Optimism Abound

Photo via IraGelb on Flickr

See the players’ confidence building. See players developing right before your eyes. That is what a rebuild is all about. A new big three has announced its arrival – Wall, Crawford and Blatche. Big minutes – big productivity – big results. And wins, too. We are short-handed and so players are getting bigger minutes to show the world what they can do. We have two first round draft picks next off season. We have cap space. We are young. We have upside. We are becoming an exciting team to watch. The sun is shining out today.

via Learning to Win, by Ted Leonsis, Ted’s Take

Optimism is an intoxicating thing. We surrender to this siren and let ourselves be led down whatever path our imagination may manifest itself into without regard for the limitations of reality. It’s the same drug that led Washington Wizards fans to believe that a 4-2 stretch in the closing weeks of the 2009-10 regular season was a possible sign of bigger things to come. We know how that reality has played out.

So why is a subsequent 4-2 run as 2011 comes to a close different?

The paradox of the Wizards is their struggles have reached such an extreme degree that otherwise inconsequential events – their recent three-game winning streak – lead to an outpouring of confidence for the future. But unlike last years run, spearheaded by the presence of veterans Mike Miller and Shaun Livingston, Washington fans can extol the growth of the (perhaps prematurely named) new big three.

Defining John Wall as the building block of the future is extraneous. His self actualization as a basketball player seems at once assured and already unfolding in the conclusion of his rookie season. From his realization of the fruitless nature of the race to catch Blake Griffin for post-season accolades, to the very clear improvements he has made in his ability to direct and run the pick-and-roll, his future is bright, even if it is currently overshadowed by a surplus of elite point guards.

Jordan Crawford’s distinctive game, flush with brilliant shooting displays and damning turnover spells perhaps serves as the perfect microcosm view of his team – showing promise within a litany of failures. The burgeoning guard plays with an infectious fervor, one that has left many questioning the mere presence of Nick Young’s scoring singularity on the roster. For those ready to hail the dual playmaker combination of Wall and Crawford as the backcourt of the future, perhaps the high ceiling that was set for Wall, Arenas and Hinrich trio will be enough to create some pause – but what do they have to lose?

Of course the “sage veteran” of the organization, Andray Blatche, has proven if nothing else that you can count on him to frustrate to the point of exhaustion. His most recent four-game run of 27.5 points and 14 rebounds per night only raises the bar further for next season as the 24-year-old is suddenly attacking the rim with a fervor rarely seen in his five-year career. Is it the latest aberration for a power forward who despite steadily improving season after season has seemingly always left something on the floor? Or has the maturing process finally manifested itself in on-the-court production?

JaVale McGee might be the closest thing the NBA has to a pandora’s box. It’s a shame his two-basket, two-ball dunk during All-Star weekend was overshadowed by the Blake Griffin show, as the third-year pro may be the only human being on the planet capable of accomplishing such a physical feat. It’s also telling that to this point, McGee’s potential has been summarized by a series of highlights and individual games rather than days and weeks of performance. He like Crawford accurately depicts the larger frustration of the Wizards organizations, able to reach the peaks with some degree of regularity, but never able to sustain the high.

There’s Trevor Booker, Kevin Seraphin, the two-first round picks in a draft classified as weak but with no discernible certainties and a developing core about as young as we can expect from an NBA team. There’s a laundry list of reasons why this team will never develop beyond the perception of team on the rise – chained to a future as a lesser version of what the Atlanta Hawks once represented, while fans still pine or the hopes of a product more akin to the Oklahoma City model. Yet collectively all of these factors – big and small – culminate in the current state of the Wizards, that hope is a better reality than answers to the endless questions that surround the organization.

Optimism is abound in our nation’s capital – let youth be served.

Oster-Tags: John Wall, washington wizards