http://grantland.com/the-triangle/winne ... -playoffs/
What a turnaround. Two weeks ago, the Wizards had stalled out. The young core consisted of John Wall, a legitimate star, and Bradley Beal, a second banana who hadn’t gotten better — or healthier. Otto Porter was on the fringes of the rotation — a Vine punch line. The rest of the team consisted of colorful fogies and two pricey starting bigs on the decline. The Wiz had no one else relevant in the same age band as Wall and Beal, and no one even just a few years older. That mishmash was the price of missed draft picks, poor player development, and get-rich-quick moves.
And then the first round happened. Randy Wittman flinging off the dunce cap and using Paul Pierce at power forward drew most of the attention, but two other story lines carry larger fundamental importance to the Wiz: the play of Porter and Gortat.
Porter’s emergence as a quality two-way player could realign the entire long-term trajectory of the franchise. They would have a real core, not just a duo in need of reinforcements everywhere. Porter enveloped DeRozan on defense; DeRozan shot 34 percent with Porter on the floor and 47 percent otherwise, per NBA.com. Porter still makes all the typical young-guy mistakes on defense, but the Wizards have realized he has the length and quickness to recover immediately:
Porter hit jumpers, murdered the glass, and made slicing off-ball cuts for easy buckets.
Gortat signed a five-year, $60 million contract last summer and then spent the first four months of this season losing crunch-time minutes to Kris Humphries. Washington didn’t need Gortat to be a star, but a 31-year-old regressing in the first season of a five-year deal is a problem. The Wiz want to pitch themselves as an attractive free-agency destination in need of just one more key piece, but they wouldn’t be able to do that with the regular-season versions of Gortat and Porter.
Gortat punched Barney in the freaking face. He shot 74 percent, finished everything near the bucket, aced his pick-and-roll dance with Wall, patrolled the interior, and dished assists at a career-best rate.
Beal is even driving more, per SportVU data, and driving with more speed and conviction — a big reason he doubled his free throw rate in this series. Lineups with Pierce at power forward flummoxed the Raps, and they hold promise in a potential second-round clash with the Hawks.
The Wizards are a team on the rise again. Let’s see if it lasts.
I don't agree with his characterization of Gortat, but I like the Otto dap.