09-02-2008, 12:52 PM
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#1 (permalink)
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MVP! MVP! MVP!
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Parts Unknown
Age: 23
Posts: 34,054
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Washington Wizards Summer Report Card
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Washington Wizards
What went right:
The grotto will be open for business
Anytime you can retain the services of a player building his own version of the Playboy Mansion grotto in his own backyard, that's a deal you have to make, right? Though Gilbert Arenas' off-court quirkiness has generated more ink in the last few years than his on-court appearances, Agent Zero is one of those talents every team with deep playoff aspirations requires. When healthy and locked in, Arenas can score from anywhere, against anyone. The downside to that, of course, is that anyone often can do the same to Arenas. But the downside to losing Arenas for the Wizards would have been a slide into irrelevance, which was why Washington paid $111 million to avoid it.
Antawn Jamison is back
No sport thrives on chemistry so much as basketball. And Jamison's willingness to play second or third option -- without complaint -- allows coach Eddie Jordan to run teams off the floor with his Princeton offense. Just as valuable as Jamison's ability to shoot, score in the post and rebound is the elder statesman role he has taken with Washington, especially in his attempt to guide young phenom Andray Blatche toward a more mature place. Every team needs a leader; Jamison appears willing and able to be that for the Wizards.
What went wrong:
Andray Blatche didn't grow up
Following a summer 2007 incident in which Blatche was accused of soliciting sex from an undercover cop, the 22-year-old big man celebrated the $15 million deal he signed last year by getting arrested this summer for driving 86 mph with a suspended license. He's only 22, so the tendency is to cut him a break, but Blatche is repeatedly demonstrating a troubling lack of judgment. Would you trust him with a game on the line?
Where's the D?
Eddie Jordan can complain all he wants about his players' unwillingness to play defense, but after five years of employing more red capes than man-to-man, Jordan should realize the blame goes both ways. Washington made some strides in trying to slow down opponents, evident in the fact it allowed less than 100 points a game, but letting opponents shoot better than 46 percent each night showed the effort was anything but consistent.
Clearly, Arenas and most of the Co. aren't too interested in stopping opponents as much as scoring over them, but Jordan clearly isn't making defense the emphasis he needs to for this team to grow beyond first-round danger, either. Few teams are in more need of a Tom Thibodeau-type; few teams will pay for its failure to get one more than the Wizards.
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Washington Wizards Summer Report Card
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