Wizards Youth Movement is Arriving

The Wizards’ one-win, one-loss record in their last two games is far from astonishing, especially considering the very low sample size. However, in the last two games, they have shown layers of team basketball that they haven’t yet this season.

Even in the loss, Washington competed with a very good Cleveland Cavaliers team, taking them all the way down to the wire and only losing by four. The Wizards then followed that up with a dominant, start-to-finish victory over the Indiana Pacers, a team that beat them by 30 just two weeks ago.

Lots of things can be said about the recent life that has been brought to the District, but the most prominent is the opportunity that has been given to the youth. Rookie Tre Johnson made his long-awaited return from injury against the Cavaliers and was joined in the rotation by fellow rookies Will Riley and Jamir Watkins.

The rookie trio may not be the most polished basketball players as of now, but one thing is clear: they care. One of the biggest faults of the Wizards thus far this season is a lack of attentiveness from players when they are on the court. Washington’s roster in and of itself likely isn’t the worst in the NBA, but the lack of competitive nature that they display on a night-to-night basis prevents them from being in games.

Now the Wizards and their front office are left with a dilemma. Washington isn’t back in action until Dec. 18, giving them plenty of time to rest, recover, and regroup. The Wizards will likely get a couple of key contributors back from injury, throwing a wrench into the current trajectory they are on.

Head coach Brian Keefe will be left with a choice. He can either revert back to the lineups he used to run out in hopes of a change in attitude being made, or he can re-tool, plugging some guys returning from injury back into the lineup without completely destroying their current mojo. Either way he chooses to do it, one thing is clear: the youth movement in Washington has begun.