A false fourth quarter “comeback” that reduced the final deficit to only 10 points sealed the Washington Wizards’ 2023–24 season, which concluded as it should have—a blowout loss to the Boston Celtics bench mob.
It’s not ironic to refer to the defeat as coming from Boston’s “bench mob.” In addition, the Wizards were acting like a bench mob. Like the teams when they are fully loaded, Boston’s reserve group is superior.
The Wizards were devoid of many players during the required Recitation of Woes: Tyus Jones (back), Jordan Poole (sickness), Landry Shamet (calf), Bilal Coulibaly (hand), Richaun Holmes (toe), and Tristan Vukcevic (ankle).
Derrick White (ankle), Jayson Tatum (rest), Kristaps Porzingis (rest), Al Horford (rest), Jrue Holiday (knee), and Jaylen Brown (rest) comprised the Celtics’ starting six. All six will be in action come playoff time.
The most pointless season in franchise history comes to an end with the loss. The club finishes with a record of 15–67, which is the fewest victories in any season for the Wizards, including 1961–62 as the Chicago Packers in their expansion year. It’s five less than the lockout-shortened 2011–12 season and ten fewer than the Covid-shortened campaign.
The Wizards end the season with an 18.3% winning percentage. The second-worst mark for the franchise was 22.5% from the 1961–1962 Packers.
If Brian Keefe replaced Wes Unseld Jr. as coach, it was a minor one, at least in terms of the team’s record. Under Unseld’s leadership, the Wizards went 7-36, good for a 16.3% winning rate. Under Keefe’s leadership, they went 8–30, a winning clip of 21.1%. Astute readers will note that, even in this case, the winning percentage would still be the lowest in team history—21.1%.
A few more details regarding the current squad in respect to the franchise’s past:
lowest schedule strength and adjusted score margin
In terms of points per 100 possessions, fifth-worst offensive rating in relation to league average
seventh-worst defensive rating in comparison to the league standard.
Put otherwise, it appeared as horrible as it was.
