As a self-identified Washington Wizards fan, these last few weeks have been an absolute thrill ride. Bradley Beal has been a walking stick of dynamite on offense, as he has been all season. The Russell Westbrook experience has transformed from a house of horrors and turned into a high-speed roller coaster that's in equal parts nerve-wracking and enjoyable.

The Wizards have gone 13-5 in the last 18 games of the season. They even ripped off a convincing eight-game win streak that included a win over the Utah Jazz (that broke their 24-game home win streak). And what's impressive is that even in the losses, they've remained competitive. Their five losses have all been by four points or less, with the margin of defeat being just by an average of two points.

But as someone who has watched basically every game they've played, you realize that they're even better than their recent string of games indicates. It has become excruciatingly obvious that the team is winning despite, not because of, head coach Scott Brooks.

The number of times when Brooks doesn't call a timeout when he needs to is several instances too many. The lack of play-calling off the actual timeouts he does call doesn't inspire confidence either.

Worst of all is the lineup management. Brooks seems out of touch with which combinations actually make sense at times. Just look at the final minutes of their loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.

Brooks kept Ish Smith in the game with Russell Westbrook, which made absolutely no sense. In turn, the Hawks left a career 32% 3-point shooter in Smith wide open from deep with a chance to stick the dagger into their side. But of course, he bricked the shot, which eventually led to the Hawks stealing the victory that the Wizards seemed to have in hand just a few possessions earlier.

It wasn't just Ish either. Breakout center Daniel Gafford had been dominating the game against the Hawks, but for some reason, Brooks decided not to play him down the stretch due to “fatigue” when he had only played 17 minutes the entire game.

And that's just from their last game, mind you. There was the Raptors' overtime victory where Davis Bertans repeatedly got cooked on the defensive side of the floor against Pascal Siakam, who was easily able to match his career-high of 44 points.

There have been more instances than I can count of crucial inbound possessions off a made basket where Brooks didn't burn a timeout to avoid a turnover.

Wizards fans have been witness to a host of late-game brain farts that just don't make sense. It's downright impressive that he was able to finagle his way into Coach of the Month for April, which leads me to believe that whoever decides these awards have no clue what happens during the actual games.

Losing the Play-In: A necessary evil for the Wizards

The good news is that Scott Brooks' contract is finally set to expire. The bad news is that Washington's recent string of success might just be enough to save his job.

Wizards owner Ted Leonsis recently spoke out about Brooks' future as the head coach of the Wizards. He indicated that the Play-In Tournament could very well determine if Brooks stays or goes.

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Now, obviously, that could just be lip service to keep the Wizards coach motivated, but it's honestly not worth taking the gamble given how scary it is to imagine Brooks getting re-signed for 3-4 more years.

As a Wizards fan, I'll definitely be rooting for the team to win their Play-In game. But deep down in my heart, I know that a loss could be what's best for the franchise going forward.

Bradley Beal has stayed true to his word in his desire to build something in Washington. The All-Star has had several opportunities to ask for a trade elsewhere, yet even during the worst moments of this season, Beal has remained steadfast. Russell Westbrook's contract meanwhile extends up to the 2022-23 season, which means the team won't be bad enough to tank anytime soon.

The team's ceiling may not be one that actually contends for a championship, but the Wizards are never going to reach even the best iteration of themselves with Brooks still at the helm.

But who knows? Maybe Brooks pulls off one of his patented coaching errors on national television during the Play-In game. His decisions could be endlessly scrutinized on social media enough to force Ted Leonsis' hand and finally let him go.

Now that would be poetic justice.