Top stories for the week: The House of Guards must break out, the Mystics' losses, EuroBasket 2015 and Arenas' assistant convicted

The summer is about to come to an end, but the weather is saying otherwise. In the meanwhile, here are some of the top storylines going on in the nation's capital this week:

John Wall must take advantage of an opportunity to indisputably be the best point guard of the Eastern Conference

That's a long storyline, so I'll break it up into more bite-sized pieces if you will.

Sports Illustrated came out with their Top 100 players in the NBA, where Wall ranked 13th. He also beat out some other talented point guards like Kyrie Irving (23rd) of the Cavaliers and Damian Lillard (24th) of the Trail Blazers.

Of course, these rankings are ultimately opinions. And I'm sure there are a good number of Cavs and Blazers fans who aren't thrilled about them.

Now, let's get to Irving for a sec, since Wall is often compared to him given that they play the same position and were first overall picks in the NBA Draft in consecutive years. Regardless of which player you think is better overall, this season (and Irving's absence due to injury) is also a great opportunity for Wall to take his game to the next level. If he can, he'll be considered the East's best point guard, no questions asked.

Beal must breakout this season as well

In order for the Wizards to maintain their position as one of the Eastern Conference's upper-tier teams, Beal must have a breakout season this fall. Jake explains here. In addition, the SB Nation NBA National team also listed him as a player who is poised to take that next step.

Marcin Gortat and Tomas Satoransky to participate in EuroBasket 2015

Gortat will represent Poland while Satoransky will represent the Czech Republic. Both teams will start playing on Saturday. Hands11 wrote up a quick preview which you can read here.

The Mystics' magic number is one, but they're not helping themselves

In the Eastern Conference, the New York Liberty, Chicago Sky, and Indiana Fever have all clinched postseason berths, while the Connecticut Sun have been eliminated. That leaves the Washington Mystics and Atlanta Dream fighting for the last playoff spot. The magic number is now one, where one Mystics win or one Dream loss will give Washington their third consecutive playoff berth.

Unfortunately, they can't get over the hump as of late.

The Mystics' road trip started poorly as they lost 69-59 to the Seattle Storm on Sunday. Then they were blown out 73-53 by the Mercury on Wednesday, followed up with a 93-91 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks on Thursday night. They remain fourth in the East, with a 16-14 record.

On Sunday, they'll have a chance to kill two birds with one stone since they play ... the Dream. If they lose that game, well, I'll talk about it more after a loss. But believe me, it won't be anything positive.

Gilbert Arenas had over $2 million stolen from him from 2008 to 2011

John A. White, who once was former Wizards star Gilbert Arenas' personal assistant, was convicted of stealing over $2 million from him over a four-year period through wire fraud. Ultimately, the wire fraud convictions also meant that White was not truthful with his taxes. Long story short, White transferred money from Arenas' bank account into some other accounts that he owned but did not report. The money was used to purchase cars and pay his mortgage.

Sure, Gilbert Arenas is not exactly hurting financially from losing $2 million. After all, he signed a six-year, $111 million contract with the Wizards in 2008, and was traded to the Orlando Magic in 2010, who amnestied him in the following year. As a result, Arenas is still getting paid until the end of the 2015-16 season. But stealing money is wrong, and no one should be the victim of acts like that.

That's all I have. Enjoy EuroBasket 2015, and have a safe Labor Day Weekend everyone!