I realize I'm joining the game a little late here, but at the risk of ending my career on this horrible cliche right now, better late than never. With only five games left and only four games separating spots 4-7 in the playoff race things are getting interesting. Unfortunately for the Wizards, 3 of the last 5 games are against the top 3 teams in the East, in decending order. After hosting Boston, they have to travel to Detroit and Orlando. And in between they come back home to take on the streaking Sixers, right on the heels of the Wizards, led by Andre Igoudala who has been peeved since the all-star break when Dwight Howard got way more credit for doing the same dunk in the dunk contest that Igoudala did 2 years ago(http://youtube.com/watch?v=w6z9-l4hnMM). The funny part about this stretch is that for the Wizards the degree of diffculty goes up instead of down. As has been the propensity of the Wizards the last few years, they seem to excel against harder teams, such as Detroit, and struggle with the weaker ones, the Milwaukee Bucks. Just look at how the Wizards have done against the top 3 teams they are soon to play. The Wizards are 2-1 against the top seeded Celtics, 1-1 vs the second seeded Pistons, but 1-2 vs the third seed, Orlando. This is the reason winning the last few games is so important. The Wizards might stand a chance against Detroit and Boston(I can't believe I'm saying that) but if they lose a couple and trade places with the Sixers for 6th place to take on the Magic first round, Howard is going to Superman the Wizards like Soulja Boy.
Either way though, it seems inevitable that the Wizards will once again take on the Cavs in the first round. And while I really don't want to watch the referee's let Lebron walk all over us again, literally (http://youtube.com/watch?v=lhbM6uuCt74), I think the Wizards can beat them straight up in a 7 game series. The Wizards struggle with two things, and when you put them together they get blown out. They are: a fundamentally sound big man who can score, and a team with a go to scorer, a la Kobe, Michael Redd, Wade, and for some unknown reason Hedo Turkoglu. The Cavs obviously have a dominant scorer, the definition of unstoppable on defense, but Lebron stops himself. Since they got rid of Larry Hughes, Lebron is really the only penetrator on the team now. It's his job to drive and kick to the myriad of 3-point shooters they now have, but instead he's settling for three pointers himself. Seven of his 22 shots against the Wizards last game were 3's, only one of which he made, and if Aleksander Pavlovic hadn't been lights out that game, The Cavs wouldn't have even been in the game. Come playoff time I think Lebron will realize this and go back to taking over games the way he has the last couple post-seasons, but also come playoff time, Gil Zero will be in his way (Not literally though, because that would hurt). Save for the Lakers with Gasol, every other team with a big name trade has underacheived and that doesnt exclude the Cavaliers. King Lebron and his minions are still working out the kinks, and its up in the air as to whether or not they can gel by playoff time. Meanwhile, the Wizards have to figure out a way to stay healthy for more than 17 seconds. The way I see it, bad things come in three's, and after Jamison went out last week, that was the third part to Butler and Arenas going down earlier in the year. But then again I dont believe in superstition, it brings bad luck.
