Wizards find validation in wins over Spurs, Bulls as playoff expectations rise

Before his team added another standout performance to its increasingly impressive résumé Wednesday night, Washington Wizards Coach Randy Wittman challenged his players.
Finally beating the San Antonio Spurs to terminate a nine-year losing streak was gratifying. A day later came another chance to knock off one of the conference’s top teams, the Chicago Bulls, on their home floor. They could validate the first victory with a second, Wittman said. Don’t settle.
Wittman left United Center satisfied. His team handled the quick turnaround and beat the Bulls, 105-99 .
“It’s a professional win,” Wittman said. “That’s being a professional. That’s what this league is.”
Zoom out and the back-to-back concluded a torturous 10-game stretch. Beginning with its trip to Houston for a 104-103 win over the Rockets on Dec. 29, Washington traveled approximately 6,000 miles to eight cities over 19 days against the league’s best.

Washington Wizards forward Paul Pierce, right, reacts after being fouled by Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday. (Rex Arbogast/Associated Press)

By Jorge Castillo January 15 at 8:28 PM

Before his team added another standout performance to its increasingly impressive résumé Wednesday night, Washington Wizards Coach Randy Wittman challenged his players.
Finally beating the San Antonio Spurs to terminate a nine-year losing streak was gratifying. A day later came another chance to knock off one of the conference’s top teams, the Chicago Bulls, on their home floor. They could validate the first victory with a second, Wittman said. Don’t settle.
Wittman left United Center satisfied. His team handled the quick turnaround and beat the Bulls, 105-99 .
“It’s a professional win,” Wittman said. “That’s being a professional. That’s what this league is.”
Zoom out and the back-to-back concluded a torturous 10-game stretch. Beginning with its trip to Houston for a 104-103 win over the Rockets on Dec. 29, Washington traveled approximately 6,000 miles to eight cities over 19 days against the league’s best.

The Post Sports Live crew debates where the Wizards rank among the best teams in the Eastern Conference. (Post Sports Live/The Washington Post)

The Wizards encountered four top-10 offenses, four top-10 defenses, four former MVPs, the league’s leading scorer and the league’s defending champion. They emerged 6-4 and with the second-best record in the Eastern Conference at 27-12. Two games from the midway point in the regular season, the Wizards have cemented themselves as legitimate contenders in an Eastern Conference.
“I love it. Everybody has their opinion,” Wizards forward Paul Pierce said. “There’s a reason why I decided to come to this team because I saw something and we’re just going to go out here and go and show it each and every night.
“Right now there aren’t a lot of people talking about us, but that’s okay. Fly under the radar and see where we are at the end of the year.”
The Wizards topped the Bulls, who they eliminated in the first round of the playoffs last spring, twice in five days, but Wednesday’s result was especially satisfactory. Chatter among players in the hours leading up to the game addressed the unsettling reality that Washington had played three teams considered Eastern Conference title contenders on the road and were crushed each time.
First, the Toronto Raptors routed them, 104-89. Then the Cavaliers, back when they were the league’s darlings in the midst of an eight-game winning streak, smacked them, 113-87, on Thanksgiving eve. The final blow came Sunday, when the streaking Atlanta Hawks, 24-2 over their past 26 games, handed them the most lopsided loss of them all, 120-89 . Bouncing back Wednesday, players said, was vital.
“It was important for us, man, because we say we want to be this elite team,” guard Bradley Beal said. “We say we want to be one of the best teams in the East, and you have to be able to beat a team who’s also elite. I think it speaks a lot for the team and us individually.”
The common denominator in Washington’s recent defeats has been turnovers. When the Wizards are sloppy, it gets ugly.

Washington had 23 turnovers in a 27-point loss to the Dallas Mavericks and tallied 20 in Sunday’s loss to the Hawks. The Wizards entered halftime Wednesday with 12 turnovers and trailing by six points. They then committed just three more and outscored Chicago, without starter Joakim Noah in the second half, 61-49 in the final 24 minutes.
“We knew what we did wrong in the first half,” Pierce said. “When we don’t turn the ball over and we pass and share, we’re a tough team to beat.”
Expectations were elevated this season as soon as the Wizards reported for training camp. They voiced their desire to take the next step, to reach the Eastern Conference finals after a second-round exit, but anything further wasn’t declared a goal, at least publicly.
That has changed as the halfway point approaches with the toughest stretch of the season in the rearview mirror. Confidence is soaring. Ambitions have grown. The Wizards are now thinking championship.
“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t the goal,” Pierce said.