After making the NBA Playoffs for two years in a row and advancing past the first round, the Washington Wizards had officially lost their “underdog” status.
Finally, for the first time in about half a decade, the Wizards had experienced tangible success by winning multiple playoff series.
Then things came crashing down in 2016.
The Wizards were no longer a team that others looked at as an easy win on their schedule.
They weren’t taken lightly nor was anybody on the team poorly scouted.
The opposition knew what was coming.
Hoping to carry over the success they had with small-ball in the playoffs, the Wizards changed their entire system during the regular season.