It helped the Cleveland Cavaliers shake off the bad vibes of six straight losses. It gave the Golden State Warriors a bit of a boost in the midst of a four-game, six-night, pre-All-Star-break road trip. So what the heck, why not — with the Washington Wizards in the throes of a dispiriting 5-13 stretch that's dropped them from potential Fnals dark horses to the middle of the Eastern pack, why not just take 'er easy for a bit and go bowl a few frames?

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With the Wizards off Wednesday ahead of a Thursday night showdown with the scuffling, staggering, fresh-off-a-loss-in-Boston Memphis Grizzlies, head coach Randy Wittman and company pulled up the Internet, checked out Bullets Forever, took blogger Bobby Steele's advice and headed out to the local lanes for some decompression and bonding. Of course, when you're in "House of Cards" country, the sweetest neighborhood alley resides in a pretty familiar setting:

#Wizards group shot at the historic Harry S. Truman Bowling Alley inside the White House 🎳 pic.twitter.com/TstRlf6mGL — Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) March 11, 2015

Yes, the Wiz headed to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue — an address that changes all the rules — to roll a few at the Harry S. Truman bowling alley in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building during a visit to the White House that, as depicted in John Wall's Instagram photo above, included a trip to the West Wing. Not a bad way to spend your day off.

Speaking of items depicted in that Instagram pic, though — what's up with Wall's hand-on-top-of/in-front-of-the-ball release? I mean, far be it from me to question the form of a two-time NBA All-Star, but that's not how Big Ern did it, so I think John might want to rethink his approach.

Then again, Washington's favorite point guard seems to have found some success with his motion. Lookatdaflickadatwrist:

Despite his skill at picking up spares, though, Wall didn't make it to the finals of the tournament among the Wizards' players. In the championship round, veteran Paul Pierce picked off swingman Martell Webster to take home the bragging rights as Washington's single greatest pinhead.

"It was tough, competitive, but at the end, the No. 1 seed always prevails," Pierce told Monumental Network.

That's precisely the sort of confidence the Wizards hope to carry over into a tough stretch of the schedule that sees them welcome three Western squads — the Grizzlies, DeMarcus Cousins' Sacramento Kings and the Portland Trail Blazers — into Verizon Center before embarking on a four-game West Coast road trip that features matchups with the resurgent Utah Jazz, the Chris Paul-led Los Angeles Clippers (perhaps once again featuring a healthy Blake Griffin), a second meeting with Boogie and George Karl, and a visit to Oracle Arena to take on the league-leading Warriors.

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Tough sledding, to be sure, but with the Raptors struggling and the Chicago Bulls fighting through multiple major injuries, the Wizards find themselves just three games back of the No. 3 seed with an opportunity to rise if they can just rediscover their early-season form.

“This is a chance to see where we stand,” Wall said, according to Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post. “And try to get over the hump.”

If the Cavs' and Dubs' post-bowling-party records are any indication, the Wizards have already gotten themselves off to a pretty solid start.

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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!

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