Well, you might have been hoping for an NBA preseason that offered two weeks of Wizards basketball as tantalizing as their offseason, what ended up with was about two games before it derailed into a injury-plagued, inconsistent mess, finishing with Friday night’s fairly yucky 93-70 loss at Chicago. The 4-4 campaign felt sort of like a Redskins preseason, if you ask me, which isn’t a great thing. A solid start Tuesday in Dallas would help erase that from the memory.
Not that the last three weeks, starting with training camp, were all bad, given the six games played by Gilbert Arenas. It took him a while to find some balance between all-pass and all-shoot, but he finished averaging 14.7 points and 6.5 assists. Of course, he also got sick with the flu and missed two games. Perhaps he could’ve used a couple nights off anyway.
The biggest injury, of course, is Antawn Jamison’s right shoulder, which he injured in Cleveland. An MRI on Thursday said it’ll be at least three more weeks until he returns, meaning he’ll likely miss the first eight games of the season, perhaps more. It’s disappointing news, given the reports of him lifting weights and feeling pretty good last week. When he was on the floor, he produced the kind of steady numbers (15.4 points, 6.8 rebounds) in limited minutes that he’s known for when he’s playing his regular allotment, and the Wizards can’t wait until they get him back.
In his place, look for Andray Blatche and Fabricio Oberto to step in. Blatche certainly had a busy preseason, averaging 24.8 minutes (tied for second-most with Arenas) along with 11.6 points and 7.1 rebounds. I’ve been told countless times that he’s key this season anyway so here’s his chance, and so much for any suggestions that Oberto would get limited action.
Brendan Haywood averaged 8.3 points and 9.0 rebounds in the last three preseason games after missing three games with an ankle sprain, and Caron Butler led the team with 27.1 minutes in seven games, averaging 13.4 points and 3.9 boards.
Mike Miller and Randy Foye were what they should’ve been expected to be: Miller a versatile do-it-all presence and Foye a likely backup behind Arenas at the point that can also play the two. Miller’s 24 points on 9-of-12 shots at Cleveland might have earned him a start in the backcourt alongside Arenas for Tuesday’s opener.
Stocks stayed even for DeShawn Stevenson but it seems pretty clear that he’s behind Miller in the rotation. Nick Young, JaVale McGee, Dominic McGuire and Mike James are all down the bench, too. Despite the load that the youngsters helped carry last year, you simply can’t ignore what that produced: 19 wins. Paul Davis? We’ll see if he starts the week with a contract.
