Wizards Clinch Playoff Spot But Losses Are Getting To Them

The injury-ravaged Wizards needed one more win (or a Pacers loss) to clinch a spot in the playoffs. After losing four in a row, the team would definitely rather have won to get in, but instead lost their second straight to the Nets, and made the playoffs anyway.

It's not like the Wizards have been getting killed since Arenas went down, in fact they've been very competitive. But the constant losing is starting to affect what was once the league's loosest locker room. DeShawn Stevenson summarized the team's mood between the two losses to New Jersey:

"I think we just need to sit back, relax. We've got a black cloud hanging over us, a serious black cloud this month. But we'll get one. I think we're putting too much pressure on ourselves," Stevenson said. "I think everyone is putting too much pressure on. You can tell just by the atmosphere. It's pretty tight right now, and it's going to be like that until we get a win."

Unfortunately for the Wizards, the win still hasn't come. Their best chance to get that elusive 'W' will be this Friday in Atlanta, when they will be facing a team that is doing their best to lose the rest of their games this season. Until then, they can at least take some comfort in the fact that they will get a minimum of four additional chances to get a win without their two All-Stars.