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When the Wizards started the 2021-22 season with a 10-3 record, everything looked to be clicking. As time would tell, though, one problem festered for Washington over the remaining 69 games of the season, and it鈥檚 a problem the Wizards must overcome to have better success next year.
At the macro level, Washington couldn鈥檛 maintain their 10-3 start due to injuries, a hodgepodge of new players struggling to mesh consistently, working out the kinks of a rookie head coach鈥檚 first year, the list goes on. At the micro-level, though, the Wizards also found trouble holding onto leads within games.
, the Wizards had the ninth-most blown leads in the NBA in 2021-22. Most hauntingly, they in late January. They two months later.
So, what contributed to Washington’s inability to hang on after hot starts? When taking appraisal of this past season during their end-of-season media availabilities, both head coach Wes Unseld Jr. and general manager Tommy Sheppard the team would need to learn how to face head-on next year.
鈥淚 think we had high expectations going into the season and everything kinda is dictated by staying healthy all year, and we weren鈥檛 able to do that,鈥� Sheppard said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 just something you have to struggle with throughout the NBA. We鈥檙e one of 30 teams. Everybody has the same narrative, everybody says, 鈥業f we can stay healthy, then this could happen,鈥� and I feel like we weren鈥檛 able to do that.鈥�
Washington lost man-hours before the year even started, as Rui Hachimura鈥攚ho many figured to be a prominent depth piece at forward and indeed blossomed into that role late in the season鈥攚as out until February due to personal issues. 鈥檚 year was cut short after undergoing wrist surgery that same month. , the Wizards鈥� No. 1 scoring option in Beal鈥檚 absence,
All those factors certainly contributed to the months-long slide the Wizards endured after their red-hot start. However, the newfound depth enjoyed at every position save point guard could鈥檝e also helped Washington stay afloat in the Eastern Conference. Alas, defensive struggles plagued the team and contributed to a lack of consistency that resulted in missing the playoffs.
鈥淚 thought we started off pretty strong and I thought that was a great start for us鈥攏ot only winning games, but we had to rely on our defense to do so,鈥� Wes Unseld Jr. said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 gotta be a mindset and a commitment from day one throughout, so I think that鈥檚 one big piece.鈥�
Simply put, the Wizards seemed to have no issues starting off hot. Hanging onto those leads, though, was where the team鈥檚 shortcomings came into view. Heading into Unseld Jr.鈥檚 second season at the helm, Washington will hopefully see an uptick in chemistry with a squad still getting used to sharing the court together. Injuries are unpredictable, but staying healthy would certainly help as well.
鈥淥bviously the health factor is something that we can鈥檛 necessarily control, but if we come back healthy鈥 think we鈥檙e setting ourselves up for a pretty bright future,鈥� Unseld Jr. said. 鈥淥verall, I鈥檓 very pleased with where we are as a roster, where we are collectively as a team. I think there鈥檚 a lot of excitement about where we can move this thing forward.鈥�
