1. Health – (especially the big 3)
2. Develop of young guys (Most importantly NY, and Blatche)
3. Defense (limiting wide open shots, and second chance points)
4. Gilbert – Shooting a higher percentage by taking fewer shots, and increasing his assists per game
5. Haywood still being our starter, playing 30 mins a night, and Etan having a much more limited role
6. Start of the season – can’t start slow, not with this schedule
7. Coaches / Players knowing their role – playing as one with everyone contributing what they can – also means EJ playing a standard rotation to allow players to understand their role
8. Maturity – if we get hot, not running our mouth, and if we start losing to not panic
9. Road play – we have not played well on the road
10. HEALTH HEALTH HEALTH HEALTH HEALTH HEALTH – especially during playoff time

1) Health and a better training & medical staff
2) Young bench players have to step up and provide consistency
3) Improvements we made in defense last season must carry-over (and hopefully even improve if possible) with Agent Zero back full-time
4) Ditto number 3, except in this case ball movement needs to carry-over
5) Haywood playing at the level he played at last year, despite the presence of Etan this season
6) Getting off to a good start, can dig ourselves the usual hole at the start of the season
7) Continue to show the toughness and professionalism we showed last season (i.e. less of the craziness / maturity issues of years past)
8) We are deeper and more balanced than in years past, and with the presence of young players Eddie needs to improve and learn to use situation lineups, stick with what works but find a medium and be prepared to go with different looks if things aren’t going well or to take advantage of mis-matches
9) Jamison – we need him to rebound the way he did last year
10) And finally, I’m going to say perception about our team needs to change in our favor. We need to beat the teams we should be beating, and take down elite teams on a consistent basis. The national media thinks we are a joke, we know we are better than that, but we (the team) may not even believe it until they start beating the elite teams on a consistent basis.

Keys to the Wizards 2008-2009 Season:

1. Staying Healthy ( top 8 guys play at least 75 games each )
2. Managing minutes for the big-3
3. Perimeter Defense (specifically 3-point defense)
4. Haywood should be the starting center, and get the majority of the minutes.
5. They need to take advantage of the weak schedule in the early part of the season
6. Consistent rotations, with each of the top 10 players knowing their roles *
7. Continued development of the youngsters (specifically Blatche and Young)
8. Less reliance on outside shooting, more reliance on cutting and movement within the Princeton.
9. They need to get their “swag” back. (a Month leading the EC should do it !! )
10. Better rebounding from the whole team (especially Haywood and the Guards)…

*Top 9 Players:
Arenas – Starter (32mpg)
Stevenson – Starter (27 mpg)
Butler – Starter (35 mpg)
Jamison – Starter (32 mpg)
Haywood – Starter (32 mpg)
Blatche – Key Reserve (25 mpg)
Daniels – Key Reserve (16 mpg)
Young – Key Reserve (20 mpg)
Thomas – Key Reserve (16 mpg)
Songaila – Key Reserve (15 mpg)

Pecherov, McGuire, Dee Brown – scrubs (mop up and blow out minutes)
McGee – DLeague

(1) Health
(2) Gilbert returning to All-NBA level form
(3) Team defense. Perimeter defense. Interior defense. Man-to-man defense. Help defense. Whole lot of defensive changes.
(4) Haywood’s minutes. Eddie Jordan has held him back for long enough by limiting his minutes. I don’t want to see his minutes return to their previous state again. Haywood could have had this type of season four years ago except for Eddie’s undermining coaching.
(5) Blatche developing. The team needs a top rebounding presence, adding an improved Blatche to Jamison and Haywood could make a good threesome with Etan Thomas playing the fourth big in the rotation role. Blatche needs to give some offense as well around the rim. Whether it’s post play or just put backs, dunks, hustle plays, garbage baskets. He needs to get a few baskets in the paint. Too big, too athletic and too skilled not to be more of a threat.
(6) Young figuring out how to play team orientated basketball and how to contribute in more ways than one. He’s far too talented to be behaving like he does on the court, he limits himself.

1. Arenas becomes an all-around megastar, justifies his contract and silences certain voices on the Washington Post Wizards blog.

1a. Health, especially of the big three.

2. Blatche steps up to contend for sixth man of the year.

3. Young plays up to the hype, hits the 3 consistently and improves both his body language and his court sense.

4. Defense, stop collapsing on the inside and playing the lanes for cheap steals leaving opponents wide open for kick-out threes from the corners.

5. Brendan Haywood 30 minutes a game.

6. Butler and Jamison stay solid as players and role models.

7. EJ manages the clock better, calls time outs better, avoids small ball…. yadda yadda yadda

8. Etan… 10 good minutes a night from the poet until mid season when he gets a sub-cabinet post in the Obama Administration… renounces his contract and gives EG the cap space he needs to acquire [fill in name of versatile but aging player who wants a ring]

9. JaVale grows up fast and becomes a shot-blocking force as back-up center after the All Star Break.

10. Daniels gets confidence in his ouside shooting for Christmas.

Better stop now.

1. Individual Defense
2. Team Defense
3. Transition Defense
4. Perimeter Defense
5. Post Defense
6. Free Throw Defense
7. How/When/Who players foul
8. Backcourt Rebounding
9. Sticking With the Offense
10. To me, Being Healthy and Having a Good Bench go hand-and-hand; a deep bench keeps the starters from running themselves ragged.