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The Wizards have a chance to clinch the #8 seed - which means they would only need to win once in the play in tournament to secure a playoff spot . The Wizards play the Hornets who have beaten the Wizards by double digits each time this season. Bradley Beal and Raul Neto are both questionable - will they play and can the Wizards defeat their division rival?

Wow, I didn't realize it was an afternoon game. That's a real tough turnaround for Charlotte!

Biggest game of the season! Westbrook is about to go off.

If all these guys are out, don't see how a win happens

Actually think we could beat them without Brad with the back to back situation. Westbrook/Bertans/Gill/Gafford is still a lot of firepower.

We already know about the play in scenarios but the best thing about this game and if we win the play in then no one can say anything bad about us because alot of people try to make you feel bad if you make it as a 9 or 10 like it's not legit because the top 8 fought hard to earn the right to be in so if we win this game then we are a legit top 8 seed who earned the right over the course of the season

dlts20 wrote:We already know about the play in scenarios but the best thing about this game and if we win the play in then no one can say anything bad about us because alot of people try to make you feel bad if you make it as a 9 or 10 like it's not legit because the top 8 fought hard to earn the right to be in so if we win this game then we are a legit top 8 seed who earned the right over the course of the season

Agreed. Win this and we are legitimate playoff team, not just some bad team that lucked into the playoffs because of the recent addition of the Play-In Tournament.

It's also worth noting that the team started off 6-17 over the first third of the season thanks to Westbrook playing hurt and half the team catching Covid. Since February 13th, the team is 27-21. Over 82-games, that would be a 46-win pace. Assuming a win today, that's a 47-win pace - a rock-solid team.

The team has been ridiculous since April 7th. Their record since then is 16-6. Over that stretch, they rank 5th in offense and 8th in defense. Those are the numbers of an actual contender.

If we avoid a 2 game losing streak we're in. Sounds easy.

Win then Win - We are the 7th seed
Win then Lose then Win - We are the 8th seed
Lose then Win then Win - We are the 8th seed
Lose then Lose - We are out of the playoffs
Lose then Win then Lose - We are out of the playoffs

So win 2 out of the next 3. The order doesn't matter.

nate33 wrote:

dlts20 wrote:We already know about the play in scenarios but the best thing about this game and if we win the play in then no one can say anything bad about us because alot of people try to make you feel bad if you make it as a 9 or 10 like it's not legit because the top 8 fought hard to earn the right to be in so if we win this game then we are a legit top 8 seed who earned the right over the course of the season

Agreed. Win this and we are legitimate playoff team, not just some bad team that lucked into the playoffs because of the recent addition of the Play-In Tournament.

It's also worth noting that the team started off 6-17 over the first third of the season thanks to Westbrook playing hurt and half the team catching Covid. Since February 13th, the team is 27-21. Over 82-games, that would be a 46-win pace. Assuming a win today, that's a 47-win pace - a rock-solid team.

The team has been ridiculous since April 7th. Their record since then is 16-6. Over that stretch, they rank 5th in offense and 8th in defense. Those are the numbers of an actual contender.

What was the change??

On/Off differential since the ASB:

Davis Bertans: 9.4 (1st)
Daniel Gafford: 8.0 (3rd)
Anthony Gill: 6.9 (4th)
Russell Westbrook 5.3 (5th) vs -4.3 before ASB

The wizards picked up 2 really good frontcourt players and Bertans&Westbrook got going.

NatP4 wrote:

nate33 wrote:

dlts20 wrote:We already know about the play in scenarios but the best thing about this game and if we win the play in then no one can say anything bad about us because alot of people try to make you feel bad if you make it as a 9 or 10 like it's not legit because the top 8 fought hard to earn the right to be in so if we win this game then we are a legit top 8 seed who earned the right over the course of the season

Agreed. Win this and we are legitimate playoff team, not just some bad team that lucked into the playoffs because of the recent addition of the Play-In Tournament.

It's also worth noting that the team started off 6-17 over the first third of the season thanks to Westbrook playing hurt and half the team catching Covid. Since February 13th, the team is 27-21. Over 82-games, that would be a 46-win pace. Assuming a win today, that's a 47-win pace - a rock-solid team.

The team has been ridiculous since April 7th. Their record since then is 16-6. Over that stretch, they rank 5th in offense and 8th in defense. Those are the numbers of an actual contender.

What was the change??

On/Off differential since the ASB:

Davis Bertans: 9.4 (1st)
Daniel Gafford: 8.0 (3rd)
Anthony Gill: 6.9 (4th)
Russell Westbrook 5.3 (5th) vs -4.3 before ASB

The wizards picked up 2 really good frontcourt players and Bertans&Westbrook got going.

I wouldn't give Gill much credit. He has barely played. (Not to say he isn't a good player.) But the rest of your post is spot on. Mostly, it's a massive improvement out of Westbrook and the addition of Gafford. Also, I think Brooks deserves a little credit for figuring out how to utilize Lopez as an offensive weapon against weak 2nd unit defenders. That's a revelation that has really helped us generate points on otherwise offensively terrible 2nd units featuring Westbrook and no shooters.

Beal is playing according to Woj.

I hope Brooks is holding off on announcing the starting lineup to hide Gafford

80sballboy wrote:Beal is playing according to Woj.

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To me the perfect scenario would be Beal, unable to play, Wizards lose back-to-back in the play-ins and wait for it....

Beal needs to outscore Steph by 23 to win the scoring title.

queridiculo wrote:To me the perfect scenario would be Beal, unable to play, Wizards lose back-to-back in the play-ins and wait for it....

Spoiler:

WIN THE LOTTERY!

Nah - I wanted them to tank and get a good pick but might as well go all the way now. Let's upset a team in the 1st round and go on from there!

queridiculo wrote:To me the perfect scenario would be Beal, unable to play, Wizards lose back-to-back in the play-ins and wait for it....

Spoiler:

WIN THE LOTTERY!

The real problem with this idea is that we will have terrible lottery odds. If we lose the Charlotte game and then the Play-In game, we will be, at best, the 11th position in the drawing. That's just a 9.4% chance at a top 4 pick. (There's also a chance we end up tied with Indy or San Antonio, in which case our top 4 odds drop to 8.3%.)

The newer, flattened lotto odds are pretty kind to teams in the 4 to 9 range, but the odds drop precipitously after that.