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NFL Mock Draft 2009 Draft of 2009 Lacks Star Power NFL Draft 2009: Getting Started Super Bowl Well Worth Tuning In For
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Prospects On Center Stage NBA Preview 2008/09: Final Call
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Exceeding Expectations, Yet Staying Under The Radar By Ron Jumper When discussing good teams in the NBA, you get a heavy dose of Spurs, Mavs, Suns, Celtics, Pistons, and maybe a Hornets shoutout from time to time. When the Eastern Conference is mentioned, it is a two-team race between the Pistons and Celtics for the top spot, then maybe some love for Lebron and the Cavs out of respect for the young King. Oddly, no one wants to take notice at what is taking place in the District of Columbia. The Washington Wizards lost Gilbert Arenas, so everyone wrote them off and said their season was done. However, head coach Eddie Jordan has rallied the troops and got them playing phenomenal basketball. (On a completely separate note, you know the NBA commercial that shows different images of players with a caption like “Where Teamwork Happens” and similar sayings like that? Does anyone else not just love the irony of the image with Tony Parker and the phrase “Where Commitment Happens” on the screen? I would bet Eva begs to differ. Gotta love the NBA…) The Wizards are 20-16 overall, but that record just simply doesn’t tell the whole story. Remember that they started the season 0-5, making them 20-11 since. Then, 3 games later, Arenas went down so they are 17-11 since his injury. Looking at the Eastern Conference, they sit at the number 4 position and Orlando is ahead of them at 3 with a record of 23-16. However, while the Wizards are climbing the standings, the Magic have been dropping games. The Magic have begun their, what is almost becoming traditional, slump after a very strong start to the season. The Wizards have the opportunity to climb ahead of the Magic and try to get that 3rd spot by playoff time. So does this mean head coach Eddie Jordan is in the running for Coach Of The Year? You bet it does. Jordan has done a wonderful job getting this team to perform at a high level this season. Interestingly, a lot of the success to this season has to be given to Jordan’s ability to develop players over the last several seasons. Look at a Andray Blatche, who fell to the second round of the draft in 2005, and is now giving the Wizards 18.9 minutes and a solid line of 6.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.66 blocks. Blatche was very raw back in 2005, but now is finally starting to understand the game and contribute 14-20 minutes on a nightly basis. You could also look at journeyman point guard Antonio Daniels, who is settling in to his role as a distributor and is giving his club over 5 assists a ballgame. Without Arenas, Daniels has played solid and it has also given the rookie Nick Young an opportunity to crack the rotation. In order for all these things to fall in to place though, it must be managed properly by Jordan and, so far, it seems to be working like a charm. We all knew when Arenas went down, that Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison were going to have to step their games up and they certainly have. Both average just over 21 points a game and are playing some of the best basketball of their careers. Now, I beg the question, will both get All-Star bids? They deserve it, but is their enough spots to go around. You figure Paul Pierce, Rashard Lewis, Chris Bosh, Rasheed Wallace, Lebron James, and Jermaine O’Neal will be expecting bids at the forward positions. What about other guys having great seasons like Andre Iguodala, Josh Smith, or Gerald Wallace? It would be a shame if one of the two Wizards doesn’t make it, but it would be a longshot for both. Now that they’ve been playing well, should we assume they will sustain this level of play for the rest of the season? Not yet. February will be the month that we find out how good they are, with 9 of their 14 games on the road. To make matters worse, 6 of those 9 road games are against Western Conference teams. It is never an easy task for Eastern Conference teams to win out West. The Wizards are a solid 9-8 on the road so far this season, so the it isn’t an impossible task for them to get some wins on the road. However, virtually every team is susceptible to dropping games on long road trips. Take a look at what happened to the Pistons Sunday night, as they got thumped by the Knicks 89-65 on their 4th road game in 5 nights. I think the front office of the Wizards has to be happy, as this makes re-signing Gilbert Arenas less important. Arenas is wanting big-time money from the Wizards right now. As for me, I can’t say I wouldn’t explore trading him if I’m President of Basketball Operations Ernie Grunfeld. You might look into trading him for Shawn Marion, or maybe Jermaine O’Neal. The relationship between Gilbert and the front office seems to be a bit rocky when you read the quotes from Arenas: "I want a new contract for the longevity of it and get another six years at the end of this deal," said Arenas, who is making $11.9 million this season. "I don't know what's going to happen. I could have signed an extension this year, but it wasn't going to make sense for me. If my own team doesn't take me, I'll go somewhere for a lot less to win a championship." It is similar to Rocket fans that feel the team is better without Tracy McGrady. I believe in the short run the team is better because they move the ball quicker and play better "team" basketball. However, down the road, it is critical to have a big scorer and go-to guy in the clutch during close games and on nights when maybe the team is having an off night and you need your superstar to carry you. It is an intriguing matter regardless, one that can go down as a timeless debate between basketball enthusiasts. I can’t help but feel like this is going to develop into an intriguing situation as the season progresses. However, the important thing for now is that the Wizards are playing great basketball and have shown they can win without Agent Zero. January 14, 2008 |
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Be Careful What You Wish For
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| NCAA Basketball | |
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Jumpology: My Bracket Jumpology: Scouting The Heavyweights Jumpology: Reviewing The Bracket
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