About a fifth of the seats at the Capital One Arena went unoccupied yesterday, but not simply because the Wizards had hitherto been putting up horrid performances. They faced the lowly Knicks, whose most recognizable names were either injured or not scheduled to see much action, and fans likely figured there were better ways to spend Sunday night. And the prognosis was right for the most part; the protagonists combined to make just 75 of 173 field-goal attempts for 203 points all told, far from the typical high-scoring outcome desired by the National Basketball Association.
For the 16,679 who stayed around, there was good news by way of a rare victory by the Washington Wizards. Prior to the start of the 2018-19 season, the latter harbored high expectations borne of talent and opportunity; given the transfer of erstwhile conference ruler LeBron James to the Lakers, no less than franchise owner Ted Leonsis voiced the possibility of 50 wins and a deep playoff run. Instead, an atrocious 1-7 start exposed the all-too-familiar sight of underachievement, malaise, and infighting.
Considering the Wizards’ deep-seated obstacles to success, it was, perhaps, but fitting to see them triumph even with the sidelining of starter Otto Porter due to a bruised toe. Whereas the absence of a vital cog would normally disrupt rotations and dampen competitive spirit, the opposite was apparent yesterday. If nothing else, the development was as much a reflection of their bench depth as of the dysfunction that pervaded the locker room.
Other ironies were evident as well. The Wizards entered the match scraping the bottom of the barrel in defensive efficiency, but somehow wound up prevailing precisely because of their stout showing on that end; after the Knicks clawed back from a double-digit deficit to tie the contest with 9:13 left in the fourth quarter, they unleashed a 22-9 run to win pulling away. Time will tell whether their lineup of John Wall, Bradley Beal, Dwight Howard, Jeff Green, and Austin Rivers proves most productive, but it certainly got the job done in the clutch yesterday.
Moving forward, the hope is that the Wizards can live up to billing and rub elbows with the acknowledged beasts of the East. Skepticism is justified at this point, but yesterday’s triumph provides a welcome reprieve and the promise of better days.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.
