This week...

• Wizard go 1-3 this week remaining the 12th seed in the East...weekly RECAP below

• We have to ask...has a "soft" tank begun and if so what are the Wizards chances of landing the number one draft pick?

• What is District E?

• This week's upcoming schedule...

Weekly Recap

The Landlord showed up but the Wizards still lost to the Magic 122-112 (Tuesday)

This was one of the games the Wizards should have won against a below .500 team to improve their chances of making the play-in. With Kuzma out and Beal having a bad shooting night going only 4-15 from the field (26.7%), there was not enough offense to put the Magic away. KP tried his best and had an efficient 30 pts, shooting over 54% from the field while Deni also had a good game with 15 pts (83 FG%) & 10 rebounds. Unfortunately Deni also had 4 TOs. What really sealed it for the Magic was going 24-25 from the free-throw line and shooting 44% from beyond the arc.

Jokic led the Nuggets to a pretty easy win against the Wizards 118-104 (Wednesday)

Let's be honest, nobody was expecting the Wizards to win this game especially with Beal and Kuzma out. The Wizards started off competitive ending the first half down by only 2 pts and only turning the ball over once. It was the 3rd quarter where the Nuggets really won the game after outscoring the Wiz by 23 points and forcing 6 turnovers. KP did what he could scoring 25 pts followed by Deni with 16 pts. The final nail in the coffin for the Wizards was their abysmal 3pt shooting going only 4 for 26 from beyond the arc (15.4%).

Wizards cruised to victory over Spurs 136-124 (Saturday)

Hooray! The Wizards 4 game losing streak finally ended...granted it came against the 3rd worst team in the league but we'll take it. We're gonna give most of the credit for this win to our boy Cory Kispert who has been killing it since the all-star break. Kispert had a career high 26 points (team high), going 6 for 9 from the 3pt line + 5 boards. We also have to give props to Deni who had his 3rd solid game scoring 21 points with 6 assists and 11 rebounds. The Wizards shot 60% from the field and only committed 7 turnovers. Good & efficient performance overall from the young guys.

Johnny Davis had a career night...but the Wizards still lost to the Raptors 114-104 (Sunday)

It's seemed like the "soft" tanking of our beloved Wizards officially started in this game (more on that below). Johnny Davis had career night with 15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and only 1 turnover (the fact that he had 30 minutes should tell you something). Props to Kispert who continued his impressive week contributing 19 points including 5 of 11 from the 3-point line. KP had 26 points (God bless him) but it still was not enough to put away the Raptors...and maybe that was the point.

Has a "Soft" Tank officially begun?

On Monday I made one last ditch effort to rally Wizards fans on various Facebook groups around a play-in push. By Sunday I realized that Tommy Sheppard may have already decided the fate of the season. Three of the Wizards starters are out with seemingly mild injuries with no real timetable for return.

First to drop was Kuzma who has been on the injury list with a right ankle sprain following his 33 point performance against the Sacramento Kings last week. BTW, he injured that ankle in the first minutes of the game but was still was able to play through and have a great game.

Second to drop was Beal who was a no-show on Wednesday night against the Nuggets with a "mild" knee sprain. He's been out since then.

And finally on Sunday, Monte Morris was ruled out against Raptors with a groin sprain.

I am not fully questioning the legitimacy of these injuries but you would think if the team really wanted to make a push for the play-in at least 1 of these guys would be in the rotation.

The silver lining is that our young guys are getting the minutes they deserve and we finally get a chance to see what Johnny Davis looks like in action.

If you want hear a great conversation about this topic and why this may be the right choice for the team, check out the latest episode of Bleav in Wizards Podcast where Jahadi White and Matt Modderno discuss the most important position to upgrade in the offseason and the draft prospect who best helps address that need.

What are the Wizard's Chances off Landing the #1 Pick?

If the play-in is no longer an option for the Wizards, do they have a chance in the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes? According to Tankathon.com, the Wizards have a 6.7% chance of the landing the number one pick in the 2023 NBA draft. They are currently tied with Indiana for the 7th best odds. Here's how it breaks down:

• Detroit, Houston, and San Antonio have the highest chances at 14%

• Charlotte has a 12.5% chance

• Orlando has a 10.5% chance

• Portland has a 9% chance

Looking at the records of the the remaining teams, our best chance is to leapfrog Orlando to get a 10.5% chance. Should we be hopeful? I remember being hopeful in 2019 for the Zion sweepstakes. We had a 9% chance, which was 6th best and ahead of the Pelican's 6% chance. We all know what happened.

What is District E?

This week Monumental Sports opened District E Powered by Ticketmaster, a facility designed as a hub for esports and entertainment in Gallery Place right next Capitol One Arena.

The venue will offer immersive experiences in esports, music, event programming, and community events, along with pre- and post-event activations for fans attending Capitals and Wizards games.

Here are the three main things you should know about District E.

1. The facility includes a new bar and restaurant concept called District Bites. Based on the video above it actually looks like a cool place to watch a game.

2. The venue is already set to host the NBA 2K League's 2023 season. This might be worth checking out as long as food and drinks are available.

3. The venue is supposed to host other entertainment events like concerts and comedy shows. Nothing is on the calendar yet from what we can see but you can stay up to date on future events here.

Upcoming schedule for next week...

• Wizards vs Celtics (Home),Tuesday, March 28th @7:00pm EST

• Wizards vs Magic (Home), Friday, March 31st @7:00pm EST

• Wizards vs Knicks (Away), Sunday, April 2nd @6:00pm EST

Have a great week!