Written by DCist contributor Matthew Yglesias

The good news for the Wizards after the NBA’s first week of action is that they’re scoring the most points in the Eastern Conference. They’re even outscoring their opponents, albeit narrowly, by an average of 0.3 points per game. Unfortunately, they’re also giving up the second-most points in the East, and losing two out of their three first games.

Somewhat remarkably, both Washington and their opponents are scoring in droves while playing at an only middling pace. Rather than generating high totals thanks to a rapid pace, Wizards games have featured high scores obtained the old-fashioned way — blisteringly efficient DC offense (third-best in the league), and comically inept DC defense (third worst). Given a few more lucky breaks, this trajectory could easily be good enough for a winning season and a return trip to the playoffs. All summer, however, word from coach Eddie Jordan and his troops has focused on the team’s new commitment to defense and determination to raise their game to a new level.

We could see that happen yet, but if an offensive-minded coach and his offensively-minded stars were ever going to demonstrate a heightened defensive intensity it would probably be right at the start of the season. Two particular problems present themselves. Guard DeShawn Stevenson, acquired in the offseason as a low-cost perimeter stopper and injected into the starting lineup, doesn’t seem especially effective. His poor offensive production (4.3 points per game in almost 29 minutes) looks like a defensive specialist’s stat line, but his skills as a stopper have yet to present themselves, with all manner of opposition perimeter players torching the Wiz for big nights.