions of Jeff Green and Dwight Howard, there is a bright light at the end of the tunnel. Washington ends up the 4th seed in the conference following Boston, Philly, and Toronto in that order. After another grueling 7-game series, Washington bows out in the second round yet again.
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