Wizards lack the Magic Touch

What is wrong with the Wizards? Why can't they shoot? Why so many turnovers? Why is Brendon Haywood the most dominate player on the floor? Why do fans at the Verizon Center suck? Those are the questions. I seek thruthiness below (nod of the head to Colbert).

What is wrong with the Wizards?
I do not think anything is wrong with the Wizards. They had a strong preseason showing and everyone in the organization was (and still is) confident that this is a good team capable of accomplishing great things. From watching their 3 games so far, I do not see a 'bad' team. I do see a team that struggles on both ends of the floor. Their defense vs. Orlando had moments of greatness. They also had moments where they left the middle WIDE OPEN. I stopped counting the times that Howard or Turkoglu or even Nelson made our defense look like the 33rd best in the league (yes, worse than Minny). We need to cover the middle. We need to play better help defense, too many uncontested 3's after 3-4 passes. Now, the part the Wizards are supposed to be good at, even earning the nickname, "the Suns of the East," is scoring. But whoa. What happened there?

What can't they shoot?
You got me on this one. After the Orlando game I read a report that Gil's knee was bothering him so he gets a free one this time. However, the other 2 of the Wizards big three need to pick it up a bit. Yes, Butler started hitting his shot by the middle of the 2nd quarter of the game, but he seemed inconsistent. It looked like he wanted take over the game but everytime he started getting hot the Magic would drive down, exploit the lack of D in the middle, and then we were right back where we started. He ended that night hitting a little less than 50% of his FG's. Jamison shot way worse (6-16 from the field) but made up for it with some nice 3's and his ability to get to the line (a whopping SEVEN FT's). I would have liked to see AD in there a bit more, but I think he busted his nose or something, he was only in for 10 minutes. But I digress. I don't know why the Wiz can't shoot. Maybe they lost their wizardry somewhere along the line in preseason, but they need to find it, fast. The Nuggets are going to run the floor with us and we can't afford to not be hitting shots.

Why so many turnovers?
Well, Gil comitting 6 turnovers (though he had 6 assists) vs. the Magic didn't help. Neither did our inability to rebound the ball. It isn't counted in any NBA stat, but we lost A LOT of rebounds vs Magic. We actually did better vs. KG and the Celtics. Not a lot can be said here, just take care of the ball guys, c'mon now!

Why is Brendon Haywood the most dominate player on the floor?
Not enough good things can be said about Haywood and his performance this year. He has just been awesome. I plan on writing a more in depth post on the productivity of Haywood this year compared to the past, but for now, let's just look at the numbers. In Indy, 13 rebounds, in Boston, 12 rebounds, and against the Magic, a career high of 16 rebounds. Now, I know BH ain't no KG, Dwight Howard or even Marcus Camby, but if he can keep his rebounding production up, that will help A LOT (more rebounds = more possessions = more shot attempts = more points).

Why do fans at the Verizon Center suck?
I was SO disappointed in my fellow ticket holders on Saturday night. I would have expected such suckage from a Wednesday night game in January, but opening night? After getting a beating from the Celtics and a tough loss from Indy, I expected the crowd to be with it. I couldn't have been more wrong. I was in Section 416 and there was one other guy 1 or 2 sections over that would routinely try to get people involved with 'Let's go Wizards.' Look, I know, saying, "Let's go Wizards!," sounds like you are cheering on a Middle School volleyball team, but can't you put that aside for just a little while? Would it hurt you to stand up and cheer when it is clear that they need our help? I couldn't help but feel jealous watching the Boston Garden crowd, with it's rowdy, victory-laden fans booing Gil at every turn. Why did we not boo (except at the end when EJ threw in the towel)? Why did we not cheer when the Wizards were on a roll? I know, I'm asking more questions, but it really bothers me that the crowd at the Wizards games suck so much. The kids right in front of me were more concerned with trying to figure out who was yelling in the next section than who was winning the game. I should end this now before it turns into a rant, but hey, VC, lets do a better job next time, k?