Wizards Lack a Closer

In baseball most good teams have a pitcher who comes in at the end of games and shuts down the opposition...the Closer. On TV Kyra Sedgwick portrays a cop who always solves the case...she is the Closer for the homicide department. The Wizards are missing their Closer, Gilbert Arenas a.k.a agent zero. Arenas' closing ability is not that of a defensive stopper. Arenas is the Wizards offensive Closer...the player that can create his own shot, get a better shot for a teammate at the end of close games, or get to the foul line and score points while the clock is not running.

The Wizards lack of a Closer has never been more evident than in the past two games. The 'zards were either tied or ahead in the last five minutes of the 4th quarter. But their inability to execute the late game offense combined with key defensive breakdowns have led to the current two-game losing streak. Anybody that says the Wizards are a better team without Arenas is sadly mistaken. Yes, the ball movement on offense has been better without Arenas. However, this is the way the team must play because it's missing a guy that can drop 30, 40 or 50 points on any given night. Hopefully Arenas can see that he doesn't need to be a 30 ppg player in order for the team to be successful. Hopefully Arenas' teammates realize how his presence on the court can make the game easier for them.

Eddie Jordan has certainly done a remarkable job keeping the ship afloat considering that two of his top sailors (Arenas & Daniels) are injured. And let's not forget about the loss of Etan Thomas and the fact that Oleksiy Pecherov has yet to take the court. Brendan Haywood has raised his level of play but given his history one can't help but wonder will it last. I'd really like to see what the Wizards would look like with a full roster of healthy players. Unfortunately this may never happen. A number of questions will have to be answered in the off season...will Arenas opt out of his contract? Will the team re-sign Antawn Jamison and if so at what cost? Will Etan Thomas ever play again? Will Eddie Jordan be back if the Wizards don't go deep into the playoffs?

The questions that need to be answered now are...who is going to consistently step up and help CB & AJ score the ball while Arenas is out? Can a jump shooting team like the 'zards ever be better than a .500 team? What happens if Caron or Antawn get injured? and Who is going to be the Closer?

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