Biggest Issues the Washington Wizards Must Fix Before the NBA Playoffs Begin

The Washington Wizards were abysmal on their latest West Coast road trip, casting a pall over what was a bright start to the season and raising questions about what changes the team must make in order to make a deep run in the NBA playoffs, which start in three weeks.

What's more, if the Wizards don't pull out of this tailspin and live up to the real expectations that are attached to their season, they could wind up hurting their rising reputation as an attractive free-agent destination and miss out on the chance to land coveted players, such as Kevin Durant, when they become available in 2016.

The Wizards went 1-3 on their West Coast trip, which concluded Monday with a 107-76 dismantlement by the Golden State Warriors. They started out with a victory over Utah, but subsequently got blown out by an average of 22 points against the Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings and Golden State.

It's been a soar-then-sink season all along, really. The Wizards had possession of the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference in January. They were winners of four straight before heading west last week.

But in between, things went sideways. Washington was 3-9 in February, losing to Atlanta, Cleveland and Toronto, three of the four teams currently ahead of them in the conference standings. Wizards owner Ted Leonsis chimed in on his own personal blog with criticism of the team.

This latest losing streak is exposing chinks in the team's armor.

For starters, who else can the the team count on as another reliable scoring option when All-Star point guard John Wall is out of the game or out of rhythm? Or when the team can't depend on the services of Bradley Beal?

Michael Lee of The Washington Post points out that the sharpshooter has missed "nine games with a stress reaction in his right leg, an injury that has forced him to miss time in each of his first three professional seasons. With no Beal, the floor [becomes] compressed, limiting the space for Wall to operate."

Paul Pierce was brought in during the offseason to stretch out defenses and shoulder some of the scoring load, and he has hit key shots during the season. But the 37-year-old small forward is averaging eight fewer points per game this season than he has for his career. In Washington's three most recent games, he has shot a combined 7-of-24 from the field and scored 17 points, totals that just haven't helped the Wizards keep pace.

The struggles have extended to the defensive end. Washington is surrendering the eighth-fewest points per game in the NBA (97.6) this season, but it gave up nearly 110 during its latest three-game skid. This is what passes for defense for Pierce and beleaguered Washington these days:

It's critical for Washington to shore up its perimeter defense and scoring around Wall in order to at least reach the conference finals and make this season a success. That would certainly advance its bigger goal of convincing Durant the team is nearly elite and that he is the missing piece it needs to get over the hump.

The reigning league MVP has already been to the NBA Finals and, now that he's in his seventh season, would be less interested in playing for a team that has too many holes in its roster.

Ned Dishman/Getty Images

Also, Durant's close friend, LeBron James, returned to Ohio to play basketball close to where he grew up. Ben Standig of Comcast SportsNet says Durant may want to do the same.