By Jason Palumbo

Are the Wizards this year's Pistons?

When respected sports writers and basketball minds like Michael Wilbon and Bill Walton called the Washington Wizards legitimate contenders to reach the Eastern Conference Finals, I was more than skeptical. I was upset. I like these guys in Washington, and I didn't want to see expectations raised so high that a good season and a playoff spot would wind up a disappointment to the team and the fans. And to be honest, anything more than a 7 or 8 finish in the East seemed a little much to expect from a team beginning the season with 5 new starters, three of whom were not even part of the team last year. However, the early signs show a potential for greatness, though they are of course, very early signs.

After only two regular season games, it's hard to say that the Washington Wiz have what it takes to reproduce Detroit's massive turnaround last season, but the pieces certainly seem to be in place. The Wizards sport one of the best benches in the league, bringing high-energy guys Ty Lue and Jared Jeffries off the pine along with a five time league MVP, and last year not only did Detroit forward Corliss Williamson win the Sixth Man Award, they also had Jon Barry pushing both starting guards for minutes. Depth gives the Wizards freedom to play tough defense at all five positions, another hallmark of the terrific improvements that coach Rick Carlisle orchestrated in Detroit. And of course there's Stackhouse, the Pistons' best player last season and the man who opened the floor up for his hardworking supporting cast. Detroit had him, and now Washington does.

In their first game against the Raptors, Washington looked like anything but a contender for the non-existent Most Improve Team award - sometimes called "Coach of the Year." The Wizards failed to run any kind of offense, missed defensive rotations, fouled, fouled, and then fouled some more, and their lack of ball and player movement forced Jordan and Stackhouse into bad shots as the clock ran down. The only bright spot in the drubbing in Toronto was the excellent play of last year's number one pick, and biggest bust, Kwame Brown. Brown is sporting new cornrows and a new, vastly enhanced attitude. His work ethic at both ends is dramatically changed, and he has shown a real feel for the game in the preseason and these first two real games. Kwame is unquestionably the very early front-runner for the Most Improved Player Award - this one is real.

The Halloween game in Washington show-cased a completely different Wizards team. The ball movement was exceptional, including several instances of post-feeding in which the post player kicked the ball out to receive a second entry pass and better post position. Subtle, important aspects of the offensive game that a winning team understands and utilizes. When Stackhouse and Jordan drew double teams, weak-side big men like Kwame and Jeffries cut to the hoop and set screens for the team's shooters. Defensively the team started out lax, but when Jordan, Jeffries, and Lue checked in midway through the first quarter, the intensity picked up dramatically. In short order MJ and Brown piled up the steals and blocks and turned around the whole momentum of the game. Boston's second unit was flustered and quickly fell behind, and by the time the starters returned, Washington was in rolling. Stackhouse's selfless yet aggressive play (a game high 22 pts and 10 assists) set the mark for the Wizards and Jordan and Kwame consistently hit the open shots and made important plays to extend the lead to true blowout proportions. In the end the Celts left with a franchise record deficit of 45 points, and Washington held them to under 70 points.

The records show Washington at 1 and 1, certainly nothing to cheer about. But that's not the whole story. Perhaps the first game in Toronto can be written off as opening night jitters. Perhaps it was the Wizards team in Washington that really signifies what this team will be this season. More likely the game against the Celtics signifies what Washington can accomplish when it all goes right, and the team's true talent falls somewhere between the group that received a drubbing and the team that dished one out. What we can take away from the two, disparate games that the Wizards begin the season with, is potential. This young, newly united group has the potential to break down in every phase of the game. They have the potential to make Michael Jordan look bad. Really bad. But they also have what may turn out to be the best second unit in the league, a terrific mix a veterans, size, and young talent, and the potential to fulfill the predictions of Wilbon and Walton and all the rest of the believers. What they do against the Eastern Conference Champs in game three may turn a whole lot of us into believers.