Cheese Wiz

It is time for my annual pilgrimage to the Big Phone Booth (MCI Center in DC) when my Celtics come to visit me and Red in DC. It's always a joy because I get to watch warm-ups ("look, there's Kedrick Brown, watch how high he jumps!"), follow the flow of the offense and defense without being impaired by bad camera angles, and openly root for the visiting team while wearing a No. 34 Pierce (and in the past No. 8 Walker) jersey. At times the Wiz have been accommodating hosts, rolling over and playing dead. At other times, they have taken advantage of our poor play. I still recall being chastised by friends that I took to the game about Antoine's 3 for 24 night (or something like that, facts get distorted over time). I'm pretty sure I saw Jordan's last 40 point night. I'm almost certain I saw Kwame's first 20 point night.

The Wiz have almost annually looked good on paper, bad on the floor. The local radio show hosts are fond of pointing out that the Clippers have gone deeper into the playoffs and more recently been to the playoffs than the Wizards/Bullets. I'm too lazy to check and see the actual facts, but the point is clear.

Still, this might be the time for things to turn around. The leadership structure seems to be set up properly for the first time since, well, before my time anyway. Grunfeld is a solid GM and Eddie Jordan was at least 50% of why the Nets were so successful a few years back (the other 50% belongs to Kidd). Their latest move, bringing in Jamison, was brilliant. If Brown ever recovers from MJ hangover, this team could really be scary. Their most recent game featured 4 Wizards over 20 points and they STILL lost to the high-scoring Mavs.

So the bottom line is that games with the Wizards are like a box of chocolates...