The Washington Wizards just created a whole bunch of questions.
After crushing the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-100 on Sunday to end a 0-25 road skid, Wizards fans only can wonder where this type of effort has been all season. Are the Cavaliers really that bad? Why did Washington need the threat of mortal embarrassment to play its best?
The Cavaliers seriously stink. Their 9-46 mark proves the franchise is lost without LeBron James. Cleveland doesn’t rock. It gets rolled. The arena announcer’s hyperbole echoed over the boos. The Cavaliers had a seven-shot possession and didn’t come away with any points.
The Wizards are much better than their 15-38 record, which makes them all the more exasperating. Washington finally mustered real enthusiasm from the start, a 180-degree reversal from its 118-94 home loss to San Antonio less than 20 hours earlier. As bad as the Wizards looked in defeat Saturday, they looked that good in victory Sunday night.
Why?
Did it take possible national shame — losing to Cleveland, which just ended its own 26-game losing streak overall — to make Washington truly care? The Cavaliers are the Wizards’ nemeses, after all. Washington lost seven straight to Cleveland by an average of 13 points before Sunday, including 107-102 on Nov. 6.
Josh Howard started after missing 19 games with a sore knee, but he wasn’t the reason the Wizards snapped the skid. He didn’t score until late in the first half. No, credit Nick Young, who hit seven of his first nine shots, and John Wall, who dished out seven assists in the first quarter. The Wizards ran textbook offensive plays. Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee were consistent inside presences. Five players finished with at least 16 points, including Young, who wound up with 31.
Still, it’s just one win. Perhaps it’s best to keep in mind that if a comedian makes only one person laugh, he’s in big trouble.
The Wizards finally won on the road because they were embarrassed into playing as if it were the playoffs. It was easier to win than deal with the mounting criticism that somehow hasn’t equaled what the Wizards truly deserve in another miserable season.
This game was a mirage. That’s the real danger: believing the Wizards can perform like this consistently or even occasionally.
Washington will spend the final 29 games seeking some chemistry — some momentum for young players to carry over into next fall should the NBA not follow the NFL into labor deal disaster.
Maybe the Wizards can get the top pick in the draft lottery again, but even a top-five choice should bring a needed starter. That is if a new general manager is aboard to choose it.
Washington still needs a new GM and coach next season. One lowly win over the league’s worst team doesn’t change that. The victory merely shows the Wizards have a pulse and some heart — for one night at least.
Examiner columnist Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com and on Twitter @Snide_Remarks or e-mail [email protected].
