The conference semifinals are underway and only two teams have yet to lose a game this postseason. One is the Golden State Warriors — the league’s best team during the regular season — and the other was the fifth seed in the lowly Eastern Conference, the Washington Wizards.
After closing out the Toronto Raptors with a 31-point victory to complete the sweep, Washington overcame an early 11-point deficit to defeat the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks in Game 1 of the conference semifinals at Philips Arena. With the Wizards having already shifted the home court advantage and on the verge of taking a 2-0 series lead over the East’s best team, the stars seem to be aligning for Washington to make a run to beyond just the conference finals.
While Golden State guard Stephen Curry took home the league MVP award on Monday, the MVP of the postseason thus far has arguably been Washington’s point guard John Wall.
Sure, Wall hasn’t put up the gaudy scoring numbers. In fact, he hasn’t even shot 40 percent from the field thus far in the playoffs, but he’s averaging nearly 13 assists through five games and no player has done a better job of making his teammates better in these playoffs than Wall.
The Eastern Conference’s assist leader during the regular season, Wall has helped the Wizards average 109 points thus far in the playoffs. Leading scorer Bradley Beal has given the Wizards about 22 points per contest, but Marcin Gortat and Paul Pierce have been unlikely sources of playoff offense.
Gortat has shot 71 percent from the field in the playoffs while averaging better than 16 points including 24 in Game 3 versus Toronto. For Pierce this postseason, it’s been a blast from the past.
After the worst statistical season of his NBA career, Pierce has averaged 16.2 points per game in the playoffs while shooting better than 54 percent from the field including 52 percent from deep. With Pierce starting at the small forward position, Drew Gooden and Otto Porter have combined to average more than 19 points off the Wizards’ bench.
While the Wizards have certainly been one of the more impressive teams thus far in the playoffs, things out of Washington’s control have seemed to level the Eastern Conference playing field.
The Cleveland Cavaliers will likely be without forward Kevin Love for the remainder of the playoffs, which could make a big difference for Gortat and Nene Hilario should the Wizards and Cavaliers each advance. Cleveland currently trails the Chicago Bulls 1-0 and should it be Chicago that advances, the Wizards will be facing a team they split the regular season series with. The two losses to the Bulls were very close games.
On the surface, the Wizards are still a long shot to reach the NBA Finals, but at this point, it’s beginning to seem like more and more of a reality. With a 1-0 lead, Washington has hardly put away the Atlanta Hawks, but a 3-0 start on the road in the postseason after going just 17-24 during the regular season is a very positive sign.
Many have questioned Atlanta’s legitimacy as a NBA Finals contender for much of the season and if the Wizards can prove those folks correct, the only obstacle between Washington and basketball’s grandest stage will be a short-handed Cleveland squad or a Chicago team they match up very well against. That aforementioned grand stage is one that the team from the nation’s capital hasn’t seen since they were the Washington Bullets back in 1979.
