Saturday, February 28, 2015

Two Big Questions - DC sports edition

DC sports fans will soon learn the answers to two burning questions.

1. The most immediate one is, do the Wizards have the fortitude to overcome their recent tailspin? The 'Zards have lost 6 straight, including two in a row to bottom feeders, and have gone from an ascending Eastern Conference power led by an emerging MVP candidate to a dysfunctional unit struggling to hang on to a playoff spot.*

Two related issues have emerged for our Washington basketball team. One, unlike every other NBA power, the Wizards do not make a lot of three-pointers or free throws. For a while Rasuel Butler papered over this problem, but the 'Zards clearly miss Trevor Ariza and his three point shooting. The Wizards' problems correspond with Bulter's recent frigid shooting, and Martell Webster has been just as cold since coming back from this third back surgery in four seasons. 

Compounding that problem has been the injury-plagued season of Bradley Beal. But even when he has been on the floor Beal has struggled. His scoring is down, in part due to 'competition' with veteran leader Paul Pierce. It appears that those two occupy the same spaces on the floor and have yet to learn how to play off each other.

Washington fans may recall that when Pierce was originally signed he was supposed to come off the bench. Ironically, he became a starter when Beal was injured in the preseason.  

As the losses have mounted there have been lot of complaints about Randy Wittman's coaching, offense and rotations. One solution may be, once Beal returns from his latest injury, to go back to the 'original' line up and start Gortat, Hilario,** Otto Porter, Beal and Wall, with Pierce coming off the bench.  Pierce is a pro and can handle any scenario thrown at him. Beal - and Porter - are young and their development should be a priority. Starting them with Pierce coming off the bench could be a win-win situation - that gets our Wizards some actual wins.

2. The other DC sports question relates to our Nats. Is this the year we finally decide if GM Mike Rizzo is an actual genius? He's been given that title mainly due to trades where he picked up Gio Gonzalez, Wilson Ramos and Doug Fister for a hill of beans and some worn out resin bags, drafted Anthony Rendon when other teams thought he was injury prone, and signed important free agents such as Jayson Werth and now Max Scherzer. 

Of course, stinking enough when Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper were draft eligible also helped.

Bottom line, if the Nats win the World Series this season he will be a certified genius for constructing this team. But if they don't, and stalwarts like Ian Desmond and Jordan Zimmermann leave via free agent, how good will his tenure look? 

Scherzer and ZNN are similar in many ways, except that Zimmerman is younger and cheaper (and home grown). If you don't win a World Series and lose with older and more expensive players*** you can not be called a genius.

GO Wizards, GO Nats!

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