Lost in D.C.: Wizards have gone AWOL

Dave Johnson, wtop.com

It’s not clear if a Missing Persons report has been issued, but it’s clear there is a basketball team from around these parts that has gone AWOL. The Washington Wizards at 0-8 are the only winless team in the NBA, and of equal concern, they are not showing progress.

The ultimate barometer of progress in the NBA is wins, and at least last week the Wizards delivered competitive efforts against the Celtics on the road and the Knicks at home. Sadly, the Wizards followed each one of those encouraging games with a display that was as mystifying as it was maddening.

On Friday the Wizards could have beat the Knicks but lacked the closer to complete the job. With guys like Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire on the floor, the Knicks were able to squeeze out a three-point win. On Sunday against the Timberwolves,  the Wizards of Friday were nowhere to be found.

The Wizards’ consistent record and inconsistent play have triggered discussion among fans about the future of head coach Flip Saunders. If Saunders has lost the team is the popular question. With the way the Wizards are playing, it’s not about what Saunders has lost, but a team that’s lost.

It sounds like the coach should get the blame, but the Wizards selfish, one-on-one style of play is not by design. The Wizards are not being coached to have possessions with only one pass and sometimes not even one pass. On Sunday at the end of the third quarter, the Timberwolves’ Ricky Rubio had 12 assists, while the Wizards had 12 assists as a team.

The Wizards are not a team built for the playoffs this season. In the NBA every year, there are teams that emerge and surpass preseason predictions. Saunders even talked about the possibility of playoff contention if “everything went their way.” Right now little is going their way, and the Wizards are their own enemy.

The Capitals recently made a coaching change because they believed the team was underachieving. The Wizards are different. They first have to achieve something, and that has to come from the players.

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(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)

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