Vegas Over/Under: 47.5
Fromal’s Record Projection: 50-32 The Bet: Above with marginal confidence
Why expect a drop from the Washington Wizards?
The three-headed monster of John Wall, Bradley Beal and Otto Porter Jr. continues to be trending upward. Each guy is moving toward his athletic prime and building chemistry with the other members of the triumvirate while seeking to assert himself as a premier talent at his respective position. Wall is currently there, and the other two aren’t far behind.
And if you are worried about the seat, do not worry –just not for the reason you might expect.
Last year’s second-stringers were dreadful. They routinely squandered leads and dug inescapable holes for the starters. This year’s bench collection should not be much better, as Tim Frazier, Jodie Meeks and Mike Scott are not precisely marquee additions. And that’s almost irrelevant.
The non-starters are bad. We know that much. On the other hand, the starters continue to be in place, along with the Wizards published an 8.1 net rating annually when Wall,” Beal, Porter, Markieff Morris and Marcin Gortat were around the floor together. In spite of the putridity behind them, they dragged their troops to 49 wins.
So again, why should we expect anything else this season, especially when the group was better in the second half of during the season’s opening salvo?