Season Preview: Washington Wizards

Joe: I really like Gilbert Arenas, but this doesn't translate to me really liking the Wizards. Ive never liked Antwan Jamison's game, Brendan Haywood is the biggest waste of space ever, and now he wont even have the only thing keeping him motivated, his blood-feud with Etan Thomas. If Haywood does not provide an inside presence, I have to believe that it will be too much for Gilbert Arenas to overcome by himself. But then I remember that Gil has unlimited range whether he is using two hands or one, and he really isn't all by himself anymore with the emergence of Caron Butler - and suddenly my outlook on the Wizards improves.

It always seemed as though Caron Butler was going to be a real legitimate NBA player even in his days at UConn. Growing up during his time with Miami and the Lakers, Caron has finally broken out into a very reliable two way player, that takes alot of the "playmaker" pressure off of Gilbert. I continue to be unimpressed by the third head of the three-headed monster, Antawn Jamison. It seems as if the Wizards could get the production that Jamison provides at a cheaper price. I am always surprised when I am reminded that Jamison id 6'9 as he routinely gets abused down low by smaller players and he is constantly loafing around the three-point line. The Wizards were smart letting Jared Jefferies leave and go to the Knicks two years ago and picked up a much cheaper and better player in DeShawn Stevenson. What's interesting about Stevenson is that he turned down a multi year extension with the Magic to sign for less and has probably played his way to a better contract last year. He offers great defense on the perimeter and has seemed to mesh with his teammates and gain confidence in a jumpshot that was erratic at best earlier in his career. The Wizards will rely on contributions from Andray Blatche and Darius Songaila to shore up their undersized and unmotivated front-line. If Blatche develops, and the injuries from last year are avoided, I could see the Wizards grabbing one of the last playoff spots in the East.

Dhivy: When people talk about the Wizards the first thing that comes up is always Gilbert Arenas. People think of him as a clown or a jokester who doesn’t take the game seriously. Whether it’s playing poker during halftime or dunking off a trampoline at the All-Star game, basketball purists are quick to complain about his antics. Well if that’s the way it’s going to be, then I want my basketball tainted and diluted. Gilbert is one of the most entertaining players in the league, not to mention one of the best. People complain when athletes have nothing to say, but they also go nuts when an athlete does anything out of the ordinary. So rather then worry about what Arenas is going to do next, let’s just sit back and fire up the hibachi.

When I heard that center Etan Thomas was going to have open-heart surgery, my first thought was “I hope he’s ok and can play basketball again some day”. My second thought was “I hope Haywood doesn’t jump him in his hospital room”. The Wizards biggest star is Gilbert Arenas, as he rightly should be. But I think the contributions of Caron Butler have been overlooked in light of Agent Zero’s wackiness. Caron is a deadeye from 20-feet, he’s explosive enough to get to the rim, he rebounds, plays defense, and can trigger a fast break. The success of this team hinges on the big three, including Antawn Jamison. While he’s not a great or even good defender, his outside touch and arsenal of junk shots make him a valuable leader.

The lack of size is what will end up hurting this team in the long run. The bench consists of waves of guards, but very little in terms of an inside presence. They’ll rely upon Andray Blatche and Dominic McGuire to give them quality frontcourt minutes, but how much can they expect from these kids? Dominic McGuire had a fantastic summer league and Blatche has responded well to the challenge of playing center, but they have little to no experience. Perhaps the under the radar players to watch are Gilbert’s backcourt running mates. DeShawn Stevenson was brought in to be a defensive force, but he was a welcome surprise offensively as well. Antonio Daniels is a savvy veteran and can play both backcourt positions without making many mistakes. And their first-round draft pick Nick Young is an exciting athlete who will have a great impact off the bench. The style of play has changed in the NBA to a more wide-open, offensive minded focus. With all their weapons, the Wizards could be a dangerous match up for the rest of the league.

