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The links

By Mike Prada

I haven't done a real link round-up in a while, so let's dive right into it.  And yes, I know this format is a blatant rip-off of Mavs Moneyball, but I hope Wes doesn't mind.

Ivan Carter's recap discussed the Killer Bs: Blatche and Booth.

The contributions came from some unlikely sources, including Calvin Booth, the veteran center who has spent most of the season on the bench, and Andray Blatche, the rail-thin second-year forward who suddenly is turning potential into production at a time when the Washington Wizards desperately need it.

The Wizards (28-19) snapped a two-game losing streak with a 118-108 win over the struggling Seattle SuperSonics at Verizon Center last night and, while all-star forward Caron Butler did the heavy lifting with a career-high 38 points, some of the loudest cheers went out to Booth and Blatche, who keyed a game-changing third-quarter run.

Blatche finished with a career-high 14 points and added seven rebounds and a block -- he has 21 points and 12 rebounds in his last two games -- and Booth provided 10 high-energy minutes during which he blocked a pair of shots and picked up two assists.

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The Bog talks (not too much, but a little) about a shooting contest DeShawn Stevenson actually won.  You may know about the video that shows Gilbert Arenas beating Stevenson out of $20,000 in a shooting contest.  Arenas shot college three-pointers one handed, while Stevenson shot normal NBA three-pointers.  

Wizards.com also tells us that Stevenson is going to be on Cold Pizza tomorrow to talk about the contest.  If you're interested, tune in at around 11:15 AM.  

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SI's Chris Ekstrand looks at teams that will surge and sink in the second half, and the very first team on the sink list is our Washington Wizards.

Washington Wizards: The Wizards have been fabulous (22-10) since a 5-9 November, but the injury to Antawn Jamison (sprained knee, out 3-6 weeks) is a significant one. The Wizards are not a deep team, especially on offense, with the Big Three of Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler and Jamison accounting for 64 percent of the team's points. Since the highest-scoring sub is Antonio Daniels, who averages 7.2 points, Jamison's absence will heap even more scoring responsibility on Arenas and Butler. Jamison's underrated rebounding will be missed, too.

This remains to be seen, but I can see where he's coming from.  The Wizards are significantly outperforming their expecting winning percentage; based on point differential, they should be barely over .500.  Their expected winning percentage is 6th in the East, behind (in order) Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Orlando, and Toronto.  Will that change?  It remains to be seen, but it's certainly possible.  

However, like many, I think he's overstating Jamison's injury.  If Eddie Jordan can wise up and start either Songaila, Blatche, or Booth, the Wizards will be just fine.

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Wizznutzz has a hillareous post simulating what would happen if Gilbert Arenas played against Duke.  A couple weeks ago, Gilbert half-jokingly said he could score 85 against the Blue Devils.  Here's a snipet.

[Brad Generico]: Arenas deflects the pass, Calvin Smith grabs it and heaves it downcourt to the streaking Arenas, who dribbles backward to make the three as Greg Paulus hacks him on the arm. And that'll be the fifth on Gren Paulus, and he's out of the game.

[Dick Vitale]: What great hustle from Greg Paulus, to not give Arenas the uncontested three-pointer after Arenas caught it in the paint! But Coach K didn't teach Paulus to foul there, no sir!

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Finally, be sure to vote in the newest poll.  I feel like I switch these every three days, but I think this one is particularly interesting because I'm conflicted on what I think.  I ended up voting for Blatche, but I could easily believe Songaila or Booth is also a good option.