The long wait is over: tonight the Wizards kick off their ‘07-’08 season with a trip to Indiana to face the Pacers. I thought I’d go on record with some of my thoughts for the upcoming season.
Things are a bit odd for the Wizards right now; while Gilbert Arenas is getting more attention then ever, the Wizards as a team are kind of being written off. Part of this is do the splashy imports to the Eastern Conference (hello KG, Zach Rudolph and, I guess, Rashard Lewis) and part is because Washington did little to change its own roster. Now some people are saying that a team that had the best record in the East at the All-Star break last year won’t even make the playoffs this year (I’m looking at you Bill Simmons. Indiana better then the Wizards? Are you out of your mind?).
I know I’m a hopeless homer but I like this year’s Wizards team a lot. First, we’ve got one Gilbert Arenas, playing in a contract year. You can basically book on 30 a game from him, with maybe (fingers crossed?) some better D this year? I actually don’t like Brendon Haywood at all but with Eddie Jordan having no choice but to play him with Etan Thomas out I think Haywood does well this year (finally). Butler’s a stud and will continue to be the heart and soul of this team. Jamison….is Jamison. I understand he’s a good guy in the locker room and all but Jamison, to be frank, drives me crazy. Way too many 4-15 nights from him. DeShawn Stevenson is the teams best defender, which isn’t saying much, and I kind of think he loses minutes this year in lineup shuffles.
Our bench should be much improved. We’ve got Darius Songalia for the whole year. Antonio Daniels still looks spry and he and Darius run that pick and roll to perfection. Nick Young adds scoring off the bench (certainly more then Jarvis Hayes did/nt last year), although little D. Rookie forward Dominic McGuire looks like one of those glue guys that every good team has. Don’t really expect much from Roger Mason and Oleksiy Pecherov.
But here’s who really has me excited this year: Andray Blatche. Yeah he’ll hear a lot of prostitution jokes but he’s looked really good in the preseason and I think he’s going to breakout big time this year. With Etan out for the year (barring a miracle) Blatche is going to be getting a lot of time at the 5 backing up Brendon and I think that’s a pretty great fit for him. The great thing about Blatche is that he’s a natural rebounder and a pretty good shot-blocker, two Wizards needs. If Blatche plays the way I think he can this year then that will propel the Wizards in to the upper echelon of NBA teams.
Enough talk. Here’s how I see the season playing out:
Eastern Conference
1. Celtics (Division Winner)
2. Bulls (DW)
3. Wizards (DW)
4. Raptors
5. Detroit
6. Cleveland
7. Orlando
8. New York
Western Conference
1. Suns (DW)
2. Rockets (DW)
3. Denver (DW)
4. Dallas
5. Spurs
6. Utah
7. Memphis
8. Lakers
MVP: Kevin Garnett
Rookie of the Year: Kevin Durant
Most Improved: LaMarcus Aldridge
Coach of the Year: Rick Adelman
6th Man: Leandro Barbosa
Defensive POY: Kevin Garnett
Finals prediction: Rockets over Celtics in 6.
Lots to argue with there I’m sure.
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