No team meetings necessary for high-flying Wizards this season

Assembled and irritated, an around-the-room discussion began for the Wizards. They began the 2013-14 season 2-7 and even the two wins were lackluster. One was against a historically bad Philadelphia 76ers team that lost 26 consecutive games at one point. The other was in overtime against the Brooklyn Nets.

Home, road, it didn’t matter. The same 76ers team won in the Verizon Center. The Wizards were 1-5 on the road. They argued and accused.

Eventually, last season’s players-only meeting received structure when power forward Nene summoned John Wall to speak. They wanted to hear from Wall, the former No. 1 overall pick, the team’s point guard. He was chatty but not a vocal leader. So, uninhibited, down the line he went telling each player what he thought his role was.

There will be no meeting after nine games this season, only a much tougher three-game schedule beginning Wednesday night with the 8-3 Dallas Mavericks. The Wizards have started the season 7-2. They are 4-0 at home. Have won three consecutive games. No Washington team has begun better since the 1974-75 season, a point when no one on the current roster had been born. They trace some of that back to last year’s examination.

“I think after that meeting, guys on the team told [Wall] and let him know we’re OK with you getting vocal,” Garrett Temple said. “We’re OK with you getting on us, we want you to because we believe that you understand what needs to be done. You get on us, we’re going to get on you, but we need you to be that leader for us. You know what everybody’s role needs to be. If we’re playing out of our role, you need to tell us.

“And the same as if you’re playing out of your role we need to tell you. I think that aspect, that was big for John to understand people are going to take his criticism and also, you know, be constructively critical to him. I think the biggest thing was us being able to take each other’s criticism.”

The problems then were layered, according to players. Certain players were admonished for doing too much. Others, not enough. There was confusion about leadership.

“A little bit of everything,” Temple said.

By outlining roles, Wall provided clarity for himself and his teammates. He also proved out the participatory point Nene wanted to make.

“We understood basketball is simple, man,” Nene said. “When you play through each other, it gets fun because it’s contagious. If you put teammates wide open, that energy is passed to you back. That’s the way we’re playing.”

At this point, during the opening kumbaya period, those prior issues appear fixed. However, looking at the underbelly of this year’s start stirs legitimate questions. Simple Rating System takes into account average point differential and strength of schedule. The rating is denominated in points above/below average, where average is zero. It is not impressed with the Wizards after nine games.

Washington is ranked sixth in the Eastern Conference and has a -0.30 rating, as of Tuesday. That is worse than the 3-6 Boston Celtics and just ahead of the 4-6 Brooklyn Nets. It’s the system’s way of saying the Wizards have played soft competition so far.

The standard reflection of a team’s record bears that out. The Wizards’ opponents are a combined 43-56 this season. Washington has played two teams with winning records — the Miami Heat (6-5) and Toronto Raptors (8-2) — and lost to each. The Raptors, in a word from Marcin Gortat, “punished” the Wizards.

Back to last year. By the time the meeting rolled around, after a Nov. 16 loss against Cleveland, the Wizards’ opponents were 50-42. Washington had the always-brutal swing through Oklahoma City, Dallas and San Antonio already behind it. The schedule then was more difficult.

Problems with point differential this season come from the Wizards persistently letting teams back into games they controlled. In Orlando, they held a 17-point lead with 1:50 remaining in the third quarter. That lead shrunk to three before they won by seven. In the first game against the Pacers, the Wizards led by 11 with 6:20 left in the third quarter. They won by two in overtime. At Indiana, they had a 22-point second-quarter lead. That dipped to three points midway through the fourth quarter in an eventual 97-90 win.

The sipper of a half-full cup will counter by pointing out Bradley Beal is yet to play for the Wizards this season. He practiced Monday and Tuesday and has a chance to play as soon as Friday, when the Cavaliers come to town. He is also yet to be ruled out for Wednesday. Beal was absent because of Oct. 12 surgery on his left (non-shooting) wrist.

When Beal returns, the concepts that had to be hashed out last season but are already grasped this time will be tested. It’s those kindergarten ideals that the Wizards had to embrace: share and know what you’re supposed to do.

“Right now, we’re already to that point where we understand each other’s role,” Temple said. “Things are going to change when Brad gets back, when Martell [Webster] gets back. But, as of now, we’re very comfortable with our role, each player. And, we’re playing as a team.

“I don’t think we’re going to have a team meeting being 7-2, but we just have to continue to understand what each person has to do. That was the thing that we didn’t really know what our role was when we were 2-7 and being 7-2 … I think that is part of why we are 7-2. Everybody has bought into the system and understands what we need to do to win.”

Rolling home on the Yellow Line Saturday night after the Wizards defeated the Orlando Magic, a fan sat with headphones in and a blue Wizards hat on. The man across from him broke the unstated but well understood rule of not talking to anyone on the D.C. Metro.

“Did you go to the game?”

“Yeah.”

“Did they win”

“Yeah.”

“They’re … 7-2?”

“Yup.”

“Well, ain’t that some [stuff].”

They laughed. There were no metrics involved. Only, seemingly for once, a good start for the Wizards to talk about. The opposite conversation — internally or otherwise — from last season. An enjoyment that will be tested this week.