DCist: Washington Wizards Season Preview

SpottieOttieDopaliscious

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:51:01 -0500

I think it's pretty hilarious you are talking stuff about the Pistons, when they are the only team that has been in the Eastern Conference Finals for the entire decade. The Pistons will finish no worse that second in the conference, mark my words. And we could beat the Wizards without our top three players. That's how much you guys suck. Trade Caron Butler while he still has a career to look forward to.

aaronsinger

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:33:34 -0500

The Wiz have a good shot at making the playoffs, as a 7th or 8th seed, certainly better than my Bulls. And they do have some young talent, but the Arenas contract is worrisome, given his health issues.

allshifteight

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:31:09 -0500

bah, that's not how the preview looked.

allshifteight

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:27:22 -0500

From http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/081028 Gilbert Arenas will become the new C-Webb. Not in a basketball sense, but in a "My God, why did we commit such a staggering amount of money to a guy who clearly has knee issues and might have already peaked as a player when nobody else could have come within $30 million of our offer?" sense. The Chris Webber contract murdered the Kings; Gilbert's contract could murder the Wizards. And by the way, C-Webb was better than Gilbert -- a healthy, happy C-Webb made you a title contender, whereas a healthy, happy Gilbert makes you a 5-seed in Round 1 at best. Big difference. (When I asked for a one-sentence defense of Gilbert's $113 million contract from my buddy House, a lifelong D.C. fan, here's what he sent back: "I would prefer not to, as I think it is a franchise-crippler and thus indefensible." Well said. When do you think sports franchises will break out of the "We need him to put butts in seats!" mindset and realize winners are the only things that put butts in seats? 2015? 2020? 2030? Hey, that reminds me …) I thought it was pretty accurate.

dank

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:24:33 -0500

I bet at least one of those post players you mention goes down for half the season. I'm guessing Bosch or Z, but it could easily be Garnett. Then where are we? Miami: in your dreams. Detroit? Everyone loves them, but I see them fading to sixthish. Atlanta: on the rise, but still behind DC IMO. If Blatch figures it out this year, they're pretty good in the post. But he well may not. We'll just have to wait and see, won't we? That's what makes if fun.

ClevelandRocks

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:19:30 -0500

Bets on a 4th Cle-Was playoff matchup?

Sean Jean

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:13:26 -0500

dank: They aren't competitive with anyone in the East over the course a playoff series with every player on their roster healthy, which they won't be. This is the same roster that has gone nowhere the past 3-4 seasons, and it has only gotten older, more injury plagued, while the rest of the conference has gotten deeper and better. Those young players are all incredibly unproven and aren't going to make an impact. If you think they are, you aren't being realistic. Also, every team you listed has a better inside player than Washington (Boston - Garnett, Orlando - Howard, Toronto - Bosh, Philly - Brand, Cleveland - Z. Yes Z is better than Brenda Haywood). Teams that are most likely better if not at least as good as the Wizards, assuming everyone is healthy: Boston, Philly, Toronto, Orlando, Cleveland, Miami, Detroit, and possibly Atlanta. This team plays a style that has consistently been proven to not work over the past 4-5 years. At best you're looking at a team that makes its way into the playoffs and gets knocked out in the first round. This team isn't built for any long term success.

dank

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:02:20 -0500

Honestly, I don't get all the negativity. Gilbert's out for a month, but it's a long season, and if they can stay close to full strength after that (knock wood), they're competitive with almost anyone in the East. The center position is a weakness without Brendan, but there aren't that many great centers on other teams either. If the young guys start playing to their potential, it's a very deep team. Detroit's past its peak, Chicago and Miami will continue to suck. Boston, Philly, Toronto, Cleveland and Orlando are potentially better than the Wizzies, but that's about it. And they could all run into injury troubles, too. Given better luck on the health front this year, second round of the playoffs is not a big stretch.

Kev29

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:12:20 -0500

The east is tougher than what? The Atlantic 10? Tougher than the Hornets - with 4 A-10 players on their roster? No

cactus jack

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:48:16 -0500

The east is tougher than what? The Atlantic 10?

SpottieOttieDopaliscious

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:42:44 -0500

McGee is hardly a center- he weighs about 95 pounds despite being almost 7 feet tall. Blatche is more likely to be Haywood's replacement, though the results will likely be mixed. The East is a lot tougher but there is still room for the Wiz to squeak into the playoffs and lose in the first round again. Caron Butler is a star and Jamison has quietly been one of the more productive front court players in the league over the past few seasons. Are they good enough to beat Boston, Cleveland or Detroit? Nope, but if they get Gilbert back, they can hang with anyone else.

Sean Jean

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:20:24 -0500

I could have made this a lot shorter: They'll still suck.