Will The Slide EVER End?

After a dreadful season in '08-'09, the Wizards came into this one with much, much higher expectations. They traded players, traded their #5 draft pick, and finally have a healthy core group of star players. But they are 2-7 and have lost six straight games after an extremely promising start, blowing the Dallas Mavericks away in the season opener. And guess what? It won't get easier one bit. They play LeBron tomorrow. Then the young, exciting and energetic squad from Oklahoma City on Friday. And no, they don't get a break the next day. They have to go to San Antonio to play all-star forward Tim Duncan, former Wiz, Roger "I-Don't-Miss-Three's" Mason and the rest of the Spurs who love to feed on the Wizards whenever the two teams meet head-to-head.
But Arenas is back.  And so is Caron Butler. And Antawn Jamison is, too, so they should be fine...right?Think again. First off, Jamison hasn't played in a game all year due to his shoulder dislocation, but should be back against the Cavs tomorrow night in D.C. Though he has been solid throughout his entire career, it is difficult to assume that he will be his usual self after suffering the injury only a few weeks ago and playing in his first game action tomorrow against the team from Cleveland, who have high expectations to win the NBA title this year. But at least he'll be back.
And Arenas, well, he IS on the court every night...but is he really "back"? Having watched games for years now, I am positive that he is not really back. He can't be. Arenas always hit the game-winners in past years. Now, he slips up. He was always quick as lightning, crossing over to either nail a three, hit a midrange jumper or drive to the hoop for a beautifully executed layup between opponents. Now, he seems to move slower, settling for jumpers that always leaves the crowd moaning once it clanks off the rim. The free throw shooting is awful now. It used to be that when he went to the free throw line, it was an automatic two points. And he went there a lot. Now, I honestly can say that I don't remember him hitting two free throws in a row more than twice all season. And he doesn't get there as much, either. Is it the new offensive system set up by Flip Saunders? Is it the weight of the team that he feels he needs to carry on his shoulders? Or is it hardly passing the ball, yet not making much happen? Whatever it is, it needs to be fixed and he needs to get back to being an all-star like he used to be.
Now to Butler. Like Arenas, he hasn't been himself all season. And even he admits its because of the new offensive system that gives Arenas the ball most of the time and not him. He isn't himself, either. He isn't hitting shots. He isn't hitting free throws. He isn't getting the assists or steals like he used to. Maybe the return of his co-captain will help ease some pressure, but then again maybe it won't. They really need to sit down and focus on the job at hand and doing what they need to do to WIN. Yes, win. I know Washington isn't used to winning but it really needs to happen. Fast. Why can't it happen? We have those three former all-stars "back," shooting/passing/rebounding expert Mike Miller on the floor, team MVP of the young season Andray Blatche, sharp-shooter Randy Foye and now little Earl Boykins joining the team, a sparkplug and talented ballplayer. So what do they need to do to become a great team? What's stopping them becoming this? Well, as much as it kills me to say it, maybe they should just look at the team across the court tomorrow night to get a glimpse of what they really need.

From ZERO To....zero.

Sorry, Flip. Once again your team, run by the former Hibachi, fell apart down the stretch after being improperly repaired this off-season following two years of inactivity, and has been sputtering all through this season.
With the seconds ticking away in the fourth quarter of a close game between the Washington Wizards and Flip Saunders' former team, the Detroit Pistons, Gilbert Arenas made sure he was the one holding the ball for the Wiz. He wanted be the hero and bring the team its first win in 6 games. Not an unlikely thought for any player, especially a former all-star who is on the level of LeBron James when it comes to needing and getting attention for his on-court play and off-court antics. And after a slow start without a single point in the first quarter, Arenas made some layups, hit some shots then nailed a three pointer near the beginning of the third quarter. I looked up at the jumbotron from my seat near the Wizards bench and realized that Arenas already had 14 points. But not only that...he was doing his infamous hand gesture which, according to Arenas, indicates when his shot and Hibachi grill are heating up. Maybe he began a little too early to be getting his on-court attention because as the game wore on and the score staying close, Arenas had his chance to prove he was really back and cookin'. But Ben Gordon, of the Pistons, seemed to be the one who was really hot. He made threes, hit clutch free throws and put the dagger into Washington's back with a floating jumper over Brendan Haywood to seal the win for Detroit. And during the final stretch of the game, the only thing that was making Arenas feel hot was Gordon, lighting up the Wizards on seemingly every possession.
Instead of bailing the Wizards in the fianl seconds of a close game -- which he hasn't done all season -- Arenas drove the lane and slipped up...something he's been doing a lot of lately. He lost control of the ball and it fell right to a Pistons player, giving them the game. Literally. But Arenas did sink a three pointer for the Wiz late in the game...and it was the last shot of the game with just one second left, as well. Too bad the Wizards were down six at the time.
The newly-acquired Earl Boykins was on the floor for the Wiz Saturday night though, and had himself a fantastic game. Twenty points. And in the third and fourth quarter, it seemed that Flip trusted Earl to run the team instead of Arenas. Maybe it should stay that way. Arenas is not the Hibachi anymore and who knows if he ever will be. All I know is that he needs a wake-up call and a lot of help fixing that troubled "Hibachi grill" of his.

The Little "Boy" Among Large Men

Boykins is on-board!! The little man from Ohio has been all over the map, including stops in Los Angeles, playing for the "other" NBA team from that city, Cleveland, Denver, Golden State and even across the pond in Italy last year. But with the Washington Wizards in desperate need of a healthy body, carrying their injury-prone team over from last season (and the season before), they called on Boykins' 5'5'' frame to give them a huge boost at the point guard position. And they will need it. He may be small, but he has been one of my favorite PG's for the past few years. He has a bundle of energy inside of him and let's just hope it can come out when he steps on the court for the Wiz against the Detroit Pistons this Saturday night. The Wiz are really struggling after such a strong opening night against the Mavericks. With Randy Foye spraining his ankle against Miami the other night, Mike James breaking his finger, Javaris Crittenton having surgery this off-season on his foot, Mike Miller possibly coming back Saturday from a sprained shoulder and Nick Young just striaght-up sucking, they really need someone to bring the crowd to their feet. And what a perfect way to do this by bringing one of the smallest players in NBA history to the court to spark the team and light a fire coming off the bench. Who knows what will happen. All I know is that I'm excited like crazy and hope he can really get the team going! Let's go Wiz!!