The Wizards lost Game 7 because of their bench. It’s hard to see how it’ll improve

The Washington Wizards were eliminated from the playoffs on Monday after the Boston Celtics whisked away a conference finals berth in a 115-105 Game 7 win at home. The Wizards probably would have been able to make up that 10-point difference had their bench made the trip to Boston alongside their starters.

Bradley Beal played the game of his life on Monday, putting up 38 points on 54.5 percent shooting. Otto Porter and Markieff Morris combined for 38 points themselves, and on a poor shooting night, John Wall still finished with 18 points, 11 assists, and seven rebounds.

That was the extent of Washington’s offense.

Save for Bojan Bogdanovic, who added five points in 16 minutes off the bench, no Wizards reserve players scored. In five minutes on the floor, Brandon Jennings put up a doughnut, a recurring episode for a once-streak shooter who’s become a pass-first point guard after posting a record 55-point game his rookie season.

Ian Mahinmi was on the floor for all of 10 minutes; not only did he fail to score, but the veteran 6’11 center failed to grab a rebound as well. In a game where Marcin Gortat played only 32 minutes, production from the backup big man could have been a game-changer. Instead, Washington was outscored by a point for every minute Mahinmi was on the floor and by 19 points while Bogdanovic filled in.

Between Games 1 and 5, the Wizards’ reserves combined for 138 points. In Games 6 and 7, they scored just 18.

The Wizards spent an arm and a leg on a second unit that didn’t show up for a decisive Game 7 — or many other times. After all, they did ink Mahinmi to a four-year, $64 million deal over the summer. That’s a lot of money for a guy who put up a doughnut across the board in the season’s most important game.

Washington also forked over a four-year, $26 million contract to Andrew Nicholson before trading him and a first-round pick to Brooklyn for Bogdanovic, a pending free agent. They signed Jason Smith to a three-year, $15 million deal with a player option on Year 3, and gave Tomas Satoransky — who averaged 3.6 minutes per game in the postseason — a three-year deal worth $9 million.

Unfortunately for Wizards fans, what you see might be what you get for the foreseeable future. The salary cap is projected at $103 million this summer, and the Wizards have $105 million committed in salaries for next season. That figure only includes the cap hold on Otto Porter’s contract, not Bodganovic’s, Jennings’, or Trey Burke’s. The Wizards won’t have cap room to fill out their bench even if they don’t give Porter a hefty raise as expected and even if they let Bogdanovic go.

Washington’s bench ranked second-to-last in bench scoring during the regular season, ahead of only the Minnesota Timberwolves at 27 points per game. They moved up to 19th after acquiring Bogdanovic and Jennings, but it cost them a first-round pick. Now, it’s on the Wizards to develop their bench and get the most out of them. Second-year forward Kelly Oubre Jr. and rookie point guard Tomas Satoransky, who barely saw the floor in Game 7, must become solid rotation players.

Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld could also try to find cheap talent on the market. Washington will have its veteran’s minimum exception available to sign free agents, as well as either the full mid-level or the taxpayer mid-level depending on Porter’s new deal. If Jennings bolts town, reserve point guards like Raymond Felton, Norris Cole, and Mario Chalmers could be available at the minimum when July 1 strikes, as will Ty Lawson, a dynamic backup guard with a checkered past.

Either way, the Wizards will need to do something to improve the team they have now. Otherwise, it could be a rinse and repeat in Washington without cap space for the next two seasons.