Washington Wizards: Experience
After making the roster-altering decision to trade Bradley Beal to the Suns (and the ensuing trade of Chris Paul to the Warriors for Jordan Poole), the Wizards have embarked on a youth movement.
Tyus Jones, who has been in the league for eight years, is Washington’s most experienced starter. The Wizards projected starting lineup (Jones, Poole, Corey Kispert, Kyle Kuzma and Daniel Gafford) has been in the league for a combined 24 seasons — a mark surpassed by Jimmy Butler (12) and Kevin Love (15) alone.
Look, the Wizards aren’t trying to win. The decision to trade Beal was a decision to tank. Games against the Heat will be a good way to measure their players’ progress against the conference champions, but the Heat can’t overlook them.
Poole and Kuzma are capable of erupting for 30-plus on any night, and the Heat have been known to drop games to lesser opponents.
The Wizards are young and amorphous while the Heat’s identity is chiseled in stone. These games should be easy wins on the schedule, but only if Miami does its job.