Are we really that bad?

by blatcheallstar09 on Apr 17, 2008 8:23 PM EDT

I've been checking around all the sports sites, and I am very shocked to see that many, many people believe that the wizards still are the same team they were two years ago and that the cavaliers have a huge edge in this series. I must ask: why is everyone so blind? Is the league's lebron james propaganda so effective that everyone thinks a team that barely beat miami can take down a team that went 3-1 against the celtics? What is going on here?

This represents the view of the user who wrote the FanPost, and not the entire Bullets Forever community. We're a place of many opinions, not just one.

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A Couple of Things

First, the NBA is more individual player oriented than team oriented. Great players get special treatment from the refs and the rules say you can’t play a complete zone defense, so players like LeBron James can carry their team all the way to the NBA Finals without much help from their teammates. It’s stupid, but it’s a reality and David Stern likes it this way.

With that understood, it makes sense that most pundits are picking the Cavaliers in this series. Yes, the Wizards are the better team, but they’re not that much better. Consider the last time these two teams played. The Wizards were playing at home, had a healthy Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison, and were still just a shot away from losing that game. Had LeBron chosen to drive the lane instead of pull up, he probably would have won the game from the free-throw line. Througout that game, LeBron was given special treatment by the refs, including one blatant charge that was called a blocking foul on Andray Blatche.

My point is that it won’t be enough for the Wizards to simply be the better team this series. David Stern is going to do everything he can to make sure that the Cleveland LeBron’s advance to the next round. If the Wizards are going to win, they have to understand that it won’t be a level playing court. They will have to work a lot harder and play consistently better every game they play. And then they will have to understand that the refs will still take at least one game away from them, so they shouldn’t pout about it. They should keep their heads high and continue to work hard. If they do that and get a little lucky, they will have survived Stern’s bias and will advance in 5 or 6 games. If they think they can just be the better team and win, however, they’ll find themselves fishing in May like they were the last two seasons.

"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier

by cuppettcj on Apr 18, 2008 8:39 AM EDT reply actions

The Experts are Split at ESPN.com

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2008/series?series=wascle

And every expert is predicting that this series goes at least 6 games.

"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier

by cuppettcj on Apr 18, 2008 8:59 AM EDT reply actions

I don't blame them.....

LeBron against the Pistons last year is easy to remember. When that guy wants it, he can take it.

Not to say that he doesn’t need a lot of help from teammates….but still.

by Kyle Weidie on Apr 18, 2008 1:29 PM EDT reply actions

Basically what he said

The first thing that people will think about with this series is how LeBron basically got to the NBA Finals singlehandedly, so even though the cast is even worse this year, they’re still expecting more of the same.

I kind of like it though, I’d rather be the underdog in this situation.

Bullets Forever: Where 2nd Round draft picks become cult heroes.

by Jake Whitacre on Apr 18, 2008 3:34 PM EDT up reply actions

The trash talk -

I’m reading a lot of mixed predictions from the sportswriters including this gem from Dupree:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/david_dupree/04/17/wizards/index.html

but as for the fans- from the comments I have read – I think a lot of people believe that all of the trash talk is going to incite Lebron to go crazy on us. A lot of the comments are from people saying that Deshawn is an idiot and cannot back it up. We’ll find out soon enough.

by ooba on Apr 18, 2008 2:42 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs