Wizards, Raptors, Bobcats hope to make playoff splash
Al Jefferson didn't know what he was walking into.
The bruising post scorer had signed a three-year contract with the Charlotte Bobcats, owners of the NBA's worst record over the previous three seasons. But he hedged his bets and watched his words, fettering the optimism that comes with joining a new team.
"If we played the right way, I knew we would have a chance," Jefferson said. "But I didn't say we would make the playoffs. I said that if we did what we're supposed to do ... we would have a chance."
The Bobcats, in the second winning season in franchise history, are the biggest surprise entrant of the 2014 playoffs. Two years removed from the worst record in NBA history (7-59 in 2011-12), Charlotte enters the playoffs with a 43-39 record and finished with a 7-3 record in its final 10 regular season games. And the Bobcats are joined by two other Eastern Conference interlopers, the Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards, who also have left recent misery in the past.
The playoffs are here, though, and the difference between a redemptive winning season and a franchise-defining spring run looms. The Bobcats haven't won a postseason series in franchise history, with their only other bid coming in 2010. The Raptors and Wizards are coming off even longer droughts, each staying at home every postseason since 2008.
"We are just going to keep pushing and see what's next for us," Raptors forward Amir Johnson told reporters. "We're always looking for the next thing."
What could that be? Toronto has the added pressure of playoff home games and a third overall seed. The Raptors emerged as one of the top four teams in the East after a December trade of Rudy Gay for Patrick Patterson and Greivis Vasquez (along with several minor players swapped), and they have refused to fall back to expectations while setting a franchise record for wins.
The Bobcats' fell short of their own franchise record, but the optimism bubbles around this locker room and team. It's a culture change, several players said, that has come from Jefferson's stability down low and coach Steve Clifford's intense defensive system. Clifford is Charlotte's fourth coach in four seasons, and his impact has been obvious. The Bobcats were last in the NBA in points allowed per possession last season but have jumped to sixth this year.
"It's hard to pick out just one small change when everything is really a lot different, across the board," Bobcats forward Josh McRoberts said.
The Wizards may have more talent than either of their fellow interlopers, with John Wall and Bradley Beal forming one of the best young backcourts in the NBA. Injuries to Nene and several other frontcourt players have made things more difficult, though, and they enter the playoffs muddled in inconsistency.
They'll have to figure out things quickly, being the five seed and playing the always tough Chicago Bulls in the first round.
"If you play the way we play now, you ain't going to beat anybody," Wizards center Marcin Gortat said. "It doesn't matter who we going to play in the first round. ... We've just got to play better."
That's the standard for these teams now, despite the still-clear memories of the draft lottery and unending rebuilding projects. But they have not lost sight of how far they have come.
"It feels good to be coming in here and focusing on what's to come," said Gerald Henderson, the longest-tenured Bobcats player in his fifth season with the team, "not offseason workouts."
Follow NBA digital producer and reporter Adi Joseph on Twitter at @AdiJoseph.
