Washington Still Has The Talent To Shock The Celtics In The Eastern Conference Semis

With Washington originally down two games to none against Boston in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, it was easy to sit here and say the Wiz were almost all but eliminated. In fact, after the Markieff Morris injury midway through Game 1, many pundits thought it would be almost impossible based on the team’s performance after he got hurt (and facing the status of potentially being out for more than just that game).

Let’s face it, the Wizards looked a shell of themselves without a stretch-four who can defend and create offense like Morris could. But, in game two, Morris came back and looked unexpectedly like himself (some may say like his brother). Unfortunately, with or without Morris, the result was much of the same on paper. Two losses in frustratingly close fashion. Even so, the Wizards had more hope than the Celtics did in the previous round being down 2-0 against the Bulls.

As you look at how the first two games played out, it seems as though everything had to bounce Boston’s way. The three virtually unrepeatable events occurred: Isaiah Thomas had been incredibly aggressive on offense while not taking the beating on defense that he normally does, Washington’s offense hadn’t made the Celtics switch or rotate creating fewer mismatches and opportunities, and Scott Brooks was unable to exploit Boston like the Wizards did against Atlanta.

Thomas, who’s averaged over 10 free throw attempts per game so far in the series, was driving to the lane, getting fouled and replicating in many ways what James Harden does. This caused Washington to hesitate and think about what transpires when Thomas gets into the paint, allowing Thomas to not only get to the line but find open teammates on the wing as Washington collapsed in the lane.

But maybe, more importantly, Thomas was being hidden on defense and Washington couldn’t create enough pick-and-roll situations to abuse the only anomaly in the Celtic’s backcourt defense. Washington could take the hit defensively if their offense could dictate the pace, but through two games Boston was the team that controlled the game when it mattered most.

In Game 3, however, things changed in a more than predictable response. Aside from the incredible scuffles and Kelly on Kelly crime, the game wasn’t close despite the extra entertainment of Oubre going at Olynk. Washington’s guards didn’t make the ill-advised mistakes they’d made in the first two games, their shot selection was vastly superior, and they held Boston to a series-low 89 points. In fact, John Wall and Bradley Beal – who combined for 10 turnovers in game two – had one total in the third game.

All went right for the Wizards at home against Boston, but is that sustainable?

Sure, while the Celtics have been an elite defense for quite some time, they still have some extreme work to do in order to really contend. When Thomas had to go for 53 points in Game 2 after being down in multiple quarters, that told you how flawed the wins could potentially be for Boston. It seemed as though it was only a matter of time before Washington exposed the weaknesses that the Celtics possessed, and opened up a significant wound on that big white clover.

On talent alone, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Wizard were the favorites, as they have one of the best starting fives in the league. But because of their lack of depth, they rely on their starters more heavily than Boston does. While that’s a problem for the Wiz, it isn’t as bad as what the Celtics face. They don’t have a reliable scorer outside of Thomas which poses many problems to a team hoping for consistent offense.

This series will be determined by how well each team can make adjustments on both ends of the floor. For the Wizards, it’s evident they still need to convince the Celtics to switch more often and get Thomas out of his comfort zone on defense. But even with that, the Wizards have led for eight of the 12 total quarters in this series, yet have only won one game. They’re doing things very right and have been unlucky not to come away with more than one win.

As we saw with Boston against Chicago, teams can easily rattle off a few successive victories in a row. That’s what separates complete teams built for the playoffs with, well, regular season teams. This could be a similar case with Washington against Boston. In Games 1 and 2 where Boston won, the average margin of victory was 11 points with one game going to overtime. In Washington’s lone win, the margin was 27 points. This should leave Washington extremely optimistic about winning game four, and winning the entire series outright.

Steal Game 4 in the Capitol, and Boston will go a long way toward proving a lot of the naysayers wrong.