Line up the caveats: The Eastern Conference is a middling wasteland populated by non-contenders. Merely having the same amount of wins and losses is little reason for applause. The Brooklyn Nets should be relegated.
All true.
However, those facts do little to temper the Washington Wizards being pleased with reaching .500 for the first time this season after drubbing Brooklyn, 118-95, Friday night for their eighth consecutive home win. Three points from another winning night at Verizon Center:
Trey Burke is finding comfort. Friday night’s season-high 27 points for Burke will alert many to the fact he has been playing better in December. He, like much of the bench, looked lost at the start of the season. Then, Burke was being used in a more strict point guard role as opposed to a combination guard, or simply a “guard,” as Wizards coach Scott Brooks likes to refer to him.
“He’s a very good scorer,” Brooks said. “I’ve kind of changed my view of him as the season’s gone. I’m starting to use him more as trying to get us some points off of some pin downs and off some pick-and-rolls. And, I think he’s done a good job of taking that role and doing well in it. Tonight was one of those nights for him. We don’t expect that every night. He doesn’t have to provide that when Brad [Beal] comes back.”
Burke is shooting just 43.2 percent this season. In the big picture, that’s a mediocre percentage. For him, it’s a career high, showing just how much he has struggled after entering the league as the ninth overall pick in 2013.
No Beal. When he met with the media pregame, Brooks did not know if Bradley Beal would play Friday night. Beal sprained his right ankle Wednesday against the Indiana Pacers and missed the second half of that game. He warmed up on a practice floor Friday, but the doctors told Brooks that Beal was not ready to play. Sheldon McClellan started in his place to keep the bench rotation intact. Brooks said he thought McClellan was “pressing” early. No one on the Wizards has had a more strange run of playing time than McClellan, which is saying something considering the rotation fluctuations this season. In the last week, McClellan has played zero minutes, seven minutes and started. Earlier in the season, he was sent to the D-League.
Beal not playing Friday gives him four full days between games to heal. The Wizards next play Monday on the road against the Houston Rockets and untamable James Harden.
A suddenly brighter future. Washington has moved to .500 for the first time this season. At 16-16 in the unstable and inconsistent Eastern Conference, the Wizards’ recent run — eight consecutive wins at home and nine of 12 overall — has launched them into the sixth spot. Atop the conference, some separation is starting to occur. Cleveland and Toronto are first and second, as expected. The Boston Celtics are 7-3 in their last 10 games, which has moved them to third. Charlotte is fourth at 19-14. After that, just three game separate the fifth and 12th spots. So, with 50 games to play, fun with projections: The Wizards would have to go 31-19 to get to 47 wins (that’s a very unlikely 62 percent winning percentage the rest of the way), which would be the most in franchise history since 1979. To get to 44 wins, Washington needs to finish the season 28-22 (56 percent) and 42 wins just 26-24 (52 percent). Considering the alignment of the conference, 42-44 wins should be enough for a playoff spot.
• Todd Dybas can be reached at tdybas@washingtontimes.com.
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