The Wizards' injury situation gets worse and worse as it seems Caron Butler has a "labral tear" which is worse than what they though he had. He's out indefinitely. Arenas is out indefinitely. And there are so many bad teams in the East that there's no guarantee the Wizards can even manage to sink low enough to snag a high lottery pick for the trouble of our ruined season.
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Butler Even More Injured Than Before
28 Feb 2008 05:25 pm
Comments (23)
Meanwhile, a couple of very strong teams in the West won't make it into the playoffs.
With Yao's injury that's no longer obviously true.
Umm, Matt the problem isn't just the east. The fact is that NBA is filled with crappy teams (part of the reason why its a really crappy league). Memphis has 14 wins, Seattle has 15 wins, Minnesota has 12 wins, and the Clippers have 19. Ahhh the great NBA West! Add in the three sub 20 win teams in the east, New York, Miami, and Charlotte and yeah teh Wizards have lots of losing to do.
The NBA at this moment probably has more good to great teams than at any other time in it's history.
You can't have 60 win teams without have a few teams that stink. That's the way sports works.
I hope Dirk tears his labia tonight.
Between Houston, Golden State, Denver and Portland, 2 teams will make the playoffs in the west. I'd bet on Golden State and Denver, but the Rockets are 3 games ahead of both them right now, so they've got a little cushion. Portland looks dead.
I'm just praying that (1) the Warriors make it, and (2) they draw anyone other than the Lakers or the Spurs in the first round. They can beat Dallas, Phoenix or New Orleans. LA or San Antonio -- well, they'll make it exciting, but I don't like their chances.
On the other hand, a Lakers-Warriors series could be very interesting. The Warriors would make it very hard for LA to play Bynum and Gasol together. If they keep Gasol on the floor, their defense sort of stinks. And yeah, nobody stops Kobe, but Stephen Jackson has a good a chance as anybody at slowing him down.
On the other hand, a Lakers-Warriors series could be very interesting. The Warriors would make it very hard for LA to play Bynum and Gasol together.
Perhaps I'm misremembering, but I think the Lakers have been killing the Warriors for years now with a worse (i.e., Kwame, not Gasol (and, yes, that hurt)) lineup.
It isn't all bad news for the Wiz, as you'll get a chance to figure out who else is worthwhile on the team.
Yeah, the Warriors have been owned by the Lakers for a few years, but we don't need to think about anything in the Dunleavy-Murphy era.
There was a great game earlier this year where Baron won it on a last-minute three and the Oracle went nuts, but I think that was the only time they've beaten the Lakers for a while.
Hey, I said I didn't like their chances. I have no doubt the Warriors can beat Phoenix or Dallas or New Orleans, but LA scares the crap out of me. I just see how it could be an interesting series, matchup-wise.
It isn't all bad news for the Wiz, as you'll get a chance to figure out who else is worthwhile on the team.
But don't they know this already? Other than Nick Young, what is there to figure out? You know that Stevenson is serviceable and Blatche is a talent. Are you really going to find something out about Daniels, Songaila, or Haywood?
Meanwhile, this is the second year in a row that the big 3 have been hit by major injuries that ruined the season. Is that just a coincidence? Like with Yao, I'm thinking maybe not.
Buck Henry 6:00pm - The NBA at this moment probably has more good to great teams than at any other time in it's history.
The '90s were pretty awesome. In the East, the Bulls, Knicks, Orlando (for a couple years before Shaq left), Pacers, and Heat were legit contenders throughout the decade. In the West, you had the Spurs, Jazz, Rockets, Sonics, Suns, Lakers, and Blazers. (Interestingly, the Lakers were contenders in '90 and '91 before Magic retired, and by '98 they were conference finalists again with Shaq and Kobe. The Blazers won the West in '90 and '92, and then went to the conference finals in '99 [and '00] with a totally new team)
In the present decade, in the East, the Pacers were good for the first half of the decade, even while they rebuilt the team. New Jersey and Miami had a couple years of glory. Detroit has been good throughout the decade -- this is their 7th straight 50-win season.
In the West, the Lakers and Spurs have obviously been dynastic. Dallas has been a contender with Nowitzki for the whole decade. Sacramento had about three years of championship aspirations ('02, '03, '04), and this is Phoenix's fourth year of contendership with Nash. The Yao-McGrady tandem should be contenders, but they never quite got their act together.
Close, but I think the '90s were better.
BLATCHE!
Al - Gilbert's present injury is the same injury he had last April. It just never healed properly. I don't think that makes him injury-prone.
Your point may hold for Butler. He's had three different injuries in '04, '07, and '08. (foot, hand, hip)
Seriously, the '90s were better? Since the 8 is right next to the 9 on your keyboard, I would assume that's a typo, but the rest of the post obviously discusses the '90s, an NBA decade that sucks balls compared to both the period before and the period after.
Uh, the 90's were total garbage for the league. Just terrible for the game of basketball.
It's what the league is finally recovering form, 10 years later.
teh Wizards have lots of losing to do
I think they'll be up the task. Still it will be hard to sink that low in the standings.
It's funny that they blocked from winning the division by the Heat for the last few years and now they'll likely be blocked by them in the lottery.
You seriously think the playoff competition in the current decade has been better than that of the '90s?
It sounds like you like the current wide-open style of play better than Mahorn/Rodman-style ball. Fair enough, but competition was more robust in the '90s.
It helped that we had 5 Hall of Fame centers, plus Jordan, in their primes.
THIS IS EXCELLENT NEWS!!! FOR HILLARY!!!!
"I have no doubt the Warriors can beat Phoenix or Dallas or New Orleans, but LA scares the crap out of me."
There are 29 teams that would like to avoid an LA playoff series...
"I have no doubt the Warriors can beat Phoenix or Dallas or New Orleans, but LA scares the crap out of me."
There are 29 teams that would like to avoid facing LA in the playoffs...
Ha - Boston just became the team to beat!
It sounds like you like the current wide-open style of play better than Mahorn/Rodman-style ball. Fair enough, but competition was more robust in the '90s.
Ugh. I say this as a lifelong Knicks fan who loved those 90s teams: those Knicks/Heat serieses were not good basketball, no matter how hard-fought and competitive they were.
Man... this is just bringing me down. Of so many appealing teams (I'm talking to you, Suns!) the Wizards just seem to have a particular charm: Butler the tough, resilient, feel-good story; Jamison, the behind the scenes statesman -- the Zbig, if you will; and then Arenas who's just indescribable. Not to forget poet-athlete Etan Thomas. Then, the plucky young folk (Blatche and Young).
The fact that they keep struggling -- even though without Butler they never seem to be able to pull things together (his loss consistently has a greater impact than Gilbert's absence) -- is just a testament to how lucky we are with Eddy Jordan as a coach! So, of course, I'm predicting next year to be THE bust-out year.
Get well, everybody!
Comments closed March 13, 2008.
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Heads in the Sand
A labial tear?
Is that like a pulled vagina?
Wizards should change their name back to the Generals.
Posted by Jimmy James | February 28, 2008 5:40 PM