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**MJG** · 04-13-2005, 02:12 PM

Page 2: Wizards are the other story ...

Quote:

Michael Jordan is dead and gone.

It took awhile, but the Baby Bulls no longer sweat his shadow-casting ghost. And the Wizards, who once were his errand boys, are finally their own men.

So when Chicago and Washington play Wednesday night, with playoff positioning at stake, they'll do so free and clear of their respective MJ legacies, one club trying to live up to what he was, the other to what he wanted it to be.

Go figure. Of all the story lines that might have emerged this season, what are the odds that these teams, who won a combined 48 games last year, would go Travolta-in-Pulp on us at the same time? I'm no math major, but I am a student of history (by which I mean I know my Norm Van Lier and I've studied at the school of Phil Chenier), and I know they're long.

I also know I've heard plenty (almost too much) about Chicago this spring, and barely a peep about Washington. Which is too bad, because the Wizards are a story, too.

Insider: Wizards can't shoot, but they can score ...

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Let's play a game called "Name That Team."

Clue No. 1: It's a playoff-bound Eastern Conference team that leads the NBA in offensive rebounding and free-throw attempts.

Clue No. 2: The club ranks 25th in 3-point percentage, 25th in shooting percentage and 27th in assists.

Sounds like your typical bruising, bricking band of East Coast thugs, right? A grind-it-out, walk-it-up, low-post team like the Detroit Pistons or Indiana Pacers, perhaps?

Nope. It's the Washington Wizards?!? Yes, the Wizards.

Despite the league's most perimeter-oriented offense, the Wizards post stats that conjure images of the McFilthy-McNasty era. You would expect a team that got so much offense from the backcourt to be near the top of the league in assists, to be adept 3-point shooters and to take relatively few free throws. The Wizards are unusual in that they turn that entire stereotype on its head.

jazzy1 · 04-13-2005, 04:56 PM

Its what I always say we don't have efficient scorers but volume scorers. If we shared the ball more and kicked it inside more we'd be better. But those are lessons for the next coach to teach I guess. We have some guys who can score inside when given a chance but those chances don't come very often so they don't have very much confidence when the bigs do get the ball.

Its a work in progress, we need more maturity, and better coaching to figure things out.

Bottom line is every game we share the ball we win , the game is made easier and the team is more energized. When we don't guys stand around and we become real stagnant.

One on One · 04-13-2005, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazzy1

Its what I always say we don't have efficient scorers but volume scorers.

I read that and wanted to look into it. You are mostly right (about Hughes and Jamison, anyways), but Arenas is actually quite efficient. Here are the top points per attempt guys who average over 19.8 PPG (Jamison: 19.9 so it included him).

Code:

Stoudemire  	25.82  	1.55
O'Neal 	23.01 	1.52
Maggette 	22.15 	1.48
Artest 	24.57 	1.45
Pierce 	21.61 	1.44
Wade 	24.14 	1.42
Nowitzki 	26.22 	1.39
Bryant 	27.38 	1.37
Marbury 	21.84 	1.35
Garnett 	22.44 	1.34
Arenas 	25.65 	1.34
James 	26.85 	1.31
Stojakovic 	20.23 	1.30
Jefferson 	22.21 	1.30
Brand 	19.82 	1.29
Duncan 	20.87 	1.29
Lewis 	20.75 	1.27
Francis 	21.54 	1.27
O'Neal 	24.76 	1.25
Iverson 	30.47 	1.25
Anthony 	20.41 	1.25
Allen 	23.80 	1.25
Hughes 	21.95 	1.23
Carter 	23.88 	1.22
Redd 	23.14 	1.22
Mcgrady 	25.76 	1.20
Richardson 	22.12 	1.15
Jamison 	19.87 	1.12

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