ESPN panel of experts collectively picks the Wizards to finish eighth in the East

Comments

Two mistakes here

The word “experts” should be in quotes, and a sentence that includes both “ESPN” and “experts” is of debatable accuracy.

And they predict the Wizards will be tied for 7th, actually.

by disgrunted on Sep 1, 2009 1:32 PM EDT reply actions

You did not address the use of the words “panel”, “finish”, or “east”.

by MR on Sep 1, 2009 2:13 PM EDT up reply actions

They have us 8th

With an average win prediction of 39.1 vs. Philly’s 39.4. It kind of point out the absurdity of the process.

At least 23 of the 53 voters think we’re going to be a LOT better – they picked us for team turnaround. Presumably a few more think we’re going to be better, but not as much better as some other team. Clearly then a bunch of people think we’re not (or haven’t given it enough thought). Simply averaging these predictions gives a fairly non-sensical answer.

by RamVA on Sep 1, 2009 2:14 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah

There are too many extremes as far as people’s predictions for how we’ll do. We’re basically the 2008 team plus another year of player development and a healthy Gilbert, and with Mike Miller and Randy Foye replacing Roger Mason Jr.

by pantslessyoda1 on Sep 1, 2009 7:11 PM EDT up reply actions

This IS absurd

Think of the naysayers in the Fall of ‘07 and ’06. We were always better than they predicted, and they didn’t even know that Gil was going to be out for the 07-08 season.

I expect us to finish 4th or 5th. SI may have been a bit too optimistic when having us in front of some of those West teams, but if I had to choose 4 or 5, I’d choose 4. Atlanta will be good, and a fun team to watch, but I like how improved we are with a REAL and proven coach. Let’s be honest – I never thought Eddie’s offense was smart, and that was the best part of our team.

Naysayers will eat their words once again.

My swag was phenomenal.

by se7en on Sep 1, 2009 8:38 PM EDT reply actions

The issue is there's no "they" here

It’s the average of 53 people. I think the slightly more interesting thing will be the real NBA preview, when we see the individual predictions of their Top 6 or 10 NBA writers. I think the really interesting thing will be to see where we really finish.

by RamV on Sep 1, 2009 9:18 PM EDT up reply actions

To be fair

You have to acknowledge that we’re fans and are going to be on the optimistic side. If we’re saying 48 or so wins on this site then we should expect unaffiliated people to guess more like 43 or so. 39 surprises me, but I’m guessing some of those folks aren’t aware how well Gilbert has been doing, or are banking on an injury for him or other key players (actually not an outrageous expectation given the team’s recent history).

The fact that I generally agree with the rest of their prediction makes me wonder if I’m being too optimistic about the Wiz…

by steadyhand on Sep 5, 2009 1:12 PM EDT reply actions