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13 crazy stats about the suddenly hot Wizards

January 19, 2017 at 10:14 a.m. EST
John Wall drives past Grizzlies center Marc Gasol during the second half of Wednesday’s game at Verizon Center. (Brad Mills/USA Today Sports)

The Wizards are now quite hot. As with their abysmal start, there’s a sense that maybe this is a bit too extreme and that a correction is eventually coming. Until then, watching a team that’s quite hot is more enjoyable than watching a team that appears abysmal. Might as well note some of the results. (An assist to Basketball Reference on most of this.)

20-11

The Wizards began this season 2-8. Since then, they’re 20-11. Disregard every team’s first 10 games, and then run the numbers: The Wizards have had the seventh-best record in the league since then, behind three West powers (Golden State, San Antonio and Houston) and the East’s three best teams (Cleveland, Toronto and Boston).

.537

Okay, the team’s .537 winning percentage at the season’s midway point is still pretty modest. But bear in mind this is just the second time in the past nine years that the Wizards have had a winning record after 41 games. (They were a shocking 28-13 in 2014-2015.) Over the previous eight seasons, Washington averaged 15 wins through its first 41 games.

48

In games that both Bradley Beal and John Wall started, the Wizards are 21-15. That’s a winning percentage of .583, which would translate to 48 wins over a full season. Of course, keeping your injury-plagued star guards healthy isn’t as easy as keeping your amorphous blue mascot healthy, and every single Wizards fan fears this current health won’t last.

13

That’s the current home winning streak. Over the past two seasons, there have only been three home winning streaks that have lasted longer: a 14-game run for the Celtics, a 36-game run for the Warriors and a 39-game one for the Spurs. So those might take a while to equal, but this one is still worth noting. I’ve always said Verizon Center was a scary building for visitors.

1989

But wait, there’s more! Because it turns out this is the fourth-longest home winning streak in franchise history, behind a 14-gamer in 1974, a 15-gamer in 1989, and a 22-gamer that stretched from 1974 to 1975. That means that, yes, this is the longest home winning streak in the storied history of Verizon Center.

.750

The Wizards are now 18-6 at home this season. That ties them with San Antonio for the fifth-best mark in the league, behind only those of Golden State, Cleveland, Houston and Indiana. Did I say Verizon Center was scary? I meant terrifyingly intimidating. Yeah. That’s it.

106

In the past two seasons, Bradley Beal finished with 105 and 106 three-pointers, respectively. He’s already at 106 with a half-season remaining.

45 percent

That’s Otto Porter Jr.’s current three-point shooting percentage, ranking second in the NBA among qualified players. Here are the players in Wizards franchise history who have shot that well from three-point range in a single season while taking at least 100 attempts: Brent Price, Tim Legler, Mike Miller and Hubert Davis. Porter is entering the Washington hall of legends here.

11-2

Porter made a career-high six three-pointers (on only eight attempts) in Wednesday’s win over the Grizzlies. Via Ben Standig, the Wizards are 11-2 this season when Porter makes at least three three-pointers.

46 percent

That’s John Wall’s current shooting percentage, a career best. Wall is averaging a career-high 22.9 points while also leading the Eastern Conference in steals (2.2) and assists (10.2) per game. He was sixth among Eastern Conference guards in the latest all-star ballot returns.

1

Not to rain on this parade, but the Wizards are 4-13 in games not played at Verizon Center. Only the Nets, who are 1-18 away from Barclays Center, have fewer road wins.

3

Washington’s 13-game home winning has featured three wins over teams that are above .500. The going will get a little tougher over the next few weeks, as seven of the Wizards’ next 10 home games are against teams that boast winning records, including the Cavaliers, Warriors and Raptors.

1.5

Despite their dismal road record, the Wizards are only 1.5 games behind Atlanta for the fourth playoff spot in the East, which would, of course, give Washington home-court advantage in the first round. Back when the Wizards were 2-8, talk of this team hosting a playoff game would have been laughable, as would describing Verizon Center as “terrifyingly intimidating” for anyone other than the opponent shooting free throws in the fourth quarter with free chicken on the line.