2010-2011 NBA Predictions: 10 Reasons The Washington Wizards Make The Playoffs

Let me start off by saying that no, I am not joking. Yes the Wizards are going to make the playoffs in this upcoming season.

Many people are simply discarding the Wizards as just "The Wizards," the team that year after year sucks. Well, I will show you why those people are wrong, and why in fact the Washington Wizards will be a truly interesting team to watch next season.

10. Eastern Conference

Let's start with the obvious. The Eastern Conference has been for quiet a while now, the easiest Conference in which to win.

While there has been some shifting of major stars, it has done little to effect the teams that missed the playoffs.

The Wizards have had a great offseason and if everything goes right, they should rise above the other teams.

9. Low Expectations

When most basketball fans hear the words "The Washington Wizards" they immediately picture a terrible team that is the bottom feeder of the NBA.

Well, that is not the case, but since the expectations are so low; they have little pressure going into next season.

They should find themselves with very little media attention for quiet some time since the newly-formed Miami Thrice will be stealing all the reporters.

People underestimate the pressure of media and the fans, and how well a team can play without them.

8. Young And Improving Talent

The Washington Wizards have a lot of young and new players on their team looking to contribute. Last year, most of the young players improved during the season and Javale McGee came close to making the Olympic team this summer.

If the talent improves as it should, the Wizards should find themselves with some very able young talent to play with.

Combine that with the first pick of this year's draft in John Wall, and you have a dangerous young cast.

7. Front Office

The Wizard front office has officially tackled rebuilding, and I am sure that if they see anything during the season that needs to be corrected that they will be sure to do so in very short notice.

They have the money to spend and the people willing to spend it, and the lack of it is why many teams miss the playoffs.

You can't have cheap owners with no vision (that's your cue Mr. Sarver).

Basically, with great owners and a great front office, the doors for a team's potential open.

6. Something To Prove

If anyone has read my earlier work, they would have seen this picture before, but it so good that I just had to use it one more time.

The Wizards and specifically Master Arenas to the left, have something to prove going into next season. They need to show their fans that they can play and that they can win or else many will give up on them. I don't think the Wizards want that.

In fact, I am sure the Wizards don't want that, but unless they make the playoffs and make some noise, that is what they are going to get. A star rookie can only take you so far in terms of fan support...

5. The Coach

Flip Saunders is not normally looked at as one of the league's top coaches, but he really is not that bad. His defense could use some work, but his offense is fine and with this roster it should work out well.

It is also worth noting that in the past, when he coached for a full season he only missed the playoffs once and that was last year, when a large part of the roster was very undeveloped and raw. This year he should find a much better team to coach.

4. Dynamic Roster

The Wizards now find themselves with a very dynamic roster. What this means is that they have options and different looks they can go with.

Most of their players have a pretty good defensive game and while they only finished 16th is points allowed; they were missing three very important contributors in John Wall, Gilbert Arenas, and Kirk Hinrich (pictured)

With those three in place, they should find themselves in the top 10 defensively (again, I am not kidding).

Their offense should also go off as their leading scorer is back, along with Wall and an improving young scorer is Andray Blatche.

However, you cannot have a dynamic roster without...

3. Depth

Yes, you need depth and the Wizards have a lot of depth heading into this season. They have multiple options at the guard positions as well as in the forward sports.

Al Thornton, Andray Blatche, Yi Jianlian, and Josh Howard are all pretty capable of running the forward spot, and Blatche and Yi could even rotate into center positions.

They will always have ready manpower on the bench to contribute, and that should play a large part in getting the Wizards into the playoffs.

2. Past History

Believe it or not, the Wizards actually weren't that bad last year. Their record was not by any means good, but when looking at the roster they had for most of the season, it is quite an accomplishment to win 26 games.

The Bulls made the playoffs last year after winning only 41 games. Now, the Wizards were only 15 behind that without Gilbert for most of the season, and without Josh Howard, Kirk Hinrich, and John Wall.

If those four are not enough to add at least 15 wins to a team, I don't know what is. The Wizards should definitely make the playoffs based on simple logic.

1. A Clear Look

The Wizards are going to be a high-powered offense this season. They now know that. Last year, it seemed like they had no idea what they wanted to do. Even though I feel like they have very able defensive players, the coach isn't.

Flip likes offense and he likes a lot of it. The Wizards have athleticism, speed, and raw ability to give him the perfect blueprint.

Hopefully, he does not completely forget about defense because like I mentioned earlier; his team is capable of it.

In Conclusion

The "lowly" Wizards should find themselves in the playoffs this season, and I would expect them to finish above the eighth seed.

They have a very underrated team and while most writers seem to ignore, them, don't make the same mistake. When the Wizards are playing your team, don't dismiss as an easy win; it's not going to be.

Well, thank you for reading and please comment!