Predict the Wizards record in 2010-2011

[pineappleheadindc]

.
I'm in for 40-42 (and 8th seed in the East).

[nate33]

36 wins for me.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

45 wins and a 5 or 6 seed.

[no D in Hibachi]

29 wins. I'm worried about McGee's defense and consistency on offense. I'm worried about Blatche liking the 3-point shot too much. Wall will be great one day, just not this year, he'll have growing pains. 29 wins was the 7th and 8th worst records the last two seasons so we're looking at a possible mid-lottery selection next year.

[The Fax]

40-42 and the 8th seed. Statistically, ever since the NBA draft lottery was instituted in 1985 the team that landed the #1 pick increased its win total from the previous year by 14 wins on average. We were 26-56 last season. History is on my side here.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

45 wins and a 5 or 6 seed.

Okay, preseason's over.

Bad vibes from Gil's groin and suspension. Bad vibes from Flip. Very bad vibes from Yi Jianlian. Visions of Hinrich playing much more than any SF or McGee. Realization that of the SF options, the best is probably--Hinrich. Visions of Flip subbing out McGee for Armstrong. Seraphin appears to suck. Booker isn't a quality player. This team is soft as butter inside. Ammo has a legit shot on this team ....

I take back the enthusiasm and will go ahead with a realistic prediction of 37.

[KiNgSbOi]

I'm going to predict 34 wins, team will have its ups and downs, obviously. I say they start a bit slow, as usual, and pick up the pace sometime after the new year is here.

[closg00]

Wizards Faithful,

You experienced with your own eyes (and ears) what I've been telling you for months--the Wizards are stocked with young talent that will be heard and felt by the NBA sooner rather than later. The Wizards are simply too talented and too hungry to be treated like the redheaded stepchildren of the Southeast division. They will apply their strengths (quickness, length, athleticism, uber talent) against the weaknesses (a cap-busting contract, alpha male uncertainty, lack of depth, Kwame Brown) of their division foes and let the chips fall where they may. I say the chips will fall squarely on the part of the NBA board marked "playoff berth"!

Even the chronically tone-deaf among us had to like the first few bars of the masterpiece written and composed by Ernest Grunfeld and provided for your listening pleasure last night. To the haters: Learn how to make the music come to life in your head based on the notes you see on the music sheet. What a shame it is to recognize brilliance only after the music is played!

In Grunfeld We Trust!!

Posted by: melodious_thunk | October 6, 2010 1:37 PM

Just some comforting words from Rico to lead us into the new season I'm sticking with my 30+ win prediction.

[CaPtaiN eYeSaNo]

40

[closg00]

40

Like your sig. I recently saw Chole as-well, I give it 6.5 out of 10, it really kind of fell apart at the end I thought.

[doclinkin]

31.

I don't get a good feeling about this one. Improvement over last year but I suspect we'll see more minutes for Lester Hudson if Flip insists on leaning so heavily on the Rookie Wall. His playstyle leaves him vulnerable to bumps and contusions when playing an 82 game schedule, until he learns a low gear change of pace -- and an outside jumper. And he needs a three point shooting wing player at SF to keep lanes open.

Backcourt health and frontcourt rebounding are the hobgoblins under the bed that keep me awake at night.

[Ruzious]

31.

I don't get a good feeling about this one. Improvement over last year but I suspect we'll see more minutes for Lester Hudson if Flip insists on leaning so heavily on the Rookie Wall. His playstyle leaves him vulnerable to bumps and contusions when playing an 82 game schedule, until he learns a low gear change of pace -- and an outside jumper. And he needs a three point shooting wing player at SF to keep lanes open.

Backcourt health and frontcourt rebounding are the hobgoblins under the bed that keep me awake at night.

I don't think Wall is going to hit the rookie wall. He seems like he never gets tired. And he's got a sturdy yet flexible body type - so I see him being very durable. But yeah, if Flip uses him over 38 minutes a game, that'd be a bit much. 35 would probably be a good number.

