In Playoffs, Wizards Still Not Good Enough

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">WASHINGTON The worst thing you can say about the Washington Wizards is also the best thing you can say about them: They probably aren't set up for a long run in the NBA playoffs.

The only runs the Wizards are used to making in postseason play, of course, are quick jaunts to the beer cooler during commercial timeouts. Set against that backdrop, last night's 105-96 home loss to Detroit - and the team's first three-game losing streak of the season -seem more like minor setbacks than major crises.

Should the Wizards ultimately face Detroit in postseason play, the only logical bet would be the ranch on the Pistons.

Last year's NBA champions have won eight straight over Washington and are quite likely to win the next two, to be played in Michigan on Feb. 12 and April 6. The last Wizards home triumph in the series is dated March 14, 2001. There isn't a player on the current Washington roster who participated in that game. As unready as the Wizards might be to accept the challenge of dethroning the Pistons, they may be only a few weeks away from establishing the validity of the Triple Popgun concept that General Manager Ernie Grunfeld and coach Eddie Jordan have employed to transform the team.

The Wizards won't be the Wizards again until they regain Larry Hughes, their third and recently missing outside threat. Hughes has been idled by a broken thumb since Jan. 15, and his absence is finally being felt, even though Washington was able to complete an 11-4 tour through the month of January without him. "The things that teams are doing to us on defense now," said Jordan, "are things they couldn't always do when we had that third scorer on the court."

Perimeter players, however talented, are always going to be more easily acquired than premier big men in the NBA. In terms of outside shooters, the Wizards are learning that the number three represents some sort of critical mass. With only point guard Gilbert Arenas and small forward Antawn Jamison on the court, Jordan's team is vulnerable to a variety of defensive countermeasures. Some teams are slapping a quick double-team on Arenas, letting him drop the ball off to anyone but Jamison. "With Larry out there," Jordan said, "Gilbert has twice as many options."</div>
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I really don't think Washington is looking to make a long playoff run this year. I think they want to get there first and establish themselves as an Eastern Conference playoff team and continue to improve. I don't think anyone expects them to get far, most people didn't expect them to make a playoff run at all.