Quang: it's october 30, 2007 and today is probably the most i've ever liked a bullets/wizards team. i thought this was important to note because who knows what happens tomorrow? the wizards could sign or talk to or look at anderson varejao, in which case i'd like them less. or the wizards could even get busted by the league for team-wide use of performance enhancing flubber, in which case i'd like them a lot more. but regardless of what the future holds, it doesn't change how excited i am right now for this team and for their season to begin. i have obvious biases, but this looks like as fun and interesting and likable a team in the league. better yet, they are all mostly competent basketball players. and as i've been trained to do as a typical fan, i've convinced myself that these zards are going to surprise people this year. well, other people. short of the team being held scoreless over a month or the plot from space jam happening in real life to the wizards, i doubt anything that happens takes me by surprise. anyways, i've prepared myself for the possibility of a wide range of events this year, but i still have some cautious optimism that washington could approach 50 wins. why? because of most important number regarding the team: zero, as in the number of games i expect the wizards to lose this year.

on initial glance, this wizards team doesn't seem much different from years past. they didn't acquire the low post presence people said they need and the only improvement defensively will have to come from within. i've always thought that these problems were slightly exaggerated, but they're still probably the two biggest question marks this year. what i think is being overlooked is that even though center and defense are still immediate concerns, the wizards have quietly addressed other deficiencies. and as a result, this year they have continuity among starters, they have a bench, and they have young talent that can develop within the franchise. by my count that's three areas of improvement as compared to two areas of concern. it's simple arithmetic! the wizards can't fail!

over the last previous two offseasons, the wizards lost larry hughes and jared jeffries. over the past three years they've had to introduce new players like antawn jamison, caron butler, and deshawn stevenson. now for the first time since ernie grunfeld became general manager, the wizards return the same starting lineup. therefore, instead of waiting through an adjustment period and getting players accustomed to their teammates and the system, the wizards can start the season on the same page. the page where they start murdering teams. their most important starter, gilbert, at only 25 has become one of the most difficult players in the league to gaurd. my main concern is that his knee is not fully healed from the ligament tear he suffered last year. though if his knee is fully healed, my new main concern is that he suffers a wrist injury from making too many threes. antawn jamison starts at power forward and elicits a lot of debate among wizards fans. i think he's great. he's the team leader and he plays like the 50-year old guy at the gym who tries flip shots and hook shots from three. caron butler returns for his third year in washington. his play has earned him the nickname "tough juice" and i think soon he's going to become the leader of the team. deshawn stevenson is the incumbent shooting guard. he's a physical player and is effective as long as he doesn't have to carry the team. i mean, the team is like 14 other guys. that's a lot of weight for one person to carry while also trying to play basketball. rounding out the starting five is brendan haywood, most likely everyone's least favorite wizard. if he's merely average, i think the wizards will be pleased.

next up is the wizards bench, which has long been a problem for this team. whenever the first team rests, the reserves spill out onto the floor and eventually are mopped back onto the bench having provided no offense whatsoever. but i think this year will be different. calvin booth, michael ruffin, and jarvis hayes have all been signed away. jarvis hasn't seemed comfortable with his surgically repaired knee until he torched the wizards in preseason a week ago. and although i like booth and ruffin, whenever they touched the ball i was sure that they'd punt it out of bounds. this year things are much brighter. antonio daniels returns as the top option off the bench. he showed in the playoffs what he's still capable of, namely efficiently running an offense and screaming loudly when he drives to the basket. likewise, darius songaila is also going to play a big role. last year, he was injured while selfishly playing for his native country in the world basketball championships and missed much of the season. he's good enough to play 20 minutes a night and i expect he'll bounce back and turn in a largely underappreciated season. virginia alum, roger mason jr re-signed with the wizards after turning down an offer from the spurs. he's a decent shooter and logically, if the spurs pursued him, he must be either good or annoying. the wizards are hoping for a breakout season from the super versatile andray blatche, a player who has drawn comparisons to kevin garnett and hugh grant. lastly, washington also has at their disposal a trio of talented rookies, who at this point are all already twice as good as peter john ramos.

