Progress For Wizards Means More Than Results
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By DERON SNYDER
Some fans look at the Washington Wizards and see a glass that’s half full. Other fans look at the team and see a bare table, no glass at all.
The latter view is overly harsh and pessimistic. But whichever assessment is closest to yours, Washington isn’t close to the A-list teams in Miami, Boston, New York and Chicago, and still some distance from the next tier of Atlanta, Indiana and Philadelphia.
Everyone agrees that a gap exists, and it’s unlikely to close significantly during this abbreviated season which tips off Monday when the New Jersey Nets visit Verizon Center. The Wizards won a mere 23 games last season. Winning the same amount this season would show serious improvement, taking their winning percentage from .280 to .348.
The prospect of a fourth consecutive losing season — preceded by four consecutive winning seasons from 2004-08 — isn’t anything to get excited about. But as painful as it might be, progress for the Wizards won’t be measured by the win-loss column.
“It’s not a one-game, one-season arc and narrative that we’re on,” owner Ted Leonsis said. “It’s a multiseason narrative that we’re on. It’s the second step in a long journey — the second season under new ownership and a new strategy — and I think we’re off to a good start.”
