Washington Wizards News

With the 2014 NBA playoffs set to begin on Saturday, the time for speculation is almost over.

With their 118-102 victory over the Boston Celtics in the season finale, the Wizards matched the Brooklyn Nets at 44-38 and moved into the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference by virtue of winning the tiebreaker because of sweeping the regular season series, 3-0.

Every week, USA TODAY Sports asks its NBA experts around the country and Internet three questions about a hot topic in the league.

With seven-games series and a wide divide between the best teams and the rest of the league, the NBA playoffs usually do not feature too many upsets.

The last time the Wizards were in the playoffs, there was no problem figuring out who to hate.

Thibodeau won Coach of the Year his first season with the Bulls, led them to a better record the following year and then guiding them back to the playoffs both years since without their top player .

Apr 8, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Steve Nash is congratulated by teammates Jodie Meeks , Nick Young and Jordan Farmar after passing Mark Jackson to move into third on the all-time NBA assist list in the second quarter against the Houston Rockets at Staples Center.

Mar 29, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan reacts after scoring during the third quarter against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center.

Nearly 10 years ago during the 2004-05 NBA season, the fourth seed Chicago Bulls took on the fifth seed Washington Wizards .

Everybody except Kobe Bryant and general manager Mitch Kupchak is facing the possibility of relocation after the Lakers finished 27-55, the most losses in club history and the franchise's worst winning percentage since the Minneapolis Lakers' 72-game season in 1957-58.

The worst season in Los Angeles Lakers history has finally come to a close, and with the finality comes the dawn of an offseason where general manager Mitch The Lakers news has already started to pour in, whether it's the health of veterans, the likelihood familiar names return or the future moves open to the franchise in both free agency and the ... (more)

That makes him entertaining to be around, even when the ball gets thrown out of bounds or when the sentences come out a bit funky.

The Celtics season comes to a merciful conclusion tonight against the Washington Wizards.

The Nuggets ended the regular season with a thud on Wednesday night, losing 116-112 to a depleted Golden State team that rested many of its regulars.

Reigning MVP LeBron James and the second-seeded Heat will begin another NBA title defense when they host the Charlotte Bobcats in Game 1 at 3:30 p.m. .

The Washington Wizards took the No. 5 spot in the East and will be taking on No.

For Philadelphia, the season finale was about what's coming next year. For Miami, it's about what's coming next week.

Bradley Beal scored 27 points and Washington clinched the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 118-102 win over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.

The Los Angeles Lakers invested $48.5 million in Kobe Bryant before the 35-year-old had a chance to prove his torn Achilles hadn't effectively ended his run as an elite-level player.

Stephen Curry and David Lee are among the Warriors who will not play against Denver in the regular-season finale Wednesday, with the team already having clinched the No.