Well, the Warriors look like they're handling the Cavaliers right now and if they keep it up, it'll officially put us 1 game ahead of them in the East making us first. For other Wizards fans, finally. How's it feel that we're finally number 1 in the East, haven't been able to say that since the '79 season. Mostly everybody has been playing their best with Arenas having his takeover season, Caron having an obvious all-star season, Jamison keeping his scoring high, Stevenson giving us way more than we bargained for, Haywood playing the best in his career, it feels so damn good that we're on top.
I think this team has the potential to be a very big spoiler team if everybody keeps playing fantastic ball. I don't expect them to keep the 1st seed, but I do think we'll be a top 4 seed, I'm hoping we can nab #2 at the least.
<div class="quote_poster">Mamba Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I think this team has the potential to be a very big spoiler team if everybody keeps playing fantastic ball. I don't expect them to keep the 1st seed, but I do think we'll be a top 4 seed, I'm hoping we can nab #2 at the least.</div> Spoiler team? C'mon, we're one of the top teams in the NBA now and it's time that we are treated like one. As long as the Wizards keep their high production scoring on offense and start beating the teams they're supposed to beat, I think we'll be able to nab a top 2 seed.
With the lousy D, I can't consider them one of the best. They also play in the East, which is notably weaker than the west. I still consider them a spoiler team against the Heat (they haven't been fully healthy all year), the Pistons (Webber acquisition), and possibly the Cavs.
Forget records, come playoff time the Pistons and Heat will likely be the best two east teams. Wizards are pretty good, a great offensive team with one of the best If not the best offensive player in the league but they give up over 105 (doesn't mean a huge deal due to the pace they play) but they allow teams to shoot 46% from the field. Which is way too much which means come playoff time they likely won't be able to get key stops against the better teams. They also get outrebounded +2 every game. Defense and rebounding means alot in the post season.
The Wizards are too reliant upon scoring to make any real noise in the playoffs, IMO. The defense, as AllNet pointed out, is not good and when playoff time comes around and other teams start tightening up on Arenas and some of the other top guns (Jamison and Butler), they will need to find another way to win games.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Wizards are pretty good, a great offensive team with one of the best If not the best offensive player in the league but they give up over 105 (doesn't mean a huge deal due to the pace they play) but they allow teams to shoot 46% from the field.</div> Ahhh....even for the Wizards pace, the defense is pretty poor. Eddie Jordan's faults as a coach aren't really noticed by people outside the Wizards fan base, and also because the team is winning now, and because Arenas likes him, but man oh man. He continues to put small ball lineups when the team is obviously MUCH better defensively and offensively, with Haywood (or Etan at least) playing. He doesn't want to play Haywood as much as he should when it's obvious he helps the team a lot. The guy is becoming one of the most mis-handled players in the league. Team is winning and playng well in the first half, then in the second half, you decide to put Jamison at C and Hayes at PF??? Opposing teams have made comebacks a lot of times when the small ball lineup comes in, that's not to say the small ball lineups never works, it's that he choses horrible times to put it in. You make adjustments based on your opponents and what's working, not just randomly. He also doesn't have good defensive schemes, it's not even the players at times, just what the team is running. vs New York, Haywood 13 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 fouls in 20 minutes, and Etan got so many minutes, Haywood hardly plays the second half....riight... The Wizards cannot go far in the playoffs with EJ unless he changes this, or unless the players REALLY carry them, and I mean they'll have to be blowing up for every win after the first round. Now I don't want it to seem like I don't appreciate what EJ has done, he's good at managing the players in terms of keeping them motivated, he's a good offensive coach, but man EJ, stop!
