Are We Really This Bad?

by cuppettcj on Nov 14, 2009 11:50 PM EST

I'm being serious. Before the season started, I thought we might win 50 games. Now I think we might be lucky to get 30. We've lost 6 straight games. Some of those were to good teams, some of those were to not so good teams. We've played good, we've played bad, but we were never good enough to win. Is this team overrated?

Honestly, I'm starting to think so. At the very least, we are proving that we cannot win without one of our Big 3 being out. The Celtics last season pushed the Magic to 7 games in the second round of the playoffs without KG. Without Caron or Antawn, I doubt we even make the playoffs. So we either need to reconsider our team or pray for perfect health going into the post-season. That thought is very depressing for me.

Poll

Are the Wizards overrated?

No, we will right the ship when Antawn comes back and still win 45+ games and will still get the 4th seed in the East.

35 votes

A little bit, but we should still win 40 games and make the playoffs as a 7th or 8th seed.

77 votes

Yeah, but it's not that bad. We may miss the playoffs, but we should still come close to doubling our win total from last season.

21 votes

Absolutely. We suck. Break 'em up after this season, we're going nowhere.

23 votes

156 votes | Poll has closed

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.

Tweet Comment 19 comments | 0 recs |

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Comments

It will get better-

I have a ton of faith in Antawn. And Gilbert is still trying to find his way. We’ll improve. Way too much talent on this team to be this crappy

by ooba on Nov 15, 2009 12:34 AM EST reply actions

It's not about Jamison being out

The NBA is about stars, and right now, Gilbert and Caron are not playing like stars. Last night, for example, Villaneuva and Gordon played better than Gil and Caron, so the Pistons won, even without Hamilton and Prince. The Wizards’ supporting cast is doing great — Haywood and Blatche are better than ever, Miller and Foye have been nice additions, etc., and the defense has been much improved. But the story of the season is about Gilbert and Caron. The two guys on the team who take the most shots, and who the team depends on to get the offense going are shooting 40%. End of inquiry.

If Jamison comes back and plays like a star, that will help, but he will need either Gil or Caron to start playing like a star too for this team to do anything.

by disgrunted on Nov 15, 2009 7:24 AM EST reply actions 2 recs

Yup

It’s on them. The rest of the team is doing fine.

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Mike Prada on Nov 15, 2009 11:49 AM EST up reply actions

i think a slow start

could help us down the road. it shines a light on the things we need to correct and the bad habits the players have developed. we used to pull out great wins and go on runs but then we’d play a good, well-rounded team and just get spanked. i’m hopeful that once we work through this we’ll have a better chance of beating the good teams when it counts.

by DarrellWalkerFan on Nov 15, 2009 7:15 PM EST reply actions

It feels like this team is slowly unlearning the habits

they picked up under EJ. This perennial slow start being one of them.

by ccrun1800 on Nov 15, 2009 8:55 PM EST reply actions

You're blaming Eddie Jordan for the team's suckitude so far?

Man, that’s a bit much.

by MR on Nov 15, 2009 10:09 PM EST up reply actions

Tawn is the difference

This team, even with Butler….. even with Arenas…. even with Miller, Foye, etc…. NEEDS Jamison’s steady 20 – 10 production.

Because he can go outside, he creates driving lanes… Because he can score down low, he gets the Wizards easy points. Caron’s mid-range game perfectly compliments Jamison’s inside/outside game. Gil’s driving and 3-pointers compliment both Caron and Jamison….

This is a three-legged stool. It will teeter and fall over if one of the legs is missing.

Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......

by Rook6980 on Nov 15, 2009 11:46 PM EST reply actions

If your last sentence is true (and it might be)

Then that is a damning statement about all three of them, especially Gilbert. If Gilbert is an All-NBA player, he should be able to lead a winning team on his own, with good pieces around him, not necessarily stars. We’ve never seen Gilbert lead a team to wins without Caron and Jamison. And Jamison and Butler’s status as all-star players should be revised as well, given that they need two other all-stars on the floor with them to succeed.

