John Wall knocked down a 3-pointer with 3.5 seconds to play and brought Capital One Arena to its feet.
That game-winning shot in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals was arguably the greatest moment of the decade for the Washington Wizards. It instilled hope throughout the city and pushed a talented team, the Boston Celtics, to the brink of elimination.
The Wizards were one win away from meeting LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the conference finals. Instead, the Celtics edged out a 115-105 win in Game 7 in Boston to advance.
It’s been 19 months since, which in basketball years can feel like much longer.
Both teams have changed, but only one is still considered a playoff threat.
Ahead of the Wizards’ and Celtics’ first meeting of the season Wednesday at Capital One, it’s Boston that has remained competitive in the East and Washington that has floundered.
Though the Wizards locked in their core of Wall, Bradley Beal and Otto Porter Jr., 2017’s playoff run did not translate into a continued run of success the following season.
Wall missed exactly half of last season with a knee injury and briefly feuded with Marcin Gortat, and the Wizards struggled their way to 43-39, the eighth and lowest playoff seed and an opening-round loss to Toronto.
Boston went a different route, gambling on reinventing its lineup — the Celtics of the 2017 postseason got a makeover right away. They signed Gordon Hayward, though he broke his leg and dislocated his ankle in last year’s season opener. In a more earth-shaking move, they changed point guards, replacing Isaiah Thomas with Kyrie Irving via trade.
The Celtics have also drafted better than the Wizards, though some of that falls on the Brooklyn Nets for foolishly trading away years’ worth of first-round picks to Boston to get Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce at the end of their careers.
Boston nailed two of those Brooklyn picks by drafting Jaylen Brown in 2016 and Jayson Tatum in 2017. Tatum and Brown quickly became two of the Celtics’ starters. Other recent picks, like Semi Ojeleye and rookie Robert Williams, have filled in to play increased minutes this year when the Celtics have dealt with injuries to Hayward and Al Horford.
Washington has only had five total draft picks since 2013, the year they took Porter third overall. Only one of those picks, 19-year-old rookie Troy Brown Jr., is on the roster this year, and he has needed to spend time in the G League to develop.
The Celtics hit some trouble at the start of the season, but have now won six straight entering Wednesday to improve to 16-10. Washington enters this game 11-16, and while that’s hardly the pits of the Eastern Conference, it leaves a lot to be desired for a team that with playoff hopes.
Wizards coach Scott Brooks said Tuesday the Celtics are “loaded,” which was evident in their 113-100 win over the Pelicans without Hayward, Irving or Horford.
“They got a deep team. A lot of guys sat out last night and it was almost like watching them last year, like their team from last year,” Brooks said. “They play with a great spirit and energy and they’ve got a lot of offensive skill. It’s definitely a challenge. They’re playing their best basketball of the year.”
About a third of the way through the 2018-19 season, the Wizards are frequently mentioned in trade rumors, they’ve lost newcomer center Dwight Howard to a necessary surgery and they are scrambling to put together a playoff-caliber team.
A win Wednesday over their old rivals from Boston would be a step — albeit just one of the many this team will need — toward turning their season around.
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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