On April 5, the Wizards lost their fifth game in a row to fall to 17-32. Well away from .500, it seemed like Washington was nowhere near the playoff picture. Even in the Eastern Conference it was going to take a furious push to reach the play-in tournament, let alone the playoffs.
Fast forward to Sunday, Washington clinched the 8-seed in the play-in thanks to one of the most improbable mid-season turnarounds in some time, and of course, they did so from behind. Washington entered the fourth quarter of their Sunday showdown against the Hornets down 90-79. They proceeded to claw their way back to take the lead late in the fourth quarter behind some gutty play from Bradley Beal, Russell Westbrook doing what he does, and an 18-point explosion off the bench from Robin Lopez, of all people.
18 for RoLo!#WizHornets | @rolopez42 pic.twitter.com/MdBqA7cnxj
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) May 16, 2021
Mr. Triple-Double has number 184.#WizHornets | @russwest44 pic.twitter.com/oLB7fcuOHU
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) May 16, 2021
SCARY HOURS pic.twitter.com/OnbHmSRXpZ
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) May 16, 2021
Up three late, the Wizards survived a good look from Devonte’ Graham to tie it, and walked away with a 115-110 win. With that, they clinched eighth in the Eastern Conference and a matchup against Boston in the play-in tournament.
The NBA says that Pacers/Hornets in Indianapolis will be Tuesday night at 6:30 PM ET and Celtics/Wizards in Boston follows at 9 PM ET.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 16, 2021
It can’t be stated enough how improbable this run was. Washington finished the season 17-6, Bradley Beal made a run at the scoring title, and Russell Westbrook finished the season averaging a triple-double again. These efforts pushed the Wizards ahead of other playoff hopefuls like the Bulls to not only reach the play in but get a shot at the No. 7 seed.
Everything is now in the Wizards’ hands. Win and they’re in. If they beat Boston then they’ll get No. 7, but if they lose then they get another shot for No. 8 against the winner of Charlotte and Indiana. While anything can happen in these winner take all scenarios it feels impossible to pick against the Wizards. They’re the hottest team in basketball right now and no lead seems impossible for them to overcome. The Celtics will have their work cut out for them come Tuesday.
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