Time to preview the 2010-11 Washington Wizards
Music to listen to: I Want You by Marvin Gaye
As much love as I have for Duke Ellington, Bad Brains, Mya and others, if you think of DC music, you have to put Marvin Gaye at the top of the list.
Last season/offseason changes: Besides gun play in the locker room, things were good for the Wizards last season
Actually, guns or no guns, it was a disappointing season for Washington. The Wizards finished with a record of 26-56
This offseason has seen the elimination of several players from last season, including Mike Miller and Randy Foye.
The main additions are top NBA pick John Wall, Kirk Hinrich and the re-signing of Josh Howard.
Strength: The Wizards will have good guard play with Wall and Arenas. The issue is how both of them will co-exist in the same backcourt but when it comes to guards of their caliber, the best way to do it is to just play them together and see what happens.
The addition of Wall does take the ball handling skills out of Arenaโs control, which will help the offense improve greatly. Arenas has never been a traditional point guard and now he can focus on scoring his points without getting other players involved.
Furthermore, I like the addition of Hinrich as a third guard who plays good defense and can handle the ball as well.
Weakness: The Wizards are a perimeter-based team and those squads usually donโt win championships. While Washington would be fortunate to just make the playoffs, the lack of interior play will hurt them.
Andray Blatche is a physical forward and JaVale McGee has had decent moments as a center but not enough to compensate for the lack of size and inability to rebound.
The main addition at forward was Yi Jianlian, who doesnโtโ rebound as well.
Most important player: The franchise has been put in the hands of Wall and weโre going to be in for a treat if he reaches his maximum.
As a rookie point guard, weโre going to see him have good games followed by contests with turnovers and inconsistent shooting. However, the excitement that heโs going to bring to the Wizards franchise which had dark clouds hanging over it last season with the gun issues led by Arenas.
Celebrity crush from the city: I didnโt pick her for my music selection but I still think that sheโs crush worthy. So, congratulations Mya on receiving this honor.
Coaching: The Wizards brought Flip Saunders into the organization to execute a creative offense with just enough defense to get by. The former happened last season but the latter didnโt take place.
Saunders have more tools to work with this season and hopefully less drama.
First memory of team: I remember Washington when the team was called the Bullets and seeing Bernard King trying to make his comeback with the squad.
I posted some highlights of him below but King was one of the most underrated players ever in the NBA and his short tenure with the New York Knicks was legendary. Enjoy:
Best case: Playoffs
Worst case: Wall and Arenas canโt co-exist.
Uniform grade: The unis are fine but they better not break out the gold jerseys with black shorts combo because thatโs hideous. Grade: C
Overall outlook: The Wizards are still a long way from being a competitive team in the East but steps are being made in the right direction.
In a perfect world, the Wizards would trade Arenas to another team but his contract will make it difficult to move him. As long as he doesnโt get in the way of Wallโs development, things will be OK.
Beyond that, the lack of defense and rebounding will prevent the Wizards from making the playoffs this season.
Those are my thoughts, what about yours?
2010 Backdoor Cut Previews:
Atlantic Division
Central Division
Southeast Division
The Sports Inquirer 
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