Lost amid the Redskins “playoff push” and the whole DC Baseball brouhaha has been a quiet but impressive start to the season by that other pro sports franchise in town, the Washington Wizards. The Wiz were shot down by the Miami Heat last night 98-93, making them 0-4 against the Heat this season, but take away those 4 losses and the team is a very impressive 12-4. Even with them, their record is good enough for second in their division and third overall in the Eastern Conference. Not too shabby.
The Wiz are being led by their version of “The Big Three” – Gilbert Arenas, Larry Hughes and new addition Antawn Jamison, all ex-teammates in Golden State. Arenas and Jamison are both averaging a shade over 21 points per game and Hughes isn’t far behind with 18 per, easily the best scoring trio in the entire NBA right now. Add in some impressive play by newly resigned Brendan Haywood and Jarvis Hayes production off the bench and it’s easy to see where these W’s are coming from. The players are finally buying into Coach Eddie Jordan’s offensive scheme and the Wizards are 4th in the league in scoring because of it.
We’ll find out is the Wiz are for real very soon as they begin a five game road trip on Friday. Games against the Lakers, Suns, Warriors, Kings and Timberwolves will tell us if the team is primed for a run at the Eastern Conference crown, or just the playoffs in general. Either way, this is a team worth watching.
(photo from NBA.com)
