Which Wizards will we see?
By: Craig Stouffer
Examiner Staff Writer
October 27, 2009
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| Gilbert Arenas, right, and Caron Butler have set different barometers for the Wizards. The reality likely is somewhere in the middle. (Getty Images) |
Comeback campaign opens tonight in Dallas
When asked on Washington Wizards Media Day last month about his expectations for his team this year, Gilbert Arenas could only shrug his shoulders and point to the fact that the only way is up after 19 wins last season.
Caron Butler took the opposite tact in late August, declaring just before he left for the franchise's trip to China, "People shouldn't be scared of mentioning championship."
Three key lessons from the preseason
1 » It took Gilbert Arenas a while to find balance between playmaker and facilitator, but he finished averaging 14.7 points and 6.5 assists, a mere hint of what to expect when he plays a full game. He also missed two games with the flu but probably needed the nights off anyway.
2 » Andray Blatche has been busy, averaging 24.8 minutes (tied for second-most with Arenas) along with 11.6 points and 7.1 rebounds. His play at power forward is critical, and Antawn Jamison's absence is a chance to prove he can be consistently effective.
3 » Signings Mike Miller, Randy Foye and Fabricio Oberto were what they were expected to be: valuable. Miller is versatile offensively, Foye will back up Arenas at the point and can also play the two-guard, and Oberto is a veteran banger in the post. Miller's 24 points on 9-of-12 shots at Cleveland was arguably the best performance by a Wizard in the preseason.
The answer likely lies somewhere in the vast realm in between, but even after a disjointed preseason, the Wizards are convinced that Butler's answer is in the right ballpark.
"This team is still definitely a playoff-caliber team," said Antawn Jamison, who will miss the first three to five weeks with a shoulder injury. "Our biggest question is, is this a championship-caliber team?"
On his NBA.com blog last weekend, Butler said, "The main goal this season, at worse is to reach the Eastern Conference Finals. Making the playoffs is not JUST the goal anymore."
Washington finished the preseason 4-4, dropping two of its final three contests and having multiple players miss games due to injury and illness. After the final practice before Tuesday's regular-season opener at Dallas, Wizards head coach Flip Saunders said his team probably wasn't as far along as they might've been, but he won't judge the team on one game -- a likely difficult one against the Mavericks, who won 50 games and made the second round of the playoffs last season.
"My main thing is I just want to see our guys in this type of situation because we've had some guys that I think have held back a little bit in the preseason, and we've held back guys from minutes standpoint," said Saunders, who has a 10-2 career record in openers. "We've held back some of our play call situations. Now we'll be able to throw the kitchen sink out and see where we're really at."
Saunders did not announce who would start in the backcourt with Arenas, a job that likely will fall to Mike Miller or DeShawn Stevenson. Fabricio Oberto or Andray Blatche are the prospective replacements for Jamison.
