Background of 2009-2010 Washington Wizards

19-63, that was the record of the Washington Wizards in the 2009 season. Truth be told, the Wizards in the past several seasons has had its fate shared with that of its main superstar, Gilbert Arenas. Arenas has been removed from the spotlight for practically 2 seasons now and the same has applied to the once full of swagger, style, and substance Washington Wizards.

But not all things are negative for this team, on the contrary, its an exciting time to be a Wizards fan. The team has had a chance to developed some young players such as Nick Young, Andray Blatche, and Brendan Haywood. It has also given a player such as Caron Butler the space and time to show to everyone just how good of a baller he is. Obviously the Wizards management and new head coach Flip Saunders believed this team had potential, and so they traded away their 5th overall pick for Mike Miller and Randy Foye. Now Gilbert Arenas is finally back and should he be at 100%, this is going to be a scary team that can completely throw off the pecking order in the Eastern Conference.

Wizards additions in 2010

Mike Miller

Randy Foye

Fabricio Oberto

Wizards departures in 2010

None

Probably Starting Lineup for the 2009 2010 Washington Wizards

PG – Gilbert Arenas
SG – Mike Miller
SF – Caron Butler
PF – Antawn Jamison
C – Brendan Haywood

Washington Wizards Guards

It seems like such a long time ago that Gilbert Arenas was wooing and impressing the world with his off court antics, his game winners, 50 and 60 point games. Agent Zero was one of the few who could go head to head in terms of starpower against guys like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. Now he seems to be back and in shape, and this time won’t be around to play games. He has stayed off his blog, stayed off Twitter, and he will be a cold blooded assassin out on the floor. His starting backcourt mate will be veteran Mike Miller who was once a highly valued player in this league. Him and Randy Foye are stellar players that could be the missing links this team needed to contend in the east. I still can’t believe that they got traded for the ghost of Ricky Rubio. Nick Young and DeShawn Stevenson are capable guards in their own right. And you even have 3rd and 4th string guards like Mike James and Javaris Crittenton in something goes horribly wrong. It’s definitely one of the deepest backcourts in the league.

Washington Wizards Forwards

Caron Butler is one of the top players in this league and is someone who’s had to work hard to get to where he is now – these kinds of players can usually be relied on from season to season no matter what. He might have to take a little step back and sacrifice his stats with the return of Arenas, but that won’t be a cause for concern for Flip Saunders. Antawn Jamison similarly is another All-Star player who won’t be afraid to give up the spotlight and shots for a succesful season. Neither of these players have much backup so it will be important for them to remain healthy throughout the season. Andray Blatche is a promising player that can fill minutes both at the 4 and 5 spot and should get opportunity to do so with Saunders wanting to limit Jamison’s minutes this year.

Washington Wizards Centers

Brendan Haywood missed most of last year’s season with an injury, but when he’s in form he can hold his ground against most NBA centers. The Wizards have so much talent in the other positions that a truely dominant center on offense isn’t as necessary. Javale McGee is suppose to be a good up and comer, but I believe Fabricio Oberto will be a name that will be called often when the Wizards want someone with experience and reliability.

Best Case Scenario for the Washington Wizards

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that the Wizards have a chance to make the NBA finals. Yes, the same team that had 19 wins last season. The amount of talent they have matches that of any team and given that they remain healthy, they should make it to the secound round and give one of the big three of the East a run for their money.

Worst Case Scenario for the Washington Wizards

I won’t believe Arenas is truely back until I see him drop 40 points. I also have some doubts about whether a Jamison/Haywood tandem at the PF/C can contain opposing big men combinations such as Rasheed Wallace/Kevin Garnett and Rashard Lewis/Dwight Howard. For this reason the only way I see the Wizards past the secound round is if they get matched up with a Cleveland team that they have long been meaning to take their revenge on.

Wizards 2010 Outlook

A 4th or 5th place seeding is the best the Wizards can hope for and will probably be achievable unless they’re plagued by injuries again. This will be the one team that Boston/Orlando/Cleveland won’t want to face in the East besides each other.

Washington Wizards 2010 Predictions

Record: 44-38

Surprise Player: Mike Miller, playing at the high level that made him so coveted just several years ago.

Key Player: Gilbert Arenas and whether he can make that leap back to superstardom..as a basketball player.

That wraps up the Washington Wizards 2009-2010 season preview and our detailed look at the Wizards in the 2010 NBA season.

Related posts:

1. Gilbert Arenas: Prison or Jail Next?
2. Gilbert Arenas’ Gun
3. Free NBA Picks (01/30): January 30 2010