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98-99 Season Recap
Wizards Edged at Wire
THE WIZARDS WON 44 GAMES in 1996-97
and 42 games in 1997-98, then made one of the boldest moves of the
offseason by dealing Chris
Webber to Sacramento for perennial All-Star Mitch Richmond and
productive power forward
Otis Thorpe. Teaming the high-scoring Richmond alongside
playmaker Rod
Strickland appeared to give Washington a backcourt second to
none, while the loss of Webber was expected to be offset somewhat
by Juwan Howard
stepping up as the primary frontcourt scorer and Thorpe providing
rebounding, defense and veteran leadership.
The big season never materialized. Instead, a disastrous April, which
began with a five-game losing streak and later included seven
consecutive losses, earned the Wizards a place in the NBA Draft
Lottery. Washington was struggling at 13-17 going into April, but
still was within a fast finish of a playoff berth; instead, a 4-13
record for the month sealed its fate.
Coach Bernie Bickerstaff was relieved of his duties on April 5 but the change didn't help, as Washington went 5-13 under interim coach Jim Brovelli over the final month of the season. Howard spent most of that time on the injured list because of a sprained left ankle, while Richmond's scoring dipped to the lowest average of his career and he became a free agent at the end of the campaign.
After averaging 23.1 ppg for his first 10 NBA seasons and never finishing below 21.9, Richmond dropped to 19.7 ppg, still the best on the Wizards. He also led the team with 70 three-pointers, but his shooting percentages of .412 overall and .317 from three-point range were career-lows and well below his career marks of .463 and .399, respectively.
"It's very frustrating because my expectations were a lot higher," said Richmond, speaking both personally and for his club. "I never thought anything like this would happen to this team. We've gone through a very difficult period from Day 1. It's really frustrating."
Howard was the team's second-leading scorer, averaging 18.9 ppg and tallying in double figures in 35 of 36 games played. He also was the team's second-leading rebounder at 8.1 rpg. Strickland ranked second in the NBA in assists at 9.9 apg, led the team in steals at 1.73 spg and was third on the club in scoring at 15.7 ppg. He also grabbed 4.8 rpg, a strong number for a point guard, and posted a team-high 21 double-doubles, including a triple-double against Orlando on April 28.
Thorpe averaged 11.3 ppg and 6.8 rpg, ranked second in the NBA in field goal percentage at .545, and on April 20 became only the 16th player in NBA history to surpass 15,000 career points and 15,000 career rebounds.
One pleasant surprise was the play of 6-10 third-year man Ben Wallace, who was the team's starting center over the final month of the season and finished as Washington's leading rebounder at 8.3 rpg and shotblocker at 1.96 bpg (12th in the NBA). He grabbed 10 rebounds or more in 10 of the team's final 14 games and also shot .578 from the field, although he did not have enough baskets to qualify for the league leaders.
Tracy Murray became the franchise's all-time leader in three-point field goals on March 3, surpassing Michael Adams, and finished the season with 554 treys.
Washington ranked next-to-last in the league in blocked shots with 193, an average of 3.86 per game. Wallace was the only player to average over one block per game.
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 Newly acquired from Sacramento, Mitch Richmond led the team in scoring at 19.7 ppg. |
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Points: Mitch Richmond,Rebounds: Ben Wallace,Assists: Rod Strickland, |
Coach Bernie Bickerstaff was relieved of his duties on April 5 but the change didn't help, as Washington went 5-13 under interim coach Jim Brovelli over the final month of the season. Howard spent most of that time on the injured list because of a sprained left ankle, while Richmond's scoring dipped to the lowest average of his career and he became a free agent at the end of the campaign.
After averaging 23.1 ppg for his first 10 NBA seasons and never finishing below 21.9, Richmond dropped to 19.7 ppg, still the best on the Wizards. He also led the team with 70 three-pointers, but his shooting percentages of .412 overall and .317 from three-point range were career-lows and well below his career marks of .463 and .399, respectively.
"It's very frustrating because my expectations were a lot higher," said Richmond, speaking both personally and for his club. "I never thought anything like this would happen to this team. We've gone through a very difficult period from Day 1. It's really frustrating."
Howard was the team's second-leading scorer, averaging 18.9 ppg and tallying in double figures in 35 of 36 games played. He also was the team's second-leading rebounder at 8.1 rpg. Strickland ranked second in the NBA in assists at 9.9 apg, led the team in steals at 1.73 spg and was third on the club in scoring at 15.7 ppg. He also grabbed 4.8 rpg, a strong number for a point guard, and posted a team-high 21 double-doubles, including a triple-double against Orlando on April 28.
Thorpe averaged 11.3 ppg and 6.8 rpg, ranked second in the NBA in field goal percentage at .545, and on April 20 became only the 16th player in NBA history to surpass 15,000 career points and 15,000 career rebounds.
One pleasant surprise was the play of 6-10 third-year man Ben Wallace, who was the team's starting center over the final month of the season and finished as Washington's leading rebounder at 8.3 rpg and shotblocker at 1.96 bpg (12th in the NBA). He grabbed 10 rebounds or more in 10 of the team's final 14 games and also shot .578 from the field, although he did not have enough baskets to qualify for the league leaders.
Tracy Murray became the franchise's all-time leader in three-point field goals on March 3, surpassing Michael Adams, and finished the season with 554 treys.
Washington ranked next-to-last in the league in blocked shots with 193, an average of 3.86 per game. Wallace was the only player to average over one block per game.
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