From "9 And 20" To "Wait Til Next Year."
It's not exactly the Curse. The Curse would have had Ernie Grundfeld trade Caron Butler for Vince Carter or Gilbert Arenas for Antione Walker. No, this is just another stage in the Wizard's quest to be taken as a threat in the Eastern Conference (lets not even talk NBA Finals now).
News of Butler's injury pretty much sealed the deal on this season. Yes, I talked about how good they were...and I mean alot...but that was assuming that Arenas, Butler and Antwan Jamison were going to be in the playoffs together. That's not gonna happen. for all intents and purposes, they are the proverbial Team With One Good/Great Player, the type of team that can make the Playoffs, but rarely gets past the First Round. And considering that Jamison is reaching his apex, you can't expect him to average 30-and-12 in a best-of-seven (although he came awfully close last time).
The team sounds positive despite their position but I can't help but think they're wondering if they're ever going to break this cycle of having a key person (or persons) out for the Playoffs. This group was not built to survive these types of loses long term.
If coach Eddie Jordan thinks they have a Playoff spot locked up, maybe it's time to extend minutes to the younger guys. There's really no point in fighting like hell when you risk in injury to Jamison, and further injury to DeShawn Stevenson and Antonio Daniels.
News of Butler's injury pretty much sealed the deal on this season. Yes, I talked about how good they were...and I mean alot...but that was assuming that Arenas, Butler and Antwan Jamison were going to be in the playoffs together. That's not gonna happen. for all intents and purposes, they are the proverbial Team With One Good/Great Player, the type of team that can make the Playoffs, but rarely gets past the First Round. And considering that Jamison is reaching his apex, you can't expect him to average 30-and-12 in a best-of-seven (although he came awfully close last time).
The team sounds positive despite their position but I can't help but think they're wondering if they're ever going to break this cycle of having a key person (or persons) out for the Playoffs. This group was not built to survive these types of loses long term.
If coach Eddie Jordan thinks they have a Playoff spot locked up, maybe it's time to extend minutes to the younger guys. There's really no point in fighting like hell when you risk in injury to Jamison, and further injury to DeShawn Stevenson and Antonio Daniels.
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