There's a lot of stuff to cover from the last few days, so let's get straight to it.
- As we all know, the Kobe talks will never die. With that said, we might as well embrace them for what they are. Michael Wilbon and Les Bullez say no to Kobe, and Henry Abbott and Wooz are in the yes camp. It Never Rains In College Park doesn't really say yes or no to a Kobe trade, but does think the Wizards need a "shake up" in order to advance in the playoffs.
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We're Off To See The Wizards and Truth About It were both at the Wizards game last night, and both had thoughts on the game.
- While we're talking about Wizard related sites, check out the DC Pro Sports Report's new Bullets page.
- Most media sites came out with their first set of power rankings this week. ESPN has the Wiz at 24, NBA.com puts them at 28, and SI has them 18th.
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DC Optimist and The Washington Post both like what they see out of Brendan Haywood so far. Hopefully, Brendan didn't read either article and continues to think we all hate him. He plays better that way!
- When things are down, everyone has their own opinions as to what needs to change. Here's a few suggestions:
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Welcome to The Now has a diagnosis for the Wizards' early season slump that I can totally buy:
In reality, it's probably something that's symptomatic of the NBA: many teams use the first few regular season games (rather than preseason) to get into game-shape. I can't really blame any Wizards for this as it's a league-wide practice.
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Mike Wise thinks that the Wizards need more "rhythm, patience, and poise" to get on the right track.
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Ira Winderman of Hoops World thinks the Wizards have to change their mentality in order to be a legitimate playoff threat.
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Yay Sports! blames the Curse of Mamba.
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Hoops Addict thinks that it isn't "about terrible defense as it was a lid on the basket all night. (Versus Orlando)"
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Jamie Mottram thinks he jinxed it.
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Welcome to The Now has a diagnosis for the Wizards' early season slump that I can totally buy:
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Dime on Antawn Jamison vs. Orlando "Seriously, Jamison was gunning. He put up 14 shots in the first half and ended up 6-for-21. Does anyone shoot twice on the same possession more than Antawn?"
- Just in case you needed more reinforcement, yes Gilbert's knee is still not all there yet. A problem that leads Tom Ziller to think that there might be cause for concern:
After two losses to good teams (Boston and Orlando) and an overtime loss to a lesser squad (Indiana), I'd typically recommend patience. But Agent Zero is gimpy. I think we all remember to end of Washington's Gil-less season last year, right? If he's not right soon, this ship is wreck bound.
- BF member cuppettcj does some number cruching that's worth a look. Unless you have a thing against seeing numbers that drastically drop.
- No word on if Eddie Jordan is using the mini-camp to employ the Twilight Zone defense.
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This is the arena we're playing at Thursday.
- Don't get between Juwan Howard and his lasagna.
- Finally, Ian Thomsen reminds us to keep the start of the season in perspective.