Again, I don’t know whether your statement is true or not. But if it is, it really changes things. You can’t build a team around three high paid players who (1) haven’t gone very far together; and (2) can’t go anywhere without each other.

by disgrunted on Nov 16, 2009 10:59 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs

Agree 100%

If it really is a three-legged stool, then it makes our team very uncommon. Most playoff teams have at least one star player they can rely on who can carry his team even without a lot of help. We better pray for perfect health going into the post-season, like I said above.

"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 Nov 16, 2009 11:34 AM EST up reply actions

It's worth noting that Gilbert's been out for two years running

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Mike Prada on Nov 16, 2009 12:09 PM EST up reply actions

And – the Detroit Pistons, the Wizard’s last opponent proved that you can win in this League without a superstar…. They essentially had that “three legged stool”… with Billups, Hamilton and Sheed.

The Wizards are a very similar team to that 2004-05 Piston’s squad; with a defensive minded Center in Haywood (Pistons = Ben Wallace); a competent big man on the bench in Blatche (Pistons = Antonio McDyess)….

The biggest differences are that the Wizards have more offensive weapons – but the Pistons had a much better defensive squad; AND probably the most important difference – the 2004-05 Pistons had very few injuries – with the top six players averaging 78 games played that year.

If the Wizards could ever get through an entire season with a similar injury situation – I believe their success would mimic that Detroit team.

Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......

by Rook6980 on Nov 16, 2009 4:13 PM EST up reply actions

I voted no

because at some point we have to have a good run of health, right?

"Would you like to shoot me now or wait till you get home." --- Daffy Duck

by George Templeton on Nov 17, 2009 3:14 PM EST reply actions

i have tempered my expectations slightly

but not too much. still over 500, i think.
it’s interesting to note – hollinger on ESPN has posted his stats-based power rankings. looks like the Wiz have had the hardest strength of schedule so far of ANY team – based on combined winning percentage of opponents played. and that includes a game against the Nets. it’s not much, but it makes me feel a little better about their start.

"a crab dribble is when you travel" - caron butler

by little stevie colter on Nov 17, 2009 3:46 PM EST reply actions

I think we

still CAN have a very good season. Hopefully the team will develop a little more cohesiveness within this offense. I refuse to put it on Jamison’s absence. I am tired of this “savior” mentality. Jamison is a very good player. But he is not going to transform a bad team into a 50 win team all by himself. In fact, the argument could be made to bring AJ off the bench when he first comes back. I know it won’t happen, but I think it should be considered. While I am not worried about his offense, what worries me is the fact that our defense may suffer with him in there. Oberto and Blache are both better low post defenders than AJ is. But, like I said, I don’t see him riding the pine. Hopefully the leadership he brings will make up for the lack of defense.

by CJHutch on Nov 17, 2009 4:40 PM EST reply actions

Strength of Schedule

Interesting side note wizards ranked #1 in SOS so far this year. Sure hasn’t helped.
We will get it together end up a 5-6 seed. Im thinking my 42-40 prediction is still on track.
http://espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/powerrankings?sort=sos

by forthepeople on Nov 17, 2009 4:51 PM EST reply actions

We knew coming in that the first month would be the toughest with the schedule.
The injuries did not help either but we are not this bad.
I still expect to win 45 games and get the #4 or #5 seed but we need to start winning soon.

by Jeremy Ba on Nov 18, 2009 8:26 AM EST reply actions

Overrated by whom?

50 wins was probably too much to expect, but the 39 that I think the ESPN analysts put up was too low. I don’t think the team was overrated, generally. Taking my fan hat off I was guessing 44 wins. I still am (although maybe that’s with a little more homerism now). We’ve seen this team play very well, even without Jamison, for stretches. I think if they find their swagger, it’s possible they could still end up wtih 50 wins.

Mentality is huge, and this slow start is extremely dangerous to that after the 63 losses last year. Just about everyone on our team lost like crazy last year, so getting some wins soon is vital — otherwise they will start to expect to lose, at which point the playoffs will be out of the question. If they lose all of these next three (tough) games, it’s going to be awfully tough for them to keep believing they’re a contender. One win though could carry them through to easier games.

by steadyhand on Nov 18, 2009 1:58 PM EST reply actions