It was a rocky year for the Washington Wizards, both and off the court, and some of that internal strife was their own making. They battled multiple injuries, namely to star point guard John Wall, who missed a significant chunk of the season, and in whose absence the team’s modicum of success quickly led to premature proclamations that they’d be better off without him.
Despite a tough stretch run to finish the season, Washington managed to sneak into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed, and then proceeded to take the Raptors to six games before being eliminated. It was once again a disappointing end for a team that didn’t live up to expectations, despite a star back-court pairing and a solid supporting cast that was predicted to make a real run at the Eastern Conference crown.
Given the way they’ve underwhelmed the past couple of seasons, those expectations have been tempered heading into the 2018-19 campaign, and that’s been exacerbated by the rise of fledgling teams like the Sixers and the Celtics. Wall is certainly aware of how he and his squad have been somewhat written off now, but he’s taking it all in stride and using it as inspiration.
Via Chase Hughes of NBC Sports:
“It’s even better. When we were that team that was flying under the radar, we came out and showed people what we was capable of. Then, when we were the team that everyone was talking about and everyone had so much high expectations for, we kind of failed those expectations,” Wall said.
Wall, like many athletes, uses even the smallest of slights to his advantage. He thrives off an us-vs.-them mentality and embraces proving people wrong.
“It’s just extra motivation for me. It don’t matter to me. A lot of guys don’t talk about me being a top-5 point guard and that’s cool. It’s just more motivation for me and for us as a team,” he said.
By all appearances, the Wizards looked poised to make some major personnel changes this summer, but their biggest move ended up being the addition of Dwight Howard to the roster, which could potentially work to their disadvantage given the already tenuous nature of their locker room dynamics and Howard’s reputation for negatively affecting team morale.
But if Washington can find a source of inspiration in those slights, then maybe they’ll regain their edge and find some urgency as they try to work their way back to being a serious contender in the East, which should be more wide open than it’s been in previous years thanks to LeBron James’ westward expansion.
(Via NBC Sports)
