Wizards Sink Deeper Under Tapscott

Eddie Jordan couldn't have been this bad.

By KYLE WEIDIE

Updated 6:01 PM EST, Tue, Feb 3, 2009

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Ed Tapscott, interim Washington Wizards coach

Getty: Chris Graythen

When Eddie Jordan was fired, the line from Ernie Grunfeld was that 1-10 was not acceptable. Does this make Ed Tapscott's 9-28 more acceptable?

Regardless, the degeneration of the team is not.

Wizards fans were frustrated with Jordan's inability to get his team to defend, and at times, his substitution patterns. However, the consensus still was that he got a raw deal.

For one, the Wiz have dealt with injuries that would send any other team into the depths of futility. Two, Jordan was not given the personnel to put a competitive defensive squad on the floor. Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison would all be better suited playing in matador costumes.

We'll never know if the Wizards would have ultimately succeeded under Jordan. It was evident was that the team needed to stay healthy and add a couple pieces for a better chance at success.

But the conclusion is now clear: Ernie Grunfeld made the wrong move in hastily pinning Jordan as the fall guy. At the time, it seemed like a good idea to place the director of player "development" at the helm and hope he could guide a doomed season with encouragement and the building of better habits.

That plan has obviously backfired like an '82 Chevy Caprice.

One would have thought that the Wiz hit rock bottom a week ago with a pitiful display against Portland. Not so. Tapscott calls Monday's performance against the Grizzlies the worst effort he's seen since he's been with the team.

The Wizards have become the laughing stock of the NBA, almost to the point where their descent should be the subject of A&E's Intervention. If Grunfeld doesn't do something to shake things up soon, this franchise may be more untouchable than Gary Busey auditioning for a Disney movie.

Kyle Weidie also writes Truth About It and contributes to Bullets Forever, both Washington Wizards blogs. Because of this, some may call him self-loathing.