Washington Wizards 2009-2010 Season Preview
The Washington Wizards will try to put the misfortunes of last year far behind them as they strut into the 2009-10 regular season. Due to injuries, point guard Gilbert Arenas played in only two games, and starting center Brendan Haywood appeared in just six. The resulting lineups for the Wiz were often out of position and overmatched defensively, and inept offensively.
Not surprisingly, the nightmare carried into the off-season. In the weakest draft since 2001 (remember Kwame Brown?) Washington slipped to the fifth pick despite having the second worst record and a 17.6% chance of landing Blake Griffin.
Just before the draft in June, team President Ernie Grunfeld pulled the trigger on a deal that would bring in veteran guards Randy Foye and Mike Miller from Minnesota. In turn, the Wizards dumped big men Etan Thomas, Darius Songaila, and Oleksiy Pecherov along with the fifth overall pick. With this move, depth at the guard positions was transformed from a dire weakness to an unquestioned strength.
An equally obvious weakness was addressed in April when Flip Saunders was hired as head coach. Saunders has a career winning percentage of .597 (587-396) and has led his teams to eleven playoff appearances in thirteen years. The only two years he didn’t make the playoffs were in 1995-’96 when he took over midseason for Bill Blair, and in 2004-’05 when Saunders was fired fifty-one games in.
Saunders is looking forward to working with Gilbert Arenas, and has hired Sam Cassell as an assistant coach to help strike a bond. Cassell played for two seasons under Flip Saunders in Minnesota.
Gazing across the landscape of the Eastern Conference, your eye is attracted to three teams. Boston, Orlando, and Cleveland are almost consensus picks to take the top three spots in the East (the order of which is up for debate). There is no reason that a healthy Washington Wizards team can’t compete for fourth place. Other teams thought to be in contention for playoff spots are Miami, Atlanta, Chicago, Toronto, Detroit and Philadelphia.
WASHINGTON WIZARDS 2008-2009 RECORD: 19-62, fifth in Southeast
AQUIRED: Mike Miller, Randy Foye, Fabricio Oberto, Paul Davis
DEPARTED: Darius Songaila, Etan Thomas, Oleksiy Pecherov, Juan Dixon
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP: PG-Gilbert Arenas, SG-Mike Miller, SF-Caron Butler, PF-Antawn Jamison, C-Brendan Haywood
Arenas will put up numbers if he can stay on the court. Mike Miller’s height at the SG position equips him to defend small forwards and allow Caron Butler to match up on shooting guards. Jamison is a scoring machine as an undersized power forward and Brendan Haywood is vital in controlling the defensive paint. Until Jamison can return from injury, look for Fabricio Oberto to start alongside Haywood.
BENCH ROTATION: G-Randy Foye, PF/C-Andray Blatche, PF/C-Fabricio Oberto, C-Javale McGee, SG-Deshawn Stevenson, SF-Dominic McGuire, SG-Nick Young
Randy Foye is a versatile combo guard that will see time playing with Gilbert Arenas. Blatche will play big minutes and has shown spurts of brilliance, but lacked consistency. Flip Saunders has confidence in Andray and gushed about him in the preseason. Oberto is a veteran that will do the dirty work on the block and never needs the ball to affect a game. McGee is still very raw but can run the floor as well as any seven footer in the league. Stevenson has the attitude to be a defensive stopper on the perimeter and can hit the three. His minutes may fade this year, but expect him to step into the starting rotation if the defense struggles. McGuire and Young played huge minutes out of necessity last year, but it’s hard to imagine either one consistently getting run this season.
THE REST OF THE ROSTER: PG-Javaris Crittenton, PG-Mike James, PF-Paul Davis
Crittenton is out for at least a few weeks with an injury, but doesn’t factor into the Wizards plans this season. James is an expensive player to keep inactive, but his contract will expire at the end of the season. Davis is a big body and a hard worker, but should only see mop-up duty.
COACHING STAFF: Head Coach – Flip Saunders, Assistant Coaches – Randy Wittman, Sam Cassell, Don Zierden, Wes Unseld Jr.
Flip Saunders brings in an entirely new staff save for Wes Unseld Jr. He should be a clear upgrade over the Eddie Jordan/Ed Tapscott duo of last season. Though he never got to the Finals in Minnesota or Detroit, Saunders is a proven winner and a respected leader.
PLAYER ANALYSIS:
Gilbert Arenas – His in-and-out crossover coming off a foul-line screen is as quick and dangerous as ever. Arenas has a knack for hitting big shots and can shoot forty footers effortlessly. Gilbert is stronger than most point guards and is hard to stop once he gets a step. There are trusty weapons around him to pass to, but he needs to keep turnovers down. Everything hinges on health. Gil may not have the explosiveness to dunk on guys anymore, but everything else is there. If he stays healthy, he will produce.
