A surprising detail was noticed when the Washington Wizards officially released their 2022 NBA preseason schedule. There was the obvious and exciting news that they would play a couple of their games in Japan against the Golden State Warriors, but the ripple effect of that brought another situation.
While their preseason roster is only four games, the Wizards somehow won’t be playing any of those four in front of their home fans. In addition to the two games to be played in Saitama City, Japan, the Wizards will play one game in Charlotte, North Carolina (At the Hornets) and in New York, New York. (On the Knicks).
The Wizards’ lack of home games in the preseason isn’t necessarily a bad thing
There is a part of the fans that this is not great news for one would suppose. Whether it’s people who live in the area but prefer to get a pre-season ticket for themselves and the kids or fans who want to drop by for a cheaper game when traveling through the area. Some fans will have setbacks that they consider less than ideal.
However, for the team and the organization as a whole, it may not be a bad thing to have a single setup. In fact, it might just be ideal for the Wizards to enter the 2022 NBA season.
Home court advantage is not being lost in any way. That’s just not a thing, especially in the preseason, even before you factor in that games don’t mean anything in the rankings.
The preseason is really about a few things or teams in the NBA. It’s a tune-up to get things up and running and ready for the real regular season, and a time of growth before the long-season grind begins.
The tuning part can be done anywhere, even on the other side of the world. The Japan games are obviously great for the organization and specifically it will be a great time for Rui Hachimura.
This team will need to beat the odds more often than not during the upcoming season. Whether they’re being outplayed on the court, traveling to cities where they must find wins, or just taking care of business on their home court, the Wizards need to find a way to stand out from their comfort zone. Once they’re doing that in hard games, they’ll be taking care of business at home, too.
Giving up their chance at some home preseason games could help them in the big picture. No matter how it all plays out, there will be nothing to hurt them in the big picture.
