The Washington Wizards have started the season 1-12. After just one win on the road against another struggling team, the Dallas Mavericks, head coach Brian Keefe potentially finds himself in the hot seat.
Washington has the worst point differential in the league with a 16.7, just over two points more than the next closest team, the Indiana Pacers. That’s large in part because of the Wizards’ atrocious defense.
The Wizards are the only team that’s close to giving up 130 points per game (129.6). Not only are they winless at home, but they have dropped nine straight games against conference opponents.
On an 11-game losing streak, the Wizards have more questions than answers. One of the questions could be ‘how much longer will Keefe be the head coach?”
Why the Wizards could part ways with Keefe
The New Orleans Pelicans cut ties with their head coach, Willie Green, after a 0-6 start and a record of 2-10. That record is still slightly better than Washington’s.
The Wizards are one of the worst free-throw shooting teams. As a unit, Washington makes just 74.7% of their attempts from the charity line. That’s fourth worst in the league.
Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images
Furthermore, the Wizards are in the bottom eight of the league when it comes to assists (25.2 per game). Bad teams like the Mavericks, Pelicans, and the Indiana Pacers are right there with them. The only time a player for Washington recorded 10 assists or more in a game was when Bub Carrington (11) did so when the Wizards were blown out by 33 points at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
According to Albert Lee with Yahoo Sports, “There is no indication that Keefe is on thin ice. He was hired to lead a team that is built to lose games in the hopes that a franchise savior is drafted in a year or two or … five.”
Following the loss to the Brooklyn Nets, the Wizards held a players-only meeting. Coaches, including Keefe, was not in attendance for this discussion. Such an event could spell tension and potential defection within the locker room in trusting Brian Keefe to be the man going forward.
Young Wizards wing Bilal Coulibaly commented on the players-only meeting.
“We needed that talk, I think,” Coulibaly said. “The guys just stepped up, the vets, the guys that have been used to winning. That’s what we’re trying to do here in the next year. So they had to talk to us, and they did a great job about this, and everybody was listening.”
Washington is on pace to lose more than 70 games. Since taking over as the head coach two years ago, Keefe has won just 27 games and lost well over 100 more. Patience is a virtue, but losing is not a matter of good fortune.