Washington Wizards: How defense has helped them become a contender

Defense wins championships, or so the old adage goes.

The saying has never been truer in sports than it is today. While the NFL has been a “quarterback’s league” for the past decade, the Seattle Seahawks led by their ferocious defense look poised to contend for another Super Bowl.

In other eras, star studded soccer teams such as Real Madrid and Barcelona, led by goal scoring dynamos Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi would surely win title after title. Yet this past season, Atletico Madrid won La Liga behind strong coaching and savvy defensive play.

However, the saying might be most accurate in the NBA. In the past 8 years, every single championship winning team has been in the top 10 in defensive efficiency. The Washington Wizards? Sitting comfortably at 7th in the league.

Defense has been the primary reason for the Wizards’ fast start this season. While the offense has been solid (13th in offensive efficiency), the defense has propelled Washington into fringe contender status, especially in the wide open Eastern Conference.

There are several main reasons for their elite defense, starting with Randy Wittman.

When Wittman first ascended to interim head coach after Flip Saunders was fired, he wasn’t expected to last long in the role.

However, he instilled a defensive identity with the Washington Wizards, one that was embraced by John Wall immediately. After the season, Wall backed Wittman to keep the head coach job, and has since started to realize his immense defensive potential.

Wall is currently 3rd in the NBA in steals per game, but his impact on the defensive side of the floor goes much further than his penchant for pickpocketing. Wall has always been a plus defender given his 6‘ 4” height, long arms, and outstanding athleticism, however this season his defensive improvement has been staggering.

Last year, opponents converted 46% of their shots against Wall, hitting a shocking 38.6% of their threes against him. This season, Wall is holding opponents to just 39.5% shooting, and they are hitting just 28.7% of their threes. He is closing out on shooters extremely well, not just using his athleticism, but also anticipating where and how teams will attempt to attack the three point line.

After losing a premier defender in Trevor Ariza, many were worried about how the Washington Wizards would defend talented wings such as Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James.

Pundits wondered whether Ariza’s departure would leave the frontcourt exposed, however Nene and especially Marcin Gortat have performed admirably.

Gortat is known around the league as one of the more polished offensive centers in the league, but as a result, his defensive abilities have been long underrated. This season, Gortat is allowing just 52% shooting in the restricted area, ahead of guys like former Defensive Player of the Year Marc Gasol.

Consequently, the Wizards are ranked 11th as a team at defending the rim. Gortat has also been phenomenal as a rebounder. While his 8.1 rebounds per game aren’t blowing anyone away, he has been extremely reliable with 6.0 defensive rebounds per game.

He has led the Wizards to 3rd in the league in defensive rebounding rate, an exceptional number for such a stingy defense. Additionally, while Nene has been in and out of the lineup due to a multitude of injuries, Gortat has been a steady presence patrolling the paint for the Wizards.

By now, we’ve all probably seen the stat – the Washington Wizards are 22-1 when they hold their opponents under 100 points. The past eight NBA champions have already proved it.

As long as the Washington Wizards continue to devote themselves to defense, there’s no reason why this team can’t win the championship.

All stats used via Basketball Reference and ESPN