The Washington Wizards came into 2015-16 with high expectations. Now through the mid-way point in the season, are they living up to it?

The Washington Wizards’ 2014-15 season came to a disappointing, but hopeful, end as they lost in six games to the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference semifinals. It was hopeful because their floor general, John Wall, suffered five non-displaced fractures in his wrist and hand during Game 1 and would miss the next three games of the series.

The Wizards remained competitive and it was fair to think that with a healthy Wall, they could’ve defeated the Hawks to advance and faced the Cleveland Cavaliers, a team that the Wizards always match up well against.

Instead, the Wizards were sent back to the drawing board in attempt to make the 2015-16 season their year to officially become a realistic contender in the Eastern Conference. The loss of Paul Pierce to free agency would have a significant impact on who would take over the leadership responsibilities, but with Wall coming into his sixth season, all eyes turned to him.

Despite a slow start numbers-wise, Wall has done all he can to keep the Wizards above water this season, but injuries have gotten the best of the remainder of the roster and ultimately lead to major struggles.

The Wizards are 20-22 and in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, a place that no one expected them to be almost halfway through the season.

Let’s take a look at five takeaways from this season.