Wizards Lack Magic with No "Zero"

The 2008-09 NBA regular season was not kind to the Washington Wizards of the District of Columbia. It was quite cruel for everyone that remembered the few previous years. While there have been many factors that have prohibited the Wizards from championing in the NBA's total glory, such as the LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the lack of a pure shooting guard, the lack of strong team defense and a weak scoring presence at the center position, Washington really was held back by the process of Gilbert "Agent Zero" Arenas' knee injury and following surgeries. Needless to say, Arenas has been missed not only for his star play and deep shooting, but for his quirky ways in bringing the team together.

Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison, the team's other star players, were productive but not able to keep the team from winning more than 20 games, but other youngsters were able to get some burn. Andray Blatche, a former high school star, finally was able to use the time slot left by injured centers Brendan Haywood and Etan Thomas (wrist and knee) to develop with valuable game experience and Oleksiy Pecherov was able to do the same, though the limited usage of rookie JaVale McGee seemed ill-minded, as he was able to contribute a great deal of energy and good production at center. With Agent Zero out for the vast majority of the season and starting shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson put out of commission with injuries for about half of the season, 2007 first-round picks Nick Young and Javaris Crittenton manned much of the guard duties. Young, a talented off-guard from Los Angeles and USC, continued to show promise as a productive player, though more seasoning and development will be needed for the future. Crittenton, a point guard with shooting guard skills and size at 6'5", came to the Wizards from the Memphis Grizzlies, whom acquired him from the Los Angeles Lakers in the Pau Gasol deal. Though stuck behind experienced guards in deep rotations with his former teams, Crittenton was able to find some very adequate court time in Arenas' absence and should be a great holdover for when Arenas returns to the lineup.

Though Eddie Jordan was fired after starting the '08-'09 season with a 1-10 record, Flip Saunders will be the head coach for Washington in '09-'10, which will potentially empower Arenas with the ability to really make decisions that best take advantage of his shooting stroke and also keep him honest when he's not hot on the perimeter; the reasoning behind this thought comes from Jordan's patented Princeton Offense, which comes from the immortal Pete Carril of Princeton fame. The Princeton Offense was such that all five teammates on the court would touch the basketball to ensure good movement and honest scoring opportunities, which is great for non-scoring point guards and a bit of a challenge of the confident shooting Arenas.

In the end, the 2009 season was a disappointment for the Wizards, but Washington can very easily come back to reclaim its status as a playoff contender in the Eastern Conference, with good health and good play.