Will this be the year Washington can put it together?

[legacyinthemakin89c]

For the 08-09 season, can the Wizards finally put it all together, stay healthy, and make a run in the East??

If Arenas, Stevenson, Butler, Jamison and Haywood are all healthy throughout the year, Nick Young continues to develop, and they fortify their bench outside of Young, Daniels and Blatche, do you think they can win the East next year???

If not, other then ridiculous trades, what do you think they have to do to get to the point of being a legit contender in the East?

[Ballings7]

I think they need to have a consistent, team-wide committment to playing defense (relatively disciplined defense), and for Gilbert to be a more balanced offensive player, and having a bit better shot selection.

They definitely don't have problems scoring, but they need to play somewhat better as a team.

That's what I've come away with from watching them over the years.

[TheOUTLAW]

Exactly. They will never be a serious contender until they play defense.

[TAI8]

They will duke it out with Orlando for the division title. When healthy they are better than Orlando IMO.

[JordansBulls]

The Wizards can be good just like the Nuggets if both teams just ever committed to playing "D".

[LakerFanMan]

Staying healthy is the key. They havn't been for the last couple seasons.

[KB20]

I think they underachieve this year, Eddie gets fired, and Tom Thinodeau is hired in his place.

[Jameson41]

I think winninthe East's abit of a stretch especially for a side thats really yet to taste even the second round. But they definetly have the talent to make some noise, if they get a favourable matchup who knows maybe they could make the Conference Finals but I don't see them getting any further. As has already been said Defence is a big issue. The team itself has decent defensive players putting it together as a unit is the issue.

[lukeridenour]

their bench is weak.

[MilBucksBackOnTop06]

I tell you what, this team has as much talent up front and throughout their roster then any team in the NBA. They have some bruisers, some bangers, some grunts, and some monsters up front who play with a mean streak, a chip, and an edge.

GM Ernie Grunfeld has an excellent eye for talent and your owner Abe Pollin is as committed then anyone to spending the money to fortify this roster. Excellent accumalation of big time ballers.

Another thing they do that will pay off later on is they draft well and make good free agent pickups and trades. They have some solid players here, a lot of versatility, toughness, physicality and grit to them. If their defense catches up to the offense...LOOK OUT!

But they are fragile. No one can be expected to stay healthy all year long. But that is where their depth comes in being deep at every position and they have a chemistry and 'it' factor in their team.

The Javale McGee, Etan Thomas, Darius Songalia and Andray Blatche along with one of my favorite bigs Brendan Haywood can kick a-- with any team in the league.

If Blatche and Haywood and Ol can play defense along with the guards...you can hang it up. No one will beat them in a 7 game series. No one. Not even Boston! They rebound and shoot too well for you do go on a long run against them. Add pride and a will on defense, and it's all over.

Throw in Nick Young and Pecherov and you have a solid nucelus that just needs some time to click.
'One day they are gonna wake up and say, 'hey, you know what? We can be good..." And it will be downhill from there.

They could easily go to the Eastern Conference Finals...and beat anyone. They can rebound. They should never ever get beat on the boards. Never! They perfect the outlet pass and box out they man.

It helps them run and gun, and they have some promising things going on defensively if Jordan can get an assistant there to specialize in that and get them all motivated and in sync. They have to get a big who can shoot the jumper but that is probaly Pecherov.

If I would look to clear up some of that logjam I would try to move a piece or two on a big guy who can shoot like Utah's Mehmet Okur or someone like that...but they are fine as is.

I like the backcourt with Daniels, grown up Stevenson, and of course 'Hibachi' one Gilbert 'Overpaid' Arenas...plus Fire and Ice guys Caron Butler and Antwan Jamison can challenge Boston's aging Big Three...

They have no glaring holes.

Yes they can go far. And if they don't Jordan is gond and something is seriously wrong. Then they might get go Jeff van Gundy a defensive guru in there who was at New York with Ernie Grunfeld some years back...to coach them to the Finals.

If there is one drawback it is if Eddie Jordan can lead them far...I think he can, but he might not be the guy to do it. For all the money they paid Arenas they better get out of the first round and even the second to save his job...

No excuses now. They're loaded. They could be the #2 or #3 team in the East now...depending on what the Cavs do and if the Pistons can bounce back. Surely no lower then the 5th seed.

[BillsGiants_Rep]

Wow, you seem to love the Wiz Kidz more than your own team

[AgEnT50]

They will duke it out with Orlando for the division title. When healthy they are better than Orlando IMO.

Uhh that is def a negative....

Try again....

[Malinhion]

I think you could argue either way. He said its his opinion.

[Wade2k6]

No. They just aren't a championship level team IMO. I like Butler, Haywood, Nick Young, but I don't think Arenas is the player that can lead a team to a championship.

I see Washington and Miami on the same level fighting for the No.2 spot in the division. I can't see Washington beating Detriot, Boston, Orlando, Cleveland. Then there's team like Philly and Toronto. Just don't see it.

[ilikecb4]

Well they still don't play defence at all

Gilbert still takes too many shots, they take too many 3s to be a succesfful team

They're still 1 n' done in the playoffs, 1st round exit.

[miller31time]

I'll need to see two things to consider my team a serious threat....

1. Health -- when healthy, we should be on pace for around 50 wins. We've been absolutely decimated with injuries the past few seasons, both in the regular season and the playoffs. There hasn't really been a chance to see what this team can do 100% ever since we were leading the Eastern Conference in 06-07 (though there was a span after that that we were healthy and came back down to earth, somewhat).

2. Continued improvement on defense -- Halfway through last season, the Wizards ranked 14th in defensive efficiency. Haywood (our best defender) was getting more PT than ever, Stevenson was on lock-down mode, Butler made small improvements, etc. It really seemed as if our off-season move of hiring defensive specialist assistant coach Randy Ayers made a huge difference....Then, we fell, and fell F-A-S-T. Why? Well, for the most part, injuries. We weren't able to field 10 players consistently. We had to use our frikkin' coach and assistant coaches as practice players. Players quickly got tired because they had to log more minutes and take on bigger roles than accustomed. Of course, injuries weren't the whole reason. We also seemed to regress somewhat from the defensive principles the players were implementing earlier in the year.

If we can improve upon the strides we made last season and get to the point where we're just a slightly below-average defensive team and an efficient and effective offensive team, then there's a chance we can battle it out with the best in the East.

Other factors will be the improvement of Andray Blatche -- can he take the next step and become a starting-caliber player coming off of our bench? Will he improve his defense to the point where he isn't just an effective shot-blocker? Then there's Nick Young. He said he has been working on defensive fundamentals. Can he become an average defender and an above-average offensive player? Many factors go into next season's success or failure.

[sk33]

they will be a 5-8 seed for the next 3-5 years with a first round exit each year. Maybe they'll escape once or twice to get crushed in the 2nd.

[HoopsAvenue08]

We were first in the East in 2007 until we got hit with injuries. This year Arenas was out all year. I think as long as the Wizards stay healthy they will at least make the 2nd round with a shot to go further.