jazzy1

These are my 5 burning questions I'm anxious to see play out this year. what are yours.

1. Is Mike going to be healthy enough to play all year, I'm taking for granted that he will play, this is paramount to have a special year.

2. How far will Kwame progress this year, Will he take a step toward becoming a star in 2 years,that's the timetable I'm on, He has to make signifcant progress this year,not dominate, but show flashes ,have a couple 20 pt games have a fair amount of double doubles.

3. How good will Jeffries and Dixon be this year as we forecast their future role on this team, Is Dixon a legitmate NBA player and can Jeffries become a star or is he just another in the long line of soft Indiana players, personally I think Dixon will surprise he'll get good minutes this year Jeffries I don't know.

4. Will Stackhouse play ball or will he be resort back to the selfish Stack of a couple years ago, My gut instinct tells me he'll play right, and the Wiz will resign him at a significantly lower price than the MAX, he'll test the waters but will come back Rashard Lewis style at a workable number.

5. Will Larry Hughes finally develope a Niche in the league this year or will he be the woefully unfocused talent that just doesn't seem to get it, I think he's ready in this system imparticularly to have a season similar to the one had by Chauncy Billups, if that happens watch out for the Wizards, 52-30.

mjisback

All are legitimate concerns about the Wizards - there certainly a lot of questions that will need to be answered.

The top 5 questions i've got about the Wizards are:
1) Etan/Kwame whose going to take the starting position and can they be effective. Strong play at PF is going to be the key to any Wizards success.

2) Can Haywood stay healthy and log heavy minutes at C. We need his inside defensive presence and will need strong rebounding efforts.

3) Larry Hughes - can he thrive in the triangle offense where he isn't expected to be a true PG.

4) Outside Shotting - without the burden of being the sole #1 option and forcing shots, can Hughes, Stackhouse and MJ hit the open shots and increase their shooting percentages. If those percentages don't go up, I have a hard time believing the Wizards will be successful.

5) Dixon and Jeffries - both players have skill sets that are needed by the Wizards. Will either be able to be effective in their rookie seasons?

local_sportsfan

1. Etan will start this season. Kwame will have a decent season off the bench, and might steal the starting spot away midway through the season.

2. Haywood will not stay healthy. Hopefully, Jahidi is back before Haywood goes down.

3. Larry Hughes will have somewhat of a breakout year. 13 ppg, 6 apg, 4 rpg, 2.1 tpg, %45. Won't score as much as he wants to, but his shooting percentage goes up and his turnovers go down. He slightly improves his 3 pt %.

4. Stack will get better looks next season playing alongside Jordan. When Stack is the sole option on the floor, look for some low shooting percentages. Look above for Hughes.

5. Dixon will play alot. Jeffries will see alot of pine this season.

shroombal

Dixon will play alot????

I don't really think so...all things point to him... sitting on the bench most of the time, since he'll be a back up's backup!!

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Stop making up trades

TerpSam

Actually Dixon will probably be the back-up point guard as well as a 3rd string shooting guard, and will get 20-25 mpg. I'm pretty sure the Wizards will dump Whitney and/or Lue. Even if they don't, Dixon will be getting more time at the point. He's a just a younger, quicker, much better defensive version of Whitney. Jeffries will be getting reasonable playing time, especially if you include his time at power forward, but I think Grizzard will be more effective in the long run.

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"I give a flip about it like the next LA Clippers Game." - D12

BCH

My concern with Dixon is if he can run the offense. If he can't run the offense, then he is an undersized SG.

I know it is cachet to say we don't need a traditional point, but in many cases last season we did have the PG initiate some plays, especially at the end of the year when MJ was out.

shroombal

Yes... we need a PG who can at least bring the ball up and beat presses and traps.

And i don't see Dixon doing that. I see dixon being able to bring it up a couple of times occasionally, but I really see him as finisher on the breaker, or the passer on the break.

He can also hit some shots here and there, but he is far from being the point guard of the future.

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Stop making up trades

jazzy1

I think all questions about Dixon are legitimate but I just got a feeling this kid is going to find a way to be effective, He will be a lot more effecient than some believe setting up the offense and also I think he''ll be used in some instances to come off screens to get buckets, his intensity and dfensive anticipation will get him good minutes, how many I don't know but he's someone I think any coach, would love to have on the floor and because of his defense against pg's Collins will trust him more despite lack of true pg instincts, all of our scoring will come primarily from Stackhouse and Jordan. so he'll be used as more of a d specialist early in the season.

shroombal

D specialist???

