I know, I know. But think about the things we’ve all thought about the Wizards. Everyone was convinced a few months ago that they’d be a winning team, a real contender, a breakout attraction. Even now, they feel like they should be a winning team. Despite one disappointment after another, the calendar is set up perfectly for them still to become a winning team. The competition never looks particularly overwhelming, and there’s no easy-to-explain reason they haven’t become a winning team. They have a fresh and modern slogan that fresh and modern analysts love; tell me “Pace and Space” doesn’t have a little “New American Century” to it.

AD

AD

But they just keep losing. When it seems certain matters are about to turn around, they take a step backward. Everything is set up for a surge, and yet the surge never comes. And this very bad year might have severe future consequences: on Washington’s potential pursuit of Kevin Durant, and on Rubio’s potential pursuit of the Florida governorship.

What went wrong? Some blame leadership problems. Some think we always imagined an inherent talent level that simply wasn’t there. Some think, even now, that there’s enough time to fix it. And Wolf Blitzer is there every step of the way. See, it’s perfect! I just need to figure out Rubio’s version of an injured Bradley Beal.

(You likely now want to fling your mobile device in disgust, but this isn’t even the most tortured GOP-NBA metaphor this paper has made this year! See here, in which Rubio and Ted Cruz both criticizing the Republican front-runner is compared to Detroit’s long-ago strategy of double-teaming Michael Jordan! That makes Sam Smith Sean Hannity, I believe, and Scottie Pippen Chris Christie.)

AD

AD

(By the way, I was just informed that a top Post editor has been telling people that Maryland is the Marco Rubio of college basketball.)

(And wait! A former Obama official says that actually RGIII is the Marco Rubio of the NFL!)

(And someone else says that actually Lastings Milledge was the Marco Rubio of baseball!)

(Though a totally random reader is on my side.)

(Do they do this with Seattle sports teams?)

Anyhow, two weeks ago, when the Wizards lost to a short-handed Bulls team featuring several backups and a popcorn vendor, that seemed certain to be the moment we would remember most if Washington finishes a game out of the playoffs.

But then came a Saturday night loss against standings-rival Indiana, with a possible head-to-head playoff tiebreaker on the line. The Wizards coughed up a 14-point lead. They made just 15 of 24 free throws. They scored just 35 points in the second half. And on two possessions to take the lead in the final 30 seconds, they wound up with just one point.

AD

AD

And then there was Tuesday night’s loss to Portland. The Wizards coughed up a 13-point lead. They made just 11 of 23 free throws. They lost a two-point lead with six seconds left, missed two potential game-winning shots in the final second, and couldn’t hit their final five shots in overtime.

The recent optimism seemed justified. Together, those two games could have pushed Washington over .500. Instead, all the momentum from that four-game winning streak is gone. Since halftime of that Pacers game — when the playoffs felt, to this dolt, almost like an inevitability — the four teams ahead of Washington in the standings have gone a combined 6-1. The Wizards haven’t even won in Puerto Rico during that span!

There’s still a path forward, but time is running out. This week always looked rocky thanks to an inhospitable environment, with games in Portland, Utah and Denver substituting for Rubio’s miserable electoral contests in Michigan, Mississippi, Idaho and Hawaii.

AD

AD

But next comes a possible final stand at home. For Rubio, it’s Florida. For the Wizards, it’s three F Street dates in four games, including two against their most immediate rivals: the Pistons and Bulls. Wins would again raise the hope level. But who has confidence in that happening?

You see the Wizards go up by 14 against the Pacers and 13 against the Blazers, or Rubio charming on the stump, and you think “Yeah, they look like winners.” But looking the part isn’t good enough. Winners, ultimately, have to win.

(Of course, in the NBA, you only have to finish in the top eight, which is quite a bit easier than triumphing in a contested convention.)

(And yes, this is perfectly fair grounds to pledge never again to read anything I write.)