In our continuing rundown on the NBA season, Neil Acharya takes a look at the Washington Wizards. Last season: 42-40, 5th in Eastern Conference, lost in six games to Cleveland in first round of playoffs
Coach: Eddie Jordan
New face: Darius Songaila (signed from the Bulls)
Funny-looking white guy: '06 draft choices Oleksiy Pecherov and Vladimir Veremeenko can fight over this one
Blogs: Bullets Fever, D.C. Sports Chick, D.C. Sports Bog (yes, bog)
At their best, Washington's Big Three of guard Gilbert Arenas (29.3 points per game last season), forwards Caron Butler and Antawn Jamieson (a potential 20-and-10 forward) can go toe to toe with the NBA heavyweights. Beyond that, it is somewhat of a guessing game in the District.
Arenas and Jamieson have outgrown their early years in Golden State, when both were shoot-first, pass-maybe-later types. Butler, nabbed from the Lakers in an early-season trade, was glue guy for Washington, who was 7-19 when he didn’t start and 33-21 when he did.
The centre spot has a very serviceable tandem in starter Brendan Haywood and backup Etan Thomas. However, the Wizards seem to lack depth beyond the starters. This will improve if Jarvis Hayes bounces back after missing most of last season due to injury, and if 6-foot-11 forward Andray Blatche keeps developing.
Regardless, they should be able to improve on last year’s 42 wins. Last season Washington was swept in the season series against division rival and eventual NBA champion Miami Heat; look to them this year to get a split or better in that series. Moreover, in a fairly weak division, they managed a .500 record at 8-8. A year later, this club will make the race for first in the Southeast much closer but will have to make a stronger commitment to defence to have a realistic shot. That last point was the main reason Darius Songaila was brought in to add depth in the low post; you may remember how badly the Bulls missed him when an injured ankle kept him out of last spring's playoffs.
Also in Southeast Division: Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Bobcats, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic
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1 comment:
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