Have the Washington Wizards turned the corner? It’s a fair question in light of their gains of late, with the small sample size offset by the quality of the opposition. Yesterday, they managed to overcome their biggest challenge yet; there can be no discounting their gritty homestand against the vaunted Rockets, never mind that it took them an extra period to do so. The bottom line: They got the job done, just as they did versus the West-leading Los Angeles Clippers last week.
Considering the propensity of the Wizards to underachieve, it’s equally reasonable to wonder if they’re simply collecting fool’s gold. In fact, their record in the half-dozen years their Big Three version of John Wall, Bradley Beal, and Otto Porter, Jr. have shared the court underscores their alarming predilection for roller-coaster rides that finish in a swoon and not in a surge. Still, any and all progress begins with small steps, and, if nothing else, they showed yesterday that they can hang with the best of the best in the league when they’re dialed in.
In many ways, the Wizards are fortunate to have conservative management overseeing their development. More impatient ownership would have already pulled the trigger on wholesale reform. After all, it’s hardly right to expect favorable results when the same things are being done over and over again. True, changes in personnel on the court and off have been made; on the other hand, the culture that encourages mediocrity remains, fueled by actions — or, as the case may be, lack thereof — of top players seemingly content to coast on talent.
Lately, the Wizards have been saying all the right things, owning up to deficiencies and pledging to improve for collective gains. Yesterday, they also did the right things; they showed the Houston Rockets — and all and sundry — that they’re a force when motivated and engaged. Moving forward, they need to prove that they possess the requisite determination to compete with consistency. Else, they’ll wind up with the same old, same old, with much time on their hands to lament what could have been.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.
