Washington Wizards: Epic Fail

I'd like to personally thank the Washington Wizards for proving me wrong in every facet of the game this last week. If you take away the last-second lost to Dallas last Wednesday, the Wiz lost by an average of 16.67 points per game, with no game being closer than 12 points. It was a bad week, and it's back to normal for DC.

The Wizards now sit at 14-30, a comfortable seven and a half games behind fourth place Charlotte. At this rate, the Nationals are a better sell than the Wiz. Didn't think that would happen anytime soon now did you?

The Not-So-Good : In a strategy taken out of the early 2000s Washington Capitals plan, the Phone Booth has become a safe haven for visiting fans to come and watch their favorite teams play without any real argument from Wizards fans. Less than 14,000 fans showed up last Wednesday against Dallas, and even worse, less than 13,000 fans showed up to watch Sunday's matinee against the Clippers.

Sure, the Heat and the Lakers were "sell-outs," but only because LA and Miami fans outnumbered the DC fans in the crowd. Not a pretty sight for Wizards fans. Good thing the Caps are on top of the Eastern Conference or Verizon Center would run out of business.

The Pretty Bad:  You would think that an NBA team would have enough talent to score 20+ points in a quarter on a consistent basis. Apparently, the Wizards don't qualify, as DC was held under 15 points in a quarter on three separate occasions this past week. What's even worse was that 10-point fourth quarter performance against the Clippers, when it was only a three-point game heading to the fourth.

On the flip side, the Wizards' opponents topped the 30-point mark in a quarter four times this past week. That needs the change if the Wizards want to sniff the 25-win mark on the season.

The Downright Ugly : Another week, another guilty plea. Javaris Crittenton pleaded guilty to misdemeanor gun charges Monday and was placed on one-year unsupervised probation. Here's a goal to work on for next week: have nobody suspended and have nobody pleading guilty to any misdemeanor or felony charges. Is that really too hard to ask? Obviously with this team it is.

What Does it Mean:  Hey, the Wizards play New Jersey Friday! They can't possibly lose that one right? Even better, they play the Knicks the next day! They can't possibly screw this up! In fact, the Wiz Kids play New York two times in the next week.

Then again, the Wizards did lose to a team that lost 13 games in a row at one point, so who knows what could happen. Throw in a game against Boston and this could be a repeat edition of this past week, if everything goes the way it has been going as of late. Here's to beating a team that's 3-40 on the season!

Player of the Week:  Caron Butler...only player to score in double digits in all four games will get you this "honor".