Are the Wizards “New” Again?
On Saturday night, the Wizards were at the Chicago Bulls. A blah game in the middle of a blah season for both teams. But for the Wizards, it was a spark of a game. After trading the overpaid small forward Otto Porter to the same Bulls for what seemed like some spare parts and salary cap relief, the Wiz were on an instant roll.
Two of the spare parts are Bobby Portis and Jabari Parker. Portis is a thin, 6-11 forward from Arkansas. Parker, the oft injured former Duke phenom, can play some power ball as a forward. The last part is Wesley Johnson whom they acquired in a trade to rid themselves of aging power forward Markieff Morris, a 6-7 guard whom I last remember at Syracuse.
A pretty good haul for Otto.
What it really brings is a spark to the Wizards. In a very small sample size, Portis and Parker can play. They have added shooting, length, rebounding and an “it” factor. Instantly the Wizards look more mobile and fresher.
So what’s the big deal? On Saturday, when we are usually watching the Caps, we turned on the Wizards. The Wiz took a game from Cleveland and Saturday from the Bulls. Both bad teams.
Tonight the Wiz get another playoff contender in the Detroit Pistons. We will see if Parker, Portis, Beal and the rest are up to the test. If so, the Wizards season is about to get interesting.