Rarely does a team, for two seasons in a row, exchange blows with a No. 1 seed in the second round of the playoffs and exit in such an unsatisfying manner. Uncharted territory for the modern era Washington Wizards, who crashed hard—in amazing fashion—to end the 2014-15 season.
Fifteen other NBA playoff teams were sent casting their reels into a pond of disappointment—some with chins up, some with a whimper; the Wizards were closer to the former, at least. Series losses to the Indiana Pacers in 2014 and Atlanta Hawks in 2015 were not the result of one or two bad plays, but they do represent legitimate, blown chances to make the Eastern Conference Finals.