For a team with three starters under age 25, there's a strange finality for the Washington Wizards this season. They've been good without taking another step for one too many seasons in D.C. Kevin Durant and his pending free agency looms over their head with every waking moment.
Washington Wizards 2015 roster: Season will hinge on small-ball success
Washington looked better in the playoffs than it had nearly all season. Can the Wizards keep it up using the same style of play?
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Fortunately, the Wizards are in the position to take that next step. A lot of the potential hinges around a small-ball approach that did devastating things to the Toronto Raptors in the playoffs last year. Although Paul Pierce is gone, the strategy itself can be duplicated with Jared Dudley or perhaps even Otto Porter. By going small, John Wall is all the more devastating with extra lanes to exploit and more shooting around him to find.
If Randy Wittman can guide the Wizards through this small-ball transition, it will help bring their offense into the top half of the NBA and Washington could rise as high as No. 2 in the Eastern Conference. But there are still too many questions to assume that will happen.
LAST YEAR
RECORD: 46-36 (5th in Eastern Conference)
PLAYOFFS: Lost 4-2 to the Hawks in the East semifinals
OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY: 101.8 (19th)
DEFENSIVE EFFICIENCY: 100.0 (5th)
ROSTER
No. | PLAYER | POS | HEIGHT | WEIGHT | AGE | COLLEGE |
| 1 | Jared Dudley | SF | 6-7 | 225 | 30 | Boston College |
| 2 | John Wall | PG | 6-4 | 195 | 25 | Kentucky |
| 3 | Bradley Beal | SG | 6-5 | 207 | 22 | Florida |
| 6 | Alan Anderson | SG | 6-6 | 220 | 32 | Michigan State |
| 7 | Ramon Sessions | PG | 6-3 | 190 | 29 | Nevada |
| 9 | Martell Webster | SF | 6-7 | 230 | 28 | High school |
| 12 | Kelly Oubre Jr. | SF | 6-7 | 205 | 19 | Kansas |
| 13 | Marcin Gortat | C | 6-11 | 240 | 31 | Poland |
| 14 | Gary Neal | PG | 6-4 | 210 | 30 | Towson |
| 17 | Garrett Temple | SG | 6-6 | 195 | 29 | LSU |
| 22 | Otto Porter Jr. | SF | 6-8 | 198 | 22 | Georgetown |
| 42 | Nene Hilario | PF | 6-11 | 250 | 33 | Brazil |
| 43 | Kris Humphries | PF | 6-9 | 235 | 30 | Minnesota |
| 45 | DeJuan Blair | C | 6-7 | 270 | 26 | Pittsburgh |
| 90 | Drew Gooden | PF | 6-10 | 250 | 34 | Kansas |
Coach: Randy Wittman
Assistant coaches: Don Newman, Don Zierden, Sam Cassell, Ryan Saunders, Pat Sullivan
OFFSEASON CHANGES
IN: Jared Dudley, Alan Anderson, Gary Neal, Kelly Oubre Jr.
OUT: Paul Pierce, Rasual Butler, Kevin Seraphin
The Wizards are mostly the same from last year, though they added a couple of players for depth while losing Paul Pierce. Jared Dudley could prove to be the biggest difference-maker as a stretch-4 in a scheme the Wizards keep talking about using more frequently.
DEPTH CHART
POINT GUARD | SHOOTING GUARD | SMALL FORWARD | POWER FORWARD | CENTER | |
STARTER | John Wall | Bradley Beal | Otto Porter Jr. | Nene | Marcin Gortat |
RESERVE | Ramon Sessions | Alan Anderson | Martell Webster | Jared Dudley | Kris Humphries |
RESERVE | Garrett Temple | Gary Neal | Kelly Oubre Jr. | Drew Gooden | DeJuan Blair |
RESERVE |
THE KEY QUESTION
Will Randy Wittman use the small-ball approach early in the season, or wait until the playoffs again?
As soon as the Wiz signed Paul Pierce last offseason, we were just waiting for him to unleash the stretch-4. And waited. And waited. Until he unleashed the fury in the playoffs.
Despite all the noise, that could easily happen again. Jared Dudley, the most likely stretch-4 candidate, could miss some time this season, and Wittman just doesn't strike me as the kind of guy to be that inventive/experimental and play Otto Porter at power forward. God help us if Nene is ever legitimately chucking up shots from beyond the arc.
I think it’d be much better for the Wizards to be experimental and try a bunch of different lineups, big or small. Bradley Beal and John Wall have enough talent to carry the Wizards through any offensive slumps, especially in the East. But this is Wittman we’re talking about. Don’t be surprised if the starting lineup is going to feature Marcin Gortat with Nene/Kris Humphries/Drew Gooden.
-Jon Munshaw, Bullets Forever. Read the full season preview here.
PREDICTIONS
BEST CASE: The Wizards emerge as a threat in the Eastern Conference, challenging the Cavaliers every chance they get, even if they can't top them for the No. 1 seed. Porter takes on a starting spot seamlessly, showing his development. Washington has a successful playoff run that sets them up as viable candidates for #KD2DC next summer.
WORST CASE: The backcourt once again is plagued with injuries while Porter stumbles as a starter replacing Pierce. Washington’s small-ball approach is quickly dismissed and the offense suffers accordingly. #KD2DC becomes nothing more than a running gag on NBA Twitter.
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