[Dat2U]

31.

I don't get a good feeling about this one. Improvement over last year but I suspect we'll see more minutes for Lester Hudson if Flip insists on leaning so heavily on the Rookie Wall. His playstyle leaves him vulnerable to bumps and contusions when playing an 82 game schedule, until he learns a low gear change of pace -- and an outside jumper. And he needs a three point shooting wing player at SF to keep lanes open.

Backcourt health and frontcourt rebounding are the hobgoblins under the bed that keep me awake at night.

Yeah, I'm not thrilled about all the minutes either. My enthusiasm has wained abit. Nearly every rookie hits the wall at some point during their first season. It might be before Christmas for Johnny Balls.

I'm also concerned about what Flip is going to potentially do with the front court minutes. McGee needs to be getting as many minutes as possible. If he's playing 15-20 minutes a night or less were in deep trouble. Yi at C is horrific idea. Armstrong getting many minutes at C is just as bad. If those two get more minutes at C combined than McGee, I'll be calling for Flip's head relatively soon.

What keeps me going as low as 31 or lower is our competition. It's truly pathetic. I'm just really mixed on this. We could either way this year. I could see Flip AKA Flippery self-implode this year and run this team into the ground. I could see John Wall's leadership rising above it all and making us very competitive. I'm leaning towards 37 wins right now. Which could still possibly put us in the playoffs.

[YiOF]

39-43 8th seed in the east

I am optimistic. If everyone is healthy, the wizard can be an exciting up and down the floor type of team. and all the young guys will at least try hard on the defensive end.

[Nigel Tufnel]

33. The average increase in wins for a team with the overall #1 pick is 12, for a total of 38, but given the curse of the Boulez, skinny frontcourt, mystery SF, and improved competition in the division, I'm knocking that total down by at least 5.

[doclinkin]

33. The average increase in wins for a team with the overall #1 pick is 12,

But this one goes to 11.

[dandridge 10]

Mark me down for 32 wins. Wall is better than I thought he would be at this point, but he still will have growing pains. Moreover, we have no bench and our frontcourt is really soft, particularly with respect to defensive rebounding. It still will be a lot of fun to watch.

[DallasShalDune]

I was thinking between 37 and 39, so I'll say 38. We might slip in as an 8th seed if our competition is weak, but I don't see that happening.

My really, really optimistic side says 45, but I'll stick with my 38-until-proven-wrong.

[BigA]

34

My gut feeling is 39, but after being wildly over-optimistic the last few years, I'm automatically knocking off 5.

[fishercob]

33-49, with a pride win in the finale to avoid 50 losses.

We'll be exciting and have some scintillating moments. We'll beat some very good teams -- maybe Miami and Boston once each. But we'll lose to some terrible teams -- NJ, Det, GS, etc., too. Ultimately, we're going to get crushed on the boards and (which will kill our DRtg) and we're going to struggle for long stretches in the half court. Plus, the obvious hole at SF -- who knows until Howard is back playing at a normal level for him.

My other concern is coaching. I've been very quiet in the Flip-hate threads because I generally find the comments to be uninformed and the complaints about minutes/rotations to be pretty dumb. I have a ton of respect for his accomplishments, but am concerned about his fit for this team. This is obviously not what he signed up for -- he thought he had a deep playoff team with lots of veteran pros last year.

Is he going to be patient enough with these kids and devote himself to teaching and developing even if his career W-L record suffers? IMHO, he has to be 100% bought in to the long term vision if it's going to work with him. And while I'm OK with a little "motivation" through the media, the public fellating of KG was unacceptable and such actions must completely stop. For this to work, out guys need to know Flip has their backs.

So I'm not 100% convinced Flip is the right coach for this group at this stage in his career. I hope he allays those concerns. And he if gets this team to 40 wins he should be in the discussion for coach of the year.