Washington Wizards '97-98

For one thing, why did they only improve to 44-38 after a 39-43 record in '96 without All-Star Chris Webber and without supposed point guard of the future, Rod Strickland? The first place to start is with these two guys. Webber, a power forward or center, shot 150 three-pointers, making 60. Strickland, a point guard, shot 77 three-pointers, making 13. How do you set up a traditional offense around that?

Webber, like Shaquille O'Neal, seems to have gone away from the moves that get him to the foul line because that is the part of his game where he looks like an idiot. And no cool basketball player wants to look like an idiot. When he entered the league, he got to the line on about 30% of his possessions. That number plummeted his second year to 22% and was only 23% last year. His game has changed from emphasizing great touch around the basket to a mid-range to deep game where he launches an ugly jumper that goes in more than it looks like it should. It's going to be that much harder to make his threes now that the line is back at 23'9".

Webber is the strength of the franchise, though. He can still dominate a game on the defensive end as he did in college. His imposing combination of strength and speed are very similar to that of Shawn Kemp, who was a big part of a great Seattle team. I think Webber can do what Kemp did for Seattle. But that means getting a Gary Payton, a Detlef Schrempf, a Hersey Hawkins.

Strickland is similar to Payton, who is probably the best point guard in the business. Both don't have much range, but have improved their jumper so that it keeps defenses honest. Both have good defensive skills. Both can get to the basket well. But Payton does everything a bit better. Strickland has had better years than he had last year and if he can get back to them, that is one step closer for the Wizards.

Small forward Juwan Howard makes more money than Schrempf, but has been a slightly negative contributor all three years in the league. A player of Howard's modest ability should not be a team leader either. It is hard to have a team whose leader cannot take control in the final minutes and cannot set a good example by making the shots he has to make. Howard will probably grow old gracefully in the NBA, sticking around as a great sub off the bench, but his role has to change (or his skills have to miraculously improve) in order for the Wizards to be great.

Calbert Cheaney has been improving every year, but has still not posted a year where his offense has been better than his defense. He hasn't developed a three-point shot and he's not going to now that the line is farther. He hasn't developed the consistency to be just a two-point shooter either. Former Dallas Maverick Rolando Blackman made a living in the NBA as a two-guard who didn't shoot threes and Cheaney is somewhat comparable to Blackman. However, Blackman consistently made 50% of his shots and got to the line a lot more frequently than Cheaney is.

Gheorge Muresan is one of those players who fits into a championship puzzle. He isn't a primary player, but he anchors a defense and compliments an offense by making the shots he is supposed to make.

Off the bench, the Wizards have two gunners. Tracy Murray and Tim Legler are the kind of subs that championship teams have to provide instant offense. Usually, championship teams have only one of them, though, because their defense leaves something to be desired and because their styles are so similar that they don't give the defense a different look.

Ten years ago, the Bullets had a mix of veterans and youth that pressed the Detroit Pistons to five games before losing in the first round of the playoffs. The strength they showed in that series led to promise in the following season. The team would not make the playoffs again until 1997. That '97 team -- the new Wizards -- would press the Chicago Bulls in each of three close first round losses. The promise exhibited by the team in last year's playoffs, though, has to be followed up by improvements in all the individuals. Otherwise, it could easily be another long 10 years.