Wiz Watch

I've been holding off on talking about Les Wizards, but it's time. It's time to proclaim that what I have been fearing would happen is well on its way to happening: the Wizards will make the playoffs, I'll buy TJ 24 crap beers, and then Washington will be bounced out of the playoffs in the first round, probably in straight sets.

Don't get me wrong -- I am still rooting for my Bullets here, but my faith in them has been worn down to a nub, so that the only faith left is the faith in their ultimate failure.

Don't get me wrong -- they could still miss the playoffs. They're currently in the 4-spot, just 5 games out of the outside-looking-in. I don't see Orlando (the current #9) surging to knock the Wiz out any time soon, as they seem to be somewhere between distracted and free-falling. The Nets (#10), however, have ripped off five in a row and could be a threat.

Here's what it comes down to: 17 games left, so there is still time to blow it, but they shouldn't. They are simply a better team than the chumps on the Eastern Conference bubble. Better coached, more talented, and better disciplined. (Not having a true superstar helps that last part.) The single greatest obstacle is that they are The Washington Bullets/Wizards and are forever doomed. Injuries have started to crop up, bad losses have infiltrated the pattern of losing to good teams and beating the bad, and there's a definitely puzzled look on the faces of Wizards Central where there used to be a quizzical smile.

The next week of games is huge -- five of six games against non-playoff teams. Of course, five of those games are on the road, too, but they are clearly winnable -- and what the Wizards do with them will be a very telltale sign of things to come. I'm saying now that if they win four of the six, it's a lock (though anyone who followed Terps basketball knows better than to prematurely use that term), if they lose four they're headed out of postseason contention, and any where in between -- which is likely what'll happen -- leaves them still in no man's land. Should be interesting.

Oh, and if they're going to plummet to the 8-seed, they might as well just drop out. They aren't what I'd call a good match for the Heat. (0-for-4 this season against Miami.)