2021, though a year that has been quite unpleasant for many, was able to make the NBA interesting again. Legacy title contending teams like the Lakers, Celtics, Rockets, and Warriors either could not get out of the first round of the playoffs or could not even make it to the playoffs altogether. Due to their demise, many up-and-coming teams that nobody expected to make the playoffs were all of a sudden ready to make an impact in the postseason. Among these surprise teams were the Knicks, finishing 4th in the East; the Suns, finishing 2nd in the West, and lastly the Wizards, who were able to barely squeak in with the 8th seed in the East. Although they were never projected to win the title, many people thought that the dominate performances of Beal and Westbrook at times in the regular season would translate well in the playoffs. Unfortunately, that did not exactly end up being the case.
Since Russell Westbrook is one of the co-stars of the Washington Wizards, it is only natural that many fans would direct their rage toward him after their disappointing first-round exit against the Philadelphia 76ers. Did he play amazing? Well...not at all, but people that watched the playoff series know that Russ is not responsible for their horrid losses. His 21 total turnovers and 32% field goal percentage from the field certainly did the Wizards no favors to improve their odds of competing, but he was asked be a superhero in a situation where a hero could not save the team. Especially considering the villain was on the same team as him. That villain, as many Wizards fan know, is Scott Brooks.
The lineups that he sent to play with Westbrook were some of the worst NBA lineups I have ever seen in a basketball game, let alone a playoff game nonetheless. Everyone knows that Westbrook is not the greatest 3-point shooter and Beal is an average at best 3-point shooter so naturally you would think the coach would play them in a lineup with good hybrid players that can shoot from deep and defend the wing right? Wrong! Instead, Scott Brooks would force 4 small guards to play at the exact same time on the court (Westbrook, Bradley Beal, Ish Smith, and Raul Neto) and try to shoot mid-range jumpers and lay-ups against one of the best defending teams in the league. Obviously, it did not work out well at all and led to some of the most atrocious, 1960's-esque basketball ever seen in the modern era.
Sadly, the Wizards are just not effective at shooting the 3, but they caught a massive break in game 4 when Joel Embiid, the best player on the 76ers and arguably one of the best players and centers in the NBA, became injured. This would lead to a surprise game 4 win and a chance to capitalize by winning game 5 as well due to Embiid not being able to participate. A smart coach would see that he has a team that cannot shoot well against a team missing their best rim protector and try to take advantage of the injury. Maybe put in Daniel Gafford and Robin Lopez on the court at the same time to dominate the paint. Maybe even actually play Alex Len to keep big men on the court and continue to attack the rim and hope that it will allow Beal to hit his shots from 3. What did the greatest coach in the NBA do? Continue playing 4 small guards at the same time and continue to lose.
Scott Brooks is arguably the most incompetent man in all of sports, right next to the GM of the Wizards Tommy Sheppard. No matter how inefficient and ineffective his game plan was, he was not going to change it. Instead, he forced the same terrible lineups in every single game, gave some of the worst role players on the team some of the most minutes, and blew the Wizards chances of ever competing the moment the tip-off started.