Gilbert Arenas suspended. Caron Butler traded. Antawn Jamison traded. Brendan Haywood traded.
The Wizards' record since the All-Star break: 3-1.
Head coach Flip Saunders has flipped the switch and has these guys playing as a team. So who are these Washington Wizards who are finally winning without a superstar? What has gotten into Andray Blatche? The guy couldn't even find his way onto the court before the trade deadline and now he's averaging 25 points per game. Could it be, the fifth-year power forward can be the answer at the four position the Wizards need?
"I feel like a leader. I feel like I'm leading my team in the right direction" Blatche told the Washington Post. "I'll tell you one thing ... it was just so crazy. When all these guys got here, the chemistry was like we've been together since the beginning of the the season. We all have one thing in mind; that's winning."
The Wizards beat the Chicago Bulls last night 101-95 after falling behind by 10 points at halftime. Point guard Randy Foye had one of his best games with 16 points and, more importantly, 9 assists. Newly acquired Al Thornton went for 17 points off the bench. Thornton could be a very solid NBA player. If you remember, the Wizards were interested in drafting the Florida State player but the Clippers picked him a few spots before they selected Nick Young.
James Singleton and Quinton Ross are role players. They will never become stars but they are doing the little things, the hustle plays, that can change the momentum of the game. Last night Singleton scored 9 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked 3 shots. Ross contributed 8 points off the bench.
This team no longer relies on the Big 3 to win ball games. Flip Saunders may finally have a team that plays defense and knows they can not win games on their athletic ability alone.
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The team will have to finish the season without Josh Howard. Today the team announced Howard will miss the rest of the season after he tore his left ACL. You may never see Howard play for the Wizards again. The team has the option of picking up the last year of his contract worth $11 million.
Right now, the Wizards have an outside chance of making the playoffs -- so outside that they have a better chance of winning the lottery. At least the players are going to show a lot of energy on the court and give the few fans coming to the game a reason to cheer for the hometown team. There are 28 more games this season, and now the Wizards are finally a team again without all the distractions.
The Wiz host the Memphis Grizzlies Wednesday night.
