Why Nick Young is the Key to the Washington Wizards’ Playoff Hopes
My stance on the Washington Wizards future is primarily staked on their lack of a scoring or defensive post presence. Not that every team in the league but the Wizards has a big man, but their need for a banger is just more apparent than with other squads.
But when analyzing what has taken the Wizards from cellar-dweller to playoff sureshot, the truth is that the team’s success has been built on perimeter play. Their guards for the last several years have been dribble drive threats, that will occasionally kill you from the three-point line.
It’s for that reason that the Wizards playoff success or failure in 2008-09 will rest on Nick Young, the second-year shooting guard who must become the instant offense that will wear teams down in third and fourth quarters late in the season and beyond.
Young was drafted for shooting prowess and athletic versatility that made him a standout guard at USC. There was no expectation for him to become more than an understudy to Gilbert Arenas last season, but injuries thrust him into several games of prominent ball-handling and decision making.
This season will have to be different for Young, as he will likely be called upon to be a shooter to spell DeShawn Stevenson, a scorer to spell Arenas, and a defender to spell Caron Butler. His gifts demand that level of responsibility, and even in his inexperience, a year under the belt is quickly closing the window on any excuses.
There’s a lot of James Posey love around the league right now, because of his ability to fill whatever gap a team is missing on the floor at any given time. That’s what New Orleans got via free agency, and that’s what the Wizards have to get out of Nick Young this season.
