Wizards showing progress, but young core still has plenty to prove

The Wizards are better than they were a year ago, but that doesn’t mean they’re anywhere close to having this figured out.

Both things can be true, even after a 114-75 loss to the Thunder that offered an unpleasant reminder of last season.

As Josh Robbins of The Athletic writes in his assessment of Washington’s first 10 games, the Wizards’ 4-6 start requires some perspective. Adding Trae Young, Anthony Davis and No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa raised expectations. The front office, though, publicly emphasized playing competitive basketball more consistently.

By that measure, there’s improvement. Robbins notes the Wizards faced deficits of at least 22 points in seven of their first 10 games last season. This season, they’ve trailed by more than 17 just once.

That’s a meaningful difference. It’s also a fairly modest starting point.

The bigger question, Robbins argues, concerns the returning young players. How much can Washington ultimately expect from Bilal Coulibaly, Alex Sarr, Bub Carrington, Kyshawn George, Tre Johnson and Will Riley?

Saturday didn’t provide much reassurance. With Davis sidelined by an ankle injury and Oklahoma City limiting Young, the Wizards needed more from everyone else. They entered the fourth quarter down 31.

“You have these nights,” Young told reporters, via Robbins. “As bad as that may feel, every team goes through these. You try to flush it and move on and not let it repeat itself.”

That makes sense. One ugly loss shouldn’t erase the more competitive stretches.

But Young and Davis can only answer so many questions. Whether this becomes something more than a better version of last season’s Wizards will depend heavily on what those younger players become.

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