This guy may be able to steal the ball by moving into passing lanes, but no way this guy has great 1 on 1 defensive skills. He's a freakin tooth pick, and will get burned by the likes of Jason Kidd.

So they better be ready to help out and play more zone if thye are gonna give dixon big minutes.

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Stop making up trades

Cramer

To all those that say Dixon can't do this and can't do that, you might end up being right, but frankly, I don't think you've been paying attention.

He's going to find a way to earn minutes and then he'll find a way to help you win. Toss out Jordan and he's got more heart than the rest of the Wiz combined. He's also got a hell of a lot of skills. You don't accomplish what he did, at the level he did, just by being a gutty little guy.

Yea, keep selling him short. I hope other teams do as well, and then I'll enjoy a good laugh as he's cutting out their heart and stomping on it.

jazzy1

Shroombal you may be right but Dixon quickness in the passing lanes when they need to crank up the defensive pressure could be vital, JKidd kills everbody so that really doesn't matter,but Dixon didn't get taken advantage of in college and I doubt it'll happen now, being skinny is only a draw back when you play soft like Rip did, when you have heart like Iverson it doesn't matter and I believe Dixon has similar heart ,I could be wrong something just tells me this Kid is tough and he'll find a way to deal with the likes of Jason Kidd.

BCH

I know he can play in the NBA. I just want him to be a PG. I want him to fit on the Wizards.

shroombal

I agree wit most of you....

I want him to do good. I want him to suceed. I want him to do what he could do at college. I want him to get stronger, better, accostmed to the NBA schedule, fill in at PG, get in better condition.... but dat isn't even close to being possible. Remember he wuz playing against guyz who didn't even get drafted... so you think he did good in college, meaning he'll do good in the NBA, which isn't true. But I kno everyone wants him to suceed.

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He may be athletic and quick, but I don't think he is physically
strong enough to go through every practice and not break down. Just look at Kwame Brown last year. He couldn't even last through practice. The college season and practices are so much shorter and less vigourous than the NBA, so he'll have to adjust if he wishes to suceed.

And ya'll talk about Iverson??? Dat guy doesn't practice, and dat guy will be crippled when he retires(he has like 20 injuries)... So same wit Dixon, unless he is determined to work hard, lift weights, and stay after for practice, and maybe even throw up a few times...

So there are my points.

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Stop making up trades

Jaybird

Shroom I'm confused as to why Juan wouldn't be able to do any of those things. Comparing Dixon to Kwame conditioning-wise isn't a contest. A HS player isn't in near the physical condition as a 5 year College player.

Plus Juan played against his fair share of NBA draftees, and serious potential draftees....

Jason Williams
Frank Williams
Roger Mason Jr
Caron Butler
Casey Jacobson
Joe Forte
Will Solomon
Steve Francis

*Kirk Heinrich
*Keith Bogans
*Jason Gardner
*Danthay Jones
*Chris Duhon

He seemed to be able to hold his own against these players so what's to say he can't take his skills and apply them to the NBA? You could make the exact same argument against any player drafted out of college. The majority of the players you play against won't be drafted, so what?

There's no thinking involved with regard to his college carrear, Juan had an outstanding college basketball carrear, and put up incredible numbers at Maryland. Now I'll agree that his success in college doesn't equate to automatic success in the NBA but with his work ethic, desire, and shooting ability he has the tools to be a successful NBA player.

I guess I just don't understand the points you're making, because it looks like you don't know a whole lot about Dixon's time at Maryland. If I'm wrong about that I apologize. But he's physically built like Iverson but completely the polar opposite of Iverson mentally.

Dixon's a gym rat and devoted student of the game. He'd stay up nights just breaking down tape of the teams he's going to play. There's a great article on ESPNMag talking about his work ethic and the way he prepares for games. Take a look and maybe you'll understand just how hard he works and how devoted he is to improvement.

Hard Shell It's a great article and well worth the read.

I don't think he'll ever be a superstar in the league but I think he'll surprise a lot of people this season with his play, and find a way to contribute immediately.

johnston797

Nice article. Thanks.

Boy, the Wiz have some stone-cold competitors on the team this year.