They have done it, the Washington Wizards have finally swept a team in a best-of-7 series in the playoffs. They had never done so before, and had the chance last night to do something no other team in franchise history had done. They are the ones who were finally able to control an entire best-of-7 series and win the first four games to earn a clean sweep.
The Raptors fought hard, but they certainly did not bring their all to game 4 as they were on the brink of elimination. The series was really over after Game 3, but Game 4 was needed to seal the deal. It’s good for the Wizards to be able to get the franchise’s first ever four game sweep so Toronto would not gain any confidence and potentially get back into the series.
There is nothing that can be said about Paul Pierce other than his competitive edge is greater than any other player right now. At 37 years old, Pierce took everything personally that went on both on and off the court , and made sure he would be able to back up whatever he said. He sure backed up all his trash talk by finishing off the sweep in Game 4 with 14 points on 5/7 shooting, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal.
Marcin Gortat was a huge factor is finishing off the Raptors as he scored 21 points on 8/9 shooting, grabbed 11 rebounds, assisted on 5 other shots, grabbed 2 steals, and blocked a shot in only 28 minutes of play. Gortat and Nene were finally able to come out and both play at a high level, which was needed to give the Wizards the win. Nene was limited due to some foul trouble, but still managed to score 10 points , grab 4 rebounds, assist on 2 shots, and grab a steal in 27 minutes.
Bradley Beal and John Wall came out and showed the league they want to be known as the best backcourt in the entire league. Both were attacking all night while also looking to find the open men for shots that were falling all night. With Wall and Beal coming out with this much intensity every night, all teams should be worried about having to face Washington.
For Washington, it is officially time to stop looking to the future and start focusing on how the Wizards will be competing for a championship this season. Everybody has always said the Wizards have one of the best young backcourts that will be good for the future, but it is time for people to realize the future is now. This is the best team Washington has seen in a long time, and it is the time to look towards a championship rather than future potential.
