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Hearing the Clash
Wiz 'Takeover' First But Aren't Any Better
Washington's win over divisional foe Orlando puts them in first place in the division with the 3 seed in the conference and also provides opportunity to assess the team heading into '007. After a 4-9 start with a struggling superstar, they've won 13 out of 16 and Arenas is averaging 35 points for December. Magic guard Keyon Dooling had this to say after their 112-111 loss at the Phone Booth:
"They got a little bird down there by the name of Gilbert who's just bad. He's one of those guys who's special. He'll go down in history as one of the greatest and he showed his greatness in the second half -- he just turned it on. It's almost impossible to guard him."
Mr. Dooling is wise beyond his years. He should get his Agent Zero tees and Hibachi tee now before everyone else does. And aside from Zero Hero, Tough Juice (Caron Butler) is having a career year, and Antawn Jamison (who named his newborn boy Antwan -- w before a -- so as not to confuse) is his usual floaters-and-threes making self.
Wiz GM Big Ern Grunfeld also added athletic DeShawn Stevenson to the guard mix, combining him with Green Hornet (Antonio Daniels) and Arenas to give Washington the most lethal backcourt in the NBA. All told, the roster is putting up 108 points per game and pacing towards 48 wins, which would be the franchise's highest total since the near-championship season of '78-79. So what's the problem?
First, they're giving up a league-high 106 points per game. Sure, that's less than the 108 they're scoring, but a two-point differential does not a champion make. Second, they don't have anyone in the frontcourt. Jamison plays the 4 in this lineup, but he's not a post scorer nor is he a post defender. And here are the bigs they trot out: Brendan Haywood and some guys who probably shouldn't be in the NBA (sorry, Calvin Booth). Third, this is the same formula from the past two seasons when they made it to the second and first rounds of the playoffs only to lose to Miami and Cleveland, respectively.
So, yeah, the team is barely (if at all) better than it's been during the Arenas-Eddie Jordan-Grunfeld Era, but the difference this year is that the East is really, really bad. I mentioned point differential earlier and how the Wiz, at +1.7, aren't very good. Well, only Chicago (+5.2), Cleveland (+3.0) and Detroit (+2.9) are any better, and I'm not sure Washington couldn't beat any of them in a seven-game series. They all have their weaknesses, just like the Wiz. Unless Shaq comes back healthy the conference is wide open, and that, in concert with a traditionally horrible franchise heading towards it's third playoff birth in a row, is enough to make any D.C. ball fan smile.
For more on the Wiz beat, stay tuned to the indispensable trio of Wizznutzz, Bullets Forever and Wizards Insider, as well as our very own Wizards FanHouse. Also, the Takeover that I reference in the headline here is explained over at Gilbert's NBA.com blog, but you already knew that.
Written by dcsportsguy Blog about this entry |
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wow is he gleaming or what...look at all that sweat.......its look a pool of water on his skin.....................wow
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Well said. The stars are better, but the defense still sucks. More accurately, the defense is worse (they rank lower in most defensive categories than last year). The East being worse really helps them out more than anything.
-Pradamaster
Bullets Forever
1/2/07 10:17 PM