Well,
this is a big weekend, kiddos. Let no one tell you differently. I have been
saying for a couple weeks that I felt like we could still get ourselves back
into this thing, and I still believe that. But at some point, we are going to
sorta need to win a few games here and there to make that a possibility.I
know we are 1-5 since the All-Star break, but I have to be honest, I am not
surprised. We have faced just an absolute beast of a schedule, and the Dallas
game aside, I think we've acquitted ourselves pretty well (ok, Chicago too). I
expected February to be brutal on us, and it was in some ways - we finished the
month 5-9, but given the schedule (and the five-game road trip) I think it could
have been worse.
Now the calendar has turned, and March is looking much more favorable. And,
as an added bonus, tonight we will field our entire roster for the first time
this season. Tyronn Lue, who has been out for the last 10 games
and was heavily limited before that, will be returning to the court. He is still
not 100%, but with the addition of Anthony Johnson to the mix, hopefully between
him, AJ, and Speedy, we will finally be able to get the production from the 1
spot that we've been lacking on a consistent basis.
Washington will be getting healthy tonight as well, as apparently both
Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison will be making their
returns from injuries. The Wizards have been struggling of late, so they too
will be gunning to get back on the right track. Fortunately for us, no one on
our team appears to have any beef with Agent Zero, so Gilbert Arenas doesn't
have any particular vengeance planned for the evening.
The Wiz have given us fits over the last few years with their ability to
score in bunches. To beat them tonight on their home court, we are going to have
to keep them from going on those kinds of runs. We have been impressive in the
last few weeks in our ability to come back from deficits, and that is
commendable, but we need to keep those to a minimum if we want to get back in
the playoff race.
I said I'd be happy getting one of three from our home slate of San Antonio,
Houston, and Phoenix, and we got that. Then I said we needed to get at least one
of this three-game road trip. Well, we couldn't get it done in Dallas or OK
City, which leaves tonight. A big road win would give the team confidence before
they return home tomorrow night for a home date vs. the Knicks, another team
trying to make headway towards the 8 spot in the East.
We are healthy now, and we are playing well if not winning. Tonight's the
night to start the move if we are going to make it.
Tune in to SportSouth at 7:00 ET to see how it plays out.
