After Friday night’s loss in Detroit, the Washington Wizards have officially been eliminated from NBA Playoff contention. Washington, who made the Eastern Conference Semifinals in two consecutive seasons, experienced one of their most miserable years in recent memory.
Injuries and poor coaching have certainly played a large role in the team’s failures this season, but the roster construction was undoubtedly the biggest factor in their inability to carry over the success they had in the playoffs to the regular season.
Ernie Grunfeld wanted the team to play more uptempo, which is a solid strategy given how the league and the game as a whole have evolved, but didn’t construct the roster to properly employ the pace-and-space offense.