Washington
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
Wizard Anthony Peeler put Washington's new challenge in perspective when he said, "We're the hunted and not the hunter anymore." Indeed, with the third-best record in the entire Eastern Conference, behind only Shaq's Miami Heat and the world champion Detroit Pistons, the Wizards are a formidable foe for anyone in the league. Gone are the pushover days that now seem to hover around teams such as the Atlanta Hawks. The Wizards are legit.
But what are they missing? They are an athletic, quick, focused team, but they lack what head coach Eddie Jordan would call toughness or aggressiveness, something Detroit-esque that would help them bang their opponents right out of their games. They need an enforcer and a bruiser, and not just in the post with people like Brendan Haywood or Etan Thomas, but on all parts of the court. They need peskiness and toughness.
Getting Larry Hughes back after the All-Star game will help. And getting to the playoffs will help too. Once they are in the postseason, and they face the long summer in front of them once they lose, there's no way they won't show the aggressiveness and toughness their head coach wants.
The only question is will they display those same features in a seemingly simple game like tonight against the Toronto Raptors. There's only one way to find out.
NEXT GAME
The Wizards (26-18, second in the Southeast) travel to Canada to take on the Toronto Raptors (19-27, fourth in the Atlantic) TONIGHT. The game starts at 7:00pm Eastern and will be broadcast on Comcast Sports Net, Raptors TV, and NBA League Pass.
TEAM NOTES
From Jamison's buzzer-beating basket in Indiana to Hughes' exploits in Milwaukee, relive the top 10 moments of the first 41 games of the season by visiting the home page of the Wizards at nba.com/wizards.
INJURY UPDATE
Peter John Ramos(knee),Larry Hughes(thumb),Kwame Brown (ankle) are all on the injured list.
Michael Lee ofThe Washington Postwrites: With the third-best record in the conference, the Wizards are adjusting from being a pushover to being a target. "Teams are coming to get us now," reserve guard Anthony Peeler said. "We know guys are going to want to beat us, so we've got to get it in our heads that we're the hunted and not the hunter anymore.We've really got to persevere."
John Mitchell ofThe Washington Timeswrites: After 44 games, the following is obvious about the 2004-05 Washington Wizards: They can score, and they have a difficult time stopping other teams from scoring.The Wizards average 102.1 points, second only to Phoenix's 109.4. But they allow opponents to average 101.7 and shoot 46 percent from the floor, numbers that rank last and 26th in the 30-team league.