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Tuesday, October 31, 2000
Wiz: Only so much MJ can do
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Team page/schedule | Stats: Preseason / 1999 | Roster
Last year: 29-53, seventh in Atlantic, 13th in conference
Coach/GM: Leonard Hamilton/Wes Unseld
Arena, first game: MCI Center (20,674); Dec. 2, 1997
All-time franchise record/NBA titles: 1,467-1,688/1
Notable: Rod Strickland is currently 10th all-time in assists
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THE TOP EIGHT
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Pos
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Player
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Key Stat
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Skinny
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PG
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Rod Strickland
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.429 FG
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His 12.6 scoring avg. was worst in decade |
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SG
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Mitch Richmond
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.426 FG
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His 17.4 scoring avg. was worst in career
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SF
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Juwan Howard
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5.7 rpg
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His 14.9 scoring ... see a pattern here?
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PF
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Michael Smith
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7.2 rpg
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Lunchpail type shot 56 percent from field
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C
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Jahidi White
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7.1 ppg
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At 6-9, 290, isn't the typical center
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6th
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Richard Hamilton
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.420 FG
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Played well as a starter, but he won't be
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7th
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Chris Whitney
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3.8 apg
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Some say he could run team if Rod goes
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8th
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Michael Jordan
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--
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Aw, we're just joking; but we couldn't find anyone else worthy
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The Wizards lack personnel. They are very limited on their roster with both starters and bench players. I don't think they've gotten any better in the offseason. They need big performances from their three main players -- Mitch Richmond, Rod Strickland and Juwan Howard -- to make any sort of run at the playoffs under new coach Leonard Hamilton. If those three players don't step up big-time, the Wizards will find it virtually impossible to get out of the division cellar.
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By Mitch Lawrence
Special to ESPN.com
The Good
The season highlight will probably be Feb. 9-11, when the
Wizards host the 2001 All-Star Game. Otherwise, there's not a lot to
look forward to for Wiz fans this season. The franchise got a ton of
publicity last season when Michael Jordan signed on as team president.
But that novelty has worn off.
The Bad
After finishing last in the Atlantic Division and winning only
29 games last season, this is a roster still in need of a massive
overhaul. But they're still capped out for another season, making
free-agent acquisitions impossible. Juwan Howard, Mitch Richmond and Rod
Strickland all carry big pricetags and all are on the downsides of their
careers. The Wizards haven't had a bit of luck trying to move any of the
three to clear out much-needed salary space. After trading off Rasheed
Wallace (for Strickland) and Chris Webber (for Richmond) -- two of the
worst deals in recent NBA history -- they're still without a legitimate
big man. Howard has been soft, non-athletic and vastly overpaid. As
Michael Jordan said, he's paid like a franchise player, but he's not a
franchise talent. The problem is, Howard still has three seasons and $57
million left on his contract, and will get $17 mil this season. All
Howard gave the Wiz last season was 15 points and six rebounds a night.
Strickland, beginning his 13th season, has been a
coach-killer/malcontent throughout his pro career. He should be
difficult as ever to handle for rookie coach Leonard Hamilton. Richmond
comes off a second straight poor shooting season (42.6 percent). He's also 35
and looked finished much of last season.
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THE BIG QUESTION |
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How do jaded vets like Howard, Richmond and Strickland
accept taking orders from a college coach? After Roy Williams and John
Paxson turned the job down -- and Mike Jarvis didn't work out ? Hamilton
was the fourth choice, if that, to take the position. Hamilton did a
good job building the program at Miami into an NCAA tournament team.
However, this is a different game now. Normally, it takes a year, if not
longer, for a college coach to learn the league. The learning curve
isn't going to be any easier with this veteran crew.
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Whose team is this?
As long as Strickland is on the roster, it's his team,
which means trouble. As ex-coach Gar Heard said, "If Rod wants to play,
they can win any night. If he doesn't want to play, they have no
chance." It makes for an impossible situation. So until he is traded
off or retires, the Wiz isn't going anywhere. In terms of the bigger
picture, it's Jordan's team. In his debut in an NBA front office, Jordan
inherited a terrible salary cap, making a quick turnaround impossible.
He finally ridded the Wiz of one of their bad contracts, dealing off Ike Austin to the Grizzlies. But he's been unsuccessful trying to move the
other three veterans. His No. 1 priority in the offseason was moving
Howard, but as much as he shopped him, he had no takers. So they're
committed to keep Howard, for the time being, and seeing how things work
out. Bottom line: The rebuilding will be a slow go, so Wiz fans have to
hope Jordan has more patience than he did as a player.
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| Howard |
How they'll play
They're old and slow, so they can't run. They don't
have great size, either. When they can't break 100, they usually lose.
Last season, they were 10-36 when they didn't break the century mark.
Thirty-six of their 53 losses were by seven points or more. If
Strickland's head is in the game, he can be among the best. But too
often he's a one-man disruptive force. And now he's 34 -- old for a point
guard. Hamilton wants to feature second-year player Richard Hamilton. How
that goes over with his key vets is going to be interesting.
Projection
It's an old tired collection, so we can't see them winning
more than 32 games. When Howard-Richmond-Strickland want to play, they
can surprise, as they did in snapping the Lakers' 19-game winning streak
last season. But those nights are few and far between. Most times, they
play to their age/talent level. The best evidence: They were 2-15 last
season in the second night of back-to-back games. They have no bench. They have no chance.
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