If we learned anything from last season, it’s that it’s never a good idea to get too caught up in a team’s success in exhibition games. On the other hand, sometimes preseason struggles can be the first warning signs that a team is going to have some issues once games start to matter.
Through the Wizards’ first five preseason games, two concerning trends have emerged: Defense and outside shooting. It’s probably a little too early to say whether or not the defense is a real issue, considering how Scott Brooks has shuffled through plenty of different lineup combinations as he tries to give players on unguaranteed deals a chance to shine and work around the injury issues that have popped up.