It’s been an odd year for the Washington Wizards. They came into the season expecting to establish themselves as one of the top teams in the East, but injuries, inconsistent play, and unnecessary locker-room turmoil threatened to torpedo their quest every step of the way.
All-Star point guard John Wall missed nearly half of the season, and although his team briefly flourished without him in the lineup, they eventually came back down to Earth, sneaking into the postseason with the No. 8 seed. Because of that, they entered their opening-round series against the top-seeded Raptors as not only the decisive underdogs, but with many believing it might be time to shake things up in Washington this summer.
And through the first two games, the script played out exactly how you would’ve expected. But when the series shifted back to Washington, the Wizards reminded everyone they’re still one of the most dangerous teams in the league. After their gritty win over Toronto in Game 4 on Sunday to even the series, Wall pointed to the fact that his team is much more talented than either their record or their seeding would suggest.
Via Michael Lee of Yahoo Sports:
“We’re not an eight-seed team, me missing 40-something games and still making the playoffs. Nobody would’ve thought we were going to make it. Everybody called us out. But that’s a testament to all of the other guys on the team, just going out there and competing,” Wall told Yahoo Sports. “We feel like we can go out there and challenge anybody — eight seed or whatever seed. I think the Raptors really respect that. This feels like a [expletive] 1-3, 1-4 matchup. This feels like this should be the second round or the Eastern Conference finals, but it is what it is.”
Wall is correct in that assessment, although his Wizards still have plenty to prove in Game 5 in Toronto on Wednesday. Either way, it’s unexpectedly shaping up to be one of the more exciting and competitive first-round matchups of the playoffs, and the onus is now on the Raptors to play like a top seed and take back command of the series.
Otherwise, it could be a wildly disappointing end to a season for a team that categorically transformed their style of play to better fit the modern era. The pressure, surprisingly enough, is now solely on Toronto in Game 5.
