Wizards scare anyone else?

[celticsclay]

I know a lot of people are going to say no because we have beat them, but I think people underestimate how big an upgrade they got at center. Gortat was a bottom 5 starting center and was completely washed. He offered no rim protection and was mediocre on defense overalll. Meanwhile Howard is great at clearing the glass (a weakness for them with a small backcourt) and will also offer rim protection. A starting lineup with wall porter and Howard now has 3 players that can play good defense when motivated. I think a top 6 of Howard, beal, wall, porter, oubre and rivers is tougher than what the bucks, raptors and philly can put out there right now.

[saltlover]

They really don’t scare me at all.  Their problem last year was not on-court talent.  It was effort, cohesiveness, and coaching.  Gortat was part of that problem, yes, but it’s unlikely Howard is a major upgrade in those departments.

[celticsclay]

They really don’t scare me at all.  Their problem last year was not on-court talent.  It was effort, cohesiveness, and coaching.  Gortat was part of that problem, yes, but it’s unlikely Howard is a major upgrade in those departments.

I admit they have chemistry issues, which could be even worse now, but I think those guys had been together too long and had gotten stale and Maxed out. I also think wall can set up Howard better in the post than maybe kemba could (or Teague before thT)

[hodgy03038]

They can be a problem. If they can get it together they could present problems in the east but we will beat them for sure.

[saltlover]

They really don’t scare me at all.  Their problem last year was not on-court talent.  It was effort, cohesiveness, and coaching.  Gortat was part of that problem, yes, but it’s unlikely Howard is a major upgrade in those departments.

I admit they have chemistry issues, which could be even worse now, but I think those guys had been together too long and had gotten stale and Maxed out. I also think wall can set up Howard better in the post than maybe kemba could (or Teague before thT)

It doesn’t really matter.  The Wizards are led by players who openly say the regular season doesn’t matter, just the playoffs.  Which is true to an extent, but then they wind up with bad seeds and never get past the second round, having ingrained all sorts of terrible habits throughout the year.

The Wizards season will start slowly, haves two month stretch in the middle where everyone calls them one of the best in the NBA, and then finish poorly, leading to a seed in the 4-10 range, and a 1st or second round exit.  They are not a scary team with their depth chart or their coach.

[GreenEnvy]

Nope.

Both teams at full strength.... Celtics in 5.

[liam]

I worry for The Wiz, who will set all those moving screens ( moving like football blocking type screens...) now that Gortat is gone? It was The Wizard's whole half court offense last year.

[footey]

They worry me less than:
Philly
Milwaukee
Toronto
Indy

So no, I don’t really worry about them. Dwight Howard?

[Eja117]

[KGs Knee]

I'm not worried about any eastern conference team at the moment.  They're all playing for 2nd place behind Boston.

[Who]

Not at all.

The Wizards are a solid second tier playoff team but they are nowhere near the top teams like Golden State, Houston or Boston.

They are not a threat. They simply do not have enough talent.

[knuckleballer]

The only thing that scares me prior to the finals is injuries.  We're going to be real good next year.  Not as good as GS, but I think easily better than anyone in the East.

[hpantazo]

Maybe if they had added Anthony Davis instead of Dwight Howard.

[jpotter33]

[colincb]

Howard will be a major upgrade in the locker room for a club that has a screaming need for leadership.