John Hollinger has communed anew with his Big Blue-like computer and come to the startling conclusion that the Wizards should pack up their belongings in Richmond, cancel their trip to Europe and call it a season.
Hollinger, ESPN’s statistical guru of the NBA, gazed into his computer after going abracadabra and found the Wizards will finish 11th in the Eastern Conference this season.
This possibly comes as a shock to those who know the Wizards have made four consecutive appearances in the playoffs and go into the season with essentially the same core that won 43 games last season.
Hollinger discounts the 43-win season of the Wizards because of their incriminating point differential.
A team’s point differential rarely lies, as Hollinger calibrates it, although it certainly told a whopper involving the Wizards last season.
Or to paraphrase Mark Twain, there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and Hollinger’s statistics.
At least that is how the cursed fans of the Wizards see it.
Hollinger’s number-induced dismissal of the Wizards neglects one of their fundamental essences, which is their continuity.
That continuity - from the coaching staff to the players - does not show up in the 82 box scores.
Continuity has been one of the team’s principal talking points the last two offseasons, and for good reason.
Continuity leads to the intangible of a player knowing where a teammate likes to receive a pass. It leads to the intangible of teammates being able to read each other’s eyes, of teammates knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses. And it leads to the intangible of the players being familiar with the coaching system.
The Wizards do not have to waste time in training camp and the preseason learning a new system. And they do not have to waste time indoctrinating a leading player into the system.
They will begin with the same starting lineup that carried them most of last season: Antonio Daniels and DeShawn Stevenson in the backcourt and Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood in the frontcourt.
This is not a championship-contending unit, at least not as long as Gilbert Arenas is out of the lineup. But it is a playoff-worthy unit that can take three out of four games from the Celtics and sweep the Hornets.
It is a team that competes with conviction in nearly every game. It is a team that shoots and rebounds well and limits its turnovers. It is a team that has resilience and a defiance about it.
It is true that Daniels moves at the speed of slow and slower.
And it is equally true that the relationship between Haywood and the Poet is begging to be monitored, especially if the Poet starts to take a chunk of Haywood’s minutes. If so, it possibly won’t be long before the two reprise their Ali-Frazier shtick.
It also is unknown which Andray Blatche will show up to the team this season.
Or as Jordan puts it: “He has shown flashes of brilliance, and he’s shown flashes of laziness in the past.”
Flashy Blatche or Lazy Blatche?
The team’s frustrated supporters await the answer.
The Wizards have added the quickness of Dee Brown as an antidote to Daniels, giving the Wizards the only tortoise-hare point guard combination in the NBA. And they have signed Juan Dixon to ease the loss of Roger Mason Jr.
The 76ers are the new flavor of the moment in the conference after signing Elton Brand and bolstering their depth with the additions of Donyell Marshall, Kareem Rush and Royal Ivey.
Not surprisingly, Hollinger took his Big Blue-like computer out to dinner, fed it a three-course meal of numbers, and out popped the 76ers holding a 50-32 record and the third spot in the conference.
Just like that. Simple.
If it helps, the Wizards overcame the dour forecast of Hollinger’s computer at this time last year.
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