regarding blatche and the rookies, it's been a very long time since the wizards had good players on their team that they drafted and developed themselves. so it's very refreshing to see four on the same team that i think could make a big difference in their future. blatche has incredible potential and finally seems to have found the work ethic to match. worst case scenario, in his best season he averages a triple-double a game. best case scenario, in his worst season he averages a quadruple-triple per quarter. more likely, i think he'll become a solid 3rd option, in which case i'll be very happy. next up is oleksiy pecherov. last year, when the wizards drafted him with marcus williams, josh boone, shanon brown, kyle lowry, and renaldo balkman sitll on the board, i screamed bloody murder. but i have since warmed to this pick and realized why i'm not an nba general manager. because if i was, i'd make horrible trades and scream bloody murder. pecherov is a seemingly typical europlayer in that he can shoot, has a funny haircut, and plays hard nosed basketball. i have him pegged as the next andray blatche. in this year's draft, the wizards selected nick young and dominic mcguire, two californian players who are now roommates living together in one of gilbert's houses. nick young fell into their laps and was a dynamic scorer at usc. dominic mcguire was among the nation's leaders in blocks and can do a bit of everything. at fresno state he recorded two triple-doubles, once with blocks and once with assists. but best of all to me, these two can dunk. the one thing the wizards' play has been lacking recently are dunks that make me jump out of my seat and wander around aimlessly in my neighbors' yard. with the addition of these two high flyers, i'm sure this will be the season where my neighbors finally spring for taller fences.

as evident, i love this team. but, i'm not in love with them. though, i think they have the talent to get homecourt in the first round i also think a lot of things have to fall into place for them to get to the eastern conference finals. particularly jumbotrons falling into place atop the pistons, bulls, and celtics. regardless, this is shaping up to be a very exciting and interesting year. and hopefully the wizards can enjoy the success they had last year before injuries began to amass and delay their offseason as long as possible. because after the season, when jamison's contract expires and arenas opts out, the wizards may have to face numerous hurdles in trying to become a title contender. but as usual, i have a solution. trade gilbert for kobe. it might not be the most popular move, but kobe is the superior player. also, when gilbert opts out, the wizards can just re-sign him! this would make the wizards' tentative line up for 2008-09: gilbert, kobe, caron, jamison, who re-signed for the league minimum, and nick young, who grew 15 inches over the summer. they'd go 81-1 in the regular season with their only loss being a 93-57 setback against the bobcats because the scoreboard misrepresented the 1,057 points they rung up. then they'd march through the playoffs sweeping all of their opponents in only three games.

Achilles Heel:

• Darius Songaila (j)
• Brendan Haywood (d)
• Oleksiy Pecherov, only because according to espn, he's zero years old. (q)

Unsung Hero:

• Deshawn Stevenson (j)
• Dominic McGuire (d)
• Nick Young (q)

Bold Prediction:

• Gilbert Arenas never has to play basketball again after signing a lucrative deal with the Benihana restaurant chain. (j)
• After the Wizards win the East, 13-year-olds accuse Gilbert of cheating on Internet chat boards. (d)
• Because of Arenas' cheating in Halo, David Stern makes the Wizards forfeit all of their games last year. And as the worst team in the league last year the Wizards draft Kevin Durant from the Sonics. (q)

Favorite Moment:

• Steve Francis hits a desperation three from just over the half-court line to win a game in the Verizon Center for the Knicks... he gets on top of the scorers table and is joined by the Knicks as they celebrate in front of his hometown crowd. (j)
• Gilbert Arenas beating Deshawn Stevenson in a three-point contest in which Gilbert shot one-handed from the college line. (d)
• In a game that they eventually lost against the Rockets, Calvin Booth drains a three with 30 seconds left that brings the score within one. It was his second career three, both of which have come in losses to the Rockets. (q)