Wizards 2016-2017 Success

Matt Gutermuth, Layout Artist

The Wizards are currently enjoying one of their most successful seasons in years. The Wiz are in 3rd place in the Eastern Conference, behind only the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Wizards are able to put the ball in the bucket a lot, scoring around 109 points per game, 5th in the league. The month of January really treated the Wizards well. They only lost 4 games in the entire month. This helped bring them to the top of the Eastern Conference.

There are many reasons that the Wizards have been able to find so much success this year. The most apparent reasons seems to be the production of John Wall. This season, Wall is averaging 23 points per game and nearly 11 assists per game. The high assist total extremely helps the Wizards move the ball around. Wall is also seeing success on the defensive side of the ball. John Wall is averaging a very respectable 1.9 steals per game. This high number significantly helps the Wizards. Wall was the Wizard’s only player selected into the All-Star game.

Another big reason the Wizards are having success is Otto Porter Jr. and the production that he is having. Porter struggled a bit last year, so having him produce this year is helpful. Another big offensive support this year is Bradley Beal. He was also a major producer last year, so his success this year comes as no surprise. He is averaging 23 points per game this year.

Looking ahead, the Wizards have a huge match up tonight with the Celtics. They are currently 1.5 games behind the Celtics, and 4 games behind the Cavs. A win tonight would be huge for the Wizards’ hopes to win the Eastern Conference.