MVN: Most Valuable Network

There's a reason I haven't written many articles on the Wizards lately: there simply isn't much to say. I am a very optimistic thinker and I try to find the good in all things, but there simply isn't much good going on with this team right now. Unless you think Caron Butler basically playing by himself is positive, the rest of this team is simply horrendous. I applaud Jamison for playing through the thumb sprain, but he should really shut it down for a while. The results will be the same with or without him.

The latest news was from Deshawn Stevenson prior to Tuesday's loss to Charlotte when he asked Coach Tapscott to play him with the second unit so he can get his swagger back against the other team's back-ups. On one hand, it is really sad that a professional athlete rather ride the bench and play against lesser competition where he should have more success. On the other hand, we're talking about Deshawn Stevenson here; who was really playing above his head last year and may struggle against the other team's back-ups. That was the one resigning that everyone overlooked in the offseason that the Wizards really should never have done. I think he really is a bench warmer who has to start on a bad team. If he were on the Lakers, Celtics or the Cavs, he wouldn't start, but the Wizards simply have no better option. After watching tonight's loss, I don't think it really matters whether they start him or not; the results seem to be the same.

The real problem is who is starting the fourth quarter. This team simply has no tenacity when the fourth quarter rolls around. They give up easy baskets, leave players wide open for threes, and consistently miss open shots. Tapscott seems to be doing everything in his power to shake this team up, but they need to play whoever is hot or whoever is playing the most intense defense in the fourth quarter. Tonight, that guy was Darius Songalia. I've been down on him for a while, but he was our second best player tonight on both ends of the floor.

Unfortunately, there isn't much the Wiz can do at this point in the season except explore more trade options. The bad part of that is they only have one real valuable asset: Caron Butler. If they trade him, they probably won't win another game this season unless they get a superstar in return. I'm at a loss for answers to their current woes - is there anyone in cyber space with an answer?