Mike Miller – Due to his height and rebounding ability from the wing, Miller can play the two and three positions. He can extend well beyond the three point line, and stretch the defense. He is a dangerous kick-out option for Arenas and can cross match-up on the defensive end. Miller’s vision and passing ability on the break are underrated qualities. He will need to avoid being a defensive liability to get crunch time minutes.
Caron Butler – Versatility on the offensive and defensive ends are what make him special. Caron is a very strong offensive rebounder from the small forward position. He is a competitor defensively who will be called on to cover an opponents’ best weapon, whether that be at the shooting guard or small forward spot. Due to injuries, Butler has only played in an average of 66 games in his four years with the Wizards.
Antawn Jamison – Antawn will miss significant time to start the season due to a partially separated shoulder. For years, Jamison has shown that he can score from the perimeter and on the block. He has three point range and his awkward “half hook, half floater” from the baseline is impossible to defend. Jamison is not known as a great defender. He is not big enough for typical power forwards and not quick enough to guard small forwards on the wing. ‘Twan can see some time at small forward with the added depth down low and create match-up nightmares of his own.
Brendan Haywood – His defensive presence on the block was sorely missed last season. Haywood had legitimized himself in 2007-08 as a respectable defender, rebounder, finisher, and free throw shooter. Haywood shot 53% from the field, 74% from the line and averaged 10.6 ppg and 7.2 rpg. He then missed all but six games last year. Haywood’s post game has steadily improved but he will not be called upon to generate much scoring. Defend, rebound, set screens, and roll to the basket for open dunks.
Randy Foye – Minnesota’s loss is a big gain for Washington. Randy Foye was drafted seventh overall in the 2006 draft and smothered with lofty expectations. Foye is a solid all around guard that can handle, penetrate, and finish. He spent the off season working on his jumper and extending his range. Foye can lead the second unit and will benefit from running big men Javale Mcgee and Andray Blatche.
Andray Blatche – At 6’11” Blatche is an impressive ball handler. He loves to post up, turn and face, and take large power forwards off the dribble. Blatche has large hands that allow him to control the ball a la Earl “The Pearl” Monroe and “Dr. J.” Andray has a solid mid-range jumper and can block shots and rebound despite limited leaping ability. The knock since he came into the league has been consistency and work ethic. Andray has claimed to have rededicated himself over the off season and a head coaching change could serve him well.
Javale McGee – With abnormally long arms, huge hands, and incredible spring in his legs Javale is not a prototypical center. McGee runs the floor looking for an alley-oop the instant a defensive rebound is secured. His game is predicated on first running by, then jumping over opposing centers. The athleticism is unquestionably there, but Javale is yet unpolished. He has no post up moves and an inconsistent jump shot. To make the most of his minutes, McGee will need to electrify the crowd by swatting shots and throwing down on the fast break.
DeShawn Stevenson – A gritty defender and the guy that can get under the skin of the opposition. Stevenson can get hot from three but will not be relied on to score. Deshawn is on the books through next season, but the Wizards plan to develop a younger player rather than sign Stevenson to an extension.
Fabricio Oberto – His game isn’t sexy, but someone has to do the dirty work. “Fab” embraces the physical challenges in the paint and takes pride in his passing. Oberto has won on the International stage as well as in the NBA as a member of the San Antonio Spurs. His addition means that the Wizards now have four seven-footers to rotate through the lane.
Nick Young – One on one, he makes shots that can’t be defended. Young is very athletic and can finish on the break, but rarely gets out and gets the opportunity. The key to the development of Young is simply learning the game and giving more effort on defense. In an offensive set, Young will get lost when he doesn’t have the ball in hand. When he does, he can make even the best defenders look foolish. Expect his minutes and production to be sporadic.
Dominic McGuire – Last year the second year man started 57 games for the Wiz and will now find himself at the end of the bench. McGuire can run, jump and defend, but doesn’t give the team anything on the offensive end. However, he is a DeShawn Stevenson injury away from being the team’s only “defensive stopper.”
SEASON OUTLOOK:
Everything is in place for a Wizards playoff run. The core of Arenas, Butler, Jamison, and Haywood has complimentary parts that should have the team challenging for the always exciting four/five match-up.
Since Gilbert Arenas isn’t speaking to the media it’s hard to tell what he’s thinking. Based on his thought process displayed in the past, Arenas must believe the team can win the East.
