This week...

• Disappointing week for the Wizards with 2 losses to Chicago and New York. Game recaps below

• Why the Wizards chose Goodwin over Barton

• Do Wizards fans think this team can make the playoffs?

• This week's upcoming schedule...

Weekly Recap

Final scores

Wizards 109 * Knicks 115 (Friday)

As usual, the Wizards started strong with KP leading the way with 19 points in the first quarter (unfortunately he would not take another FG attempt until the 4th quarter).

In the second quarter, Delon Wright went 3 for 3 from the 3-point line (great to see) & Kuzma added another 10 points putting the Wizards up 19 points at the 5:55 minute mark of Q2. That was the apex. Randall went on to score 11 points in less than 5 minutes to bring the Knicks within 8 by the end of the first half.

The game went back and forth in the 3rd quarter with Morris and Kuzma combining for 14 points but it was the 7 turnovers that really hurt the Wizards (4 of those turnovers by Beal).

Brad had some timely buckets in the 4th that kept the Wizards in the game but ultimately it was Julius Randall who willed the Knicks to victory ending with 46 points, tying his career high.

Wizards 82 * Bulls 102 (Sunday)

Wizards entered this game short-handed with both KP and Monte Morris out of the line up.

Sluggish start for the Wiz in this one. Gafford and Delon Wright led the way in scoring with 10 points a piece in the first half while Zach Levine came in hot for the Bulls scoring 17 points at 80% shooting. Wizards gave up the ball 8 times in the first two quarters and ended the half down by 2 points.

The game stayed relatively close in the 3rd quarter but it was in the 4th that things really fell apart. The Wizards went 5 for 15 (33%) from the field and missed all 4 of their 3 point attempts. In contrast, the Bulls went 11 for 16 (61%) with 4 threes.

Overall, a bad loss to end a bad week but given that KP and Morris were out, the loss to the Bulls was not a huge surprise.

Why the Wizards chose Goodwin over Barton

You all know by now that the Wizards completed a buyout of Will Barton's contract and have now signed Jordan Goodwin full time.

Both Barton and Goodwin played 40 games this season; both played the guard position and both played a similar average number of minutes per game (Barton 19.6/Goodwin 18.1).

So why did Tommy Sheppard choose Goodwin over Barton?

Its probably not the stats

In most statistical categories Goodwin and Barton mirrored each other. Both players averaged a similar 3-point percentage at around 38.1% and both had a similar number of assists per game at 2.4.

In terms of rebounds, both guys averaged around 3 rebounds per game and both players averaged around 1 turnover per game.

There is one statistical difference that did stand out. Even though Barton averaged more points per game (7.7) than Goodwin (6.0), there was a significant difference in field goal percentage between the two players..

• Barton: 38.7 FG%

• Goodwin: 44.7 FG%

One stat highlighted by Nekias Duncan from Basketballnews.com may provide the real reason the Wizards chose Goodwin over Barton: DEFENSE!

Goodwin's DEPM (plus -1.6) puts him on par with Derrick White and Marcus Smart and slightly ahead of guys like De'Anthony Melton and True Holiday.

Must be the money

You can't deny the financial aspect of this decision. Will Barton was making $14.375 million in the final year of his contract. Goodwin's deal has yet to be released but to put some numbers into perspective, Johnny Davis is making $4.8M per year as our first round pick. Goodwin will likely make less than that so Wizards are definitely saving some money to pay Kuzma and/or Porzingas in the offseason.

How confident are Wizards fans that this team can make the playoffs?

Well, thanks to Albert Lee from Bullets Forever, we do have some insight into that question. Earlier this week, Bullets Forever posted a poll asking fans "Do you see this team making the playoffs this season. Check out the results below.

Here is a link to the article.

Upcoming Schedule for next week...

• Wizards vs Hawks (Away),Tuesday, Feb. 28th @7:00pm: Hawks are currently the 8th seed in the East and a potential match-up for the Wizards in the play-in tournament. This will be the first time these teams meet this season.

• Wizards vs Raptors (Home), Thursday, March 2nd @7:00pm: Raptors are the 9th seed in the East and also a potential match up for the Wizards in the play-in. This is the first time the Wizards play the Raptors this season as well.

• Wizards vs Raptors (Home), Saturday, March 4th @5:00pm: Same as above. Basically, if the Wizards can secure two wins this upcoming week we'll be content.

• Wizards vs Bucks (Home), Sunday, March 5th @7:30pm: The Bucks are the number 2 seed in the East. Giannis is currently day-to-day with a wrist injury. Let's hope we have a full healthy roster for this one.

Have a great week!