Agent Zero says Eastern Conference finals or bust. He’s not alone.
The Wizards spent last season pleasing and teasing fans who endured nearly three decades since the franchise was worth watching. Washington stood atop the conference at the All-Star break before falling apart faster than the Al Gore in ’08 campaign. The Wiz limped into the playoffson three wheels before they were mercifully swept.
Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler are healthy once more. Darius Songaila looks ready to contribute. Brendan Haywood has no one but the other team to fight now that Etan Thomas is recovering from heart surgery.
The Wiz look good once more, but are they good enough? Can a team playing less defense than the French army truly be a title contender? Has Boston soared past with Kevin Garnett? Has Chicago matured and Detroit not aged to remain alive?
We’ll know real soon.
“The Pacers were one of the top teams in the preseason in scoring, and in their last game they scored 140 points,” Arenas said. “Boston has all the hype coming into the season, but we’re trying to prove ourselves too. You just can’t overlook us because of how we finished the season.”
Actually, just forget the second half of last season. The first half was pretty good. If the Wiz can avoid repeating last year’s 4-9 start, they can once again lead the Southeast Division and vie for the conference title. The NBA’s best three teams, Kobe Bryant’s possible trade aside, are still out west – Dallas, Phoenix and San Antonio. Washington doesn’t have to be great to make the NBA Finals, just pretty good.
April is when we’ll really see what this team can do. If healthy, they’ll probably make the Eastern Conference finals because offense rules on this side of the Mississippi. Maybe they’ll win it all and we can stop remembering the good old days when the Big E and Wes ruled the town.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Contact him at [email protected].
