Wizard's Report Card: Mid-year 2006 Part One
As the Wizards closes in on the mid-point of the season (and quite recently the .500 mark), let's take the time to break everybody down. As always, you can go here for the current roster and here for the stats.
The Starters
Gilbert Arenas: A 2-guard being asked to play point, even moreso with the loss of Larry Hughes. He's scoring at a crazy clip, and may have just realized that if he gives an effort on defense, the Wizards may be able to zoom by most teams. A gym rat who still has an eccentric style, I'm still waiting for him to develop into an overall leader. Also, there's going to be a point where he's going to have to transition from "guy who takes over the game to save his teammates' asses" to "guy who make his teammates better." But it's coming along. Grade: A-
Jared Jeffries: Another guy who plays more than one position. It's gotta be murder to go from a power-forward mindset to a 2-guard mindset. Needs to crash the boards more, and develop a reliable go-to offensive move. Easily the most versitile of the starters, but you always feel that he could do more. I believe he's more Scottie Pippen than Darius Miles, but the clock is ticking. Grade: C
Brendan Haywood: Fans at the WashingtonPost boards used to say that there's three different versions of this guy: Brendan, the happy-go-lucky center; Brad, the 7-foot force of nature; and Brenda, the player who gets out-rebounded by 6-3 guards. None of these incarnations intimidate other teams (who on the roster does?) but two of them prove to be very productive to the team. I just wish the guy could average 10 pts and 8 rebounds; is that to much to ask? Grade: C-
Caron Butler: The best defender on the team (and better overall than Hughes, IMHO). His arrival instantly gave the squad some post options. Has proven that he can run (which he did in Miami) and work a set (he did a little of that in LA). Might have to push his scoring average up if Washington is to be the triple-threat they were last season. Grade: B+
Antawn Jamison: He's taken it upon himself to lead the team out of it's December slump, and has been averaging a double-double since then. By the Grace of God he's rediscovered that he's a scorer, not just a shooter, and the Wizards offense is better for it. Last night proved he too can play defense, but he needs to convince the Basketball World that he can do it consistently. Irony is, had he played defensively and offensively like last night every game, Washington would have a better record and by extension Jamison would have been a starter in the All-Star Game; Jermaine O'Neal got the nod mostly off of name recognition. Grade: A-
Tomorrow: We pinch the bench.
The Starters
Gilbert Arenas: A 2-guard being asked to play point, even moreso with the loss of Larry Hughes. He's scoring at a crazy clip, and may have just realized that if he gives an effort on defense, the Wizards may be able to zoom by most teams. A gym rat who still has an eccentric style, I'm still waiting for him to develop into an overall leader. Also, there's going to be a point where he's going to have to transition from "guy who takes over the game to save his teammates' asses" to "guy who make his teammates better." But it's coming along. Grade: A-
Jared Jeffries: Another guy who plays more than one position. It's gotta be murder to go from a power-forward mindset to a 2-guard mindset. Needs to crash the boards more, and develop a reliable go-to offensive move. Easily the most versitile of the starters, but you always feel that he could do more. I believe he's more Scottie Pippen than Darius Miles, but the clock is ticking. Grade: C
Brendan Haywood: Fans at the WashingtonPost boards used to say that there's three different versions of this guy: Brendan, the happy-go-lucky center; Brad, the 7-foot force of nature; and Brenda, the player who gets out-rebounded by 6-3 guards. None of these incarnations intimidate other teams (who on the roster does?) but two of them prove to be very productive to the team. I just wish the guy could average 10 pts and 8 rebounds; is that to much to ask? Grade: C-
Caron Butler: The best defender on the team (and better overall than Hughes, IMHO). His arrival instantly gave the squad some post options. Has proven that he can run (which he did in Miami) and work a set (he did a little of that in LA). Might have to push his scoring average up if Washington is to be the triple-threat they were last season. Grade: B+
Antawn Jamison: He's taken it upon himself to lead the team out of it's December slump, and has been averaging a double-double since then. By the Grace of God he's rediscovered that he's a scorer, not just a shooter, and the Wizards offense is better for it. Last night proved he too can play defense, but he needs to convince the Basketball World that he can do it consistently. Irony is, had he played defensively and offensively like last night every game, Washington would have a better record and by extension Jamison would have been a starter in the All-Star Game; Jermaine O'Neal got the nod mostly off of name recognition. Grade: A-
Tomorrow: We pinch the bench.
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