Wizards Offseason: One Clear Gap Between Washington and NBA Playoff Teams

Looking at one specific area the Washington Wizards need to improve on to be competitive in the NBA in 2023.

There's a clear gap in performance between the Washington Wizards and teams playing in the NBA Playoffs this season. 

The obvious gap resides in the Wizards' win/loss record where the team finished 23rd among all 30 NBA teams and 11th in the Eastern Conference.

But it's not just the record that needs to improve, it's a critical area of the game that helped earn Washington a shot at the top pick in the NBA Draft. 

And that is a lack of defense. 

We know, defense in the NBA is a thing of the past for the most part. 

But it's still there in some key areas. And where it still exists, the Wizards are not stacking up. 

Washington actually ranked third in defensive rebounds among all Eastern Conference teams this season but its defensive rebounding percentage was just seventh. 

That's because the Wizards allowed the fourth-most second-chance points to be scored against them this season. 

A lot of those second chances led to Washington's being one of just five Eastern Conference teams allowing more than 50 points per game inside the paint. 

The problem isn't contained to just defending the halfcourt, however, as the Wizards were also in the bottom half of the conference in allowing points off turnovers and on fast breaks.

And while they were fifth in blocked shots, they were fourth-lowest in steals. 

All leading to the fourth-lowest defensive team rating in the East. 

The New York Knicks are the worst defensive team in this year's Eastern Conference Playoffs not participating in the play-in tournament and rank better in every defensive scoring category. 

Stats don't tell the whole story, but by any means, these tell a clear one. 

If Washington wants to get better, it has to do so by seriously addressing an area of the game most consider an afterthought in this era of big shots and flashy dunks.

It's time to make like Kyle Kuzma and get a little defensive.

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Find David Harrison on Twitter @DHarrison82

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