Defense is Behind the Wizards Struggles

The Eastern Conference does not have much competition as the Western Conference has. A team that has Russell Westbrook, Bradley Beal, Davis Bertans, Thomas Byrant, and solid role players should at least be in contention for the 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. It is also worth noting that with a play-in tournament, the 9 and 10 seed get into the playoffs. Even with the NBA providing this type of help, the Wizards still see themselves on the outside looking in at everyone else.

The Wizards are 2-7 so far this season and are last place in the Eastern Conference. A team that has two fantastic players in Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal, solid starters to compliment them that includes, Deni Avdija, Rui Hachimura, and Thomas Byrant. Notable bench pieces such as Davis Bertans and Raul Neto. The problem is not their offense. Through 9 games this season the Wizards are 2nd in points scored per game and 8th in offensive rating, not to mention Bradley Beal is averaging 35 PPG and set a career-high 60 points against the 76ers. The problem is their defense.

The Wizards are one of the worst defensive teams in the league. They allow the most points per game in the league and have the 4th worst defensive rating this season. This isn’t a one-time occurrence either, the Wizards have consistently been a bad defensive team while coached by Scott Brooks. Their best defensive rating while coached by Scott Brooks was when they were ranked 15th in the league during the 2017-2018 season. They were ranked 20th in defensive rating in the 2016-2017 season, 29th in the 2018-2019 season, and 30th last season.

The offense has not been a problem since they were ranked in the top half of the league in points scored per game during Brooks’s tenure. As we know, offense isn’t everything, there needs to be a defense as well.

Getting Russell Westbrook was supposed to be a spark for the Wizards. He has been fine on his own putting up his usual triple-double numbers. He is also part of the reason their offensive production is productive averaging 19.3 PPG and 11.3 APG.

Plenty of season left but adjustments have to made. This a talented enough team to get into the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. Without a playoff appearance in the last two seasons and a rough start to this season, it may be time to move on from Scott Brooks.