The Washington Wizards are on a hot streak lately winning seven of their last ten games and advancing to 11-31 on the season.
John Wall has done a lot to ignite the team since returning to the lineup for nine of those ten games including two starts resulting in wins.
A big part of the reason Washington has been playing so well is because of improved play on offense to go with their already stellar defense.
Over the last 10 games, the Wizards are scoring 8 more points per game, shooting .046 percent better from the field, and they have been the best three-point shooting team in the league.
As long as this kind of offensive production continues the Wizards will be competitive in most games and find ways to win a lot of them, but there are a few things they need to improve in order to compete with the upper echelon teams in the league on a regular basis.
First and foremost, Washington has got to cut down on the turnovers.
The Wizards turn the ball over seventh most out of all teams in the league with an average of just over 15 a game, and that number is actually higher in the last ten games.
With Wall getting back into the flow of the game, it's not surprising that he's contributed to that increase a little.
Already a guy who averages four turnovers a game for his career, Wall has to pick and choose his spots better.
Hopefully as the team gets more comfortable playing alongside him, Wall proves to be a better care-taker of the ball in his third season..
The Wizards also need to shoot free throws better.
They shoot a little over 73 percent from the line which ranks twenty-third, and they have been worst in this category over the past 10 games as well.
Despite the Wizards being 20 games under .500, many of their 31 losses have been tight contests and a few more free throws made could have been the difference.
As the team continues to shoot better from the filed, I expect this number to turn around as well.
Finally, Washington just needs more play-makers.
John Wall opens up the floor and makes a lot of wide open shots and layups for his teammates, but besides Wall, Nene and Jordan Crawford, the Wizards don't have a lot of players who can create their own shots.
If guys like Bradley Beal and Martell Webster can put the ball on the floor and make more plays without a kick-out pass, the Wizards can be a very dangerous team.
If not, the Wizards may be looking to make a move at the trade deadline to land another scorer, maybe someone like Rudy Gay?
The playoffs are a long-shot for a team 9 games out of eighth place at this point in the season, but if the Wizards can continue to improve they can certainly make a push.
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