Unless I'm reading it wrong, it looks like the Wiz are 3 point underdogs. No respect...

No respect at all. We should blow them out to send a message.

everybody seems to be counting us out with a few exceptions. Bill Simmons even has us missing out on the playoffs at below .500. I can't wait to win the season series against the Celts and Heat to shut people up.

hellz yea mark, hellz yea. What the wizards need to do is win and send a message to the league that we're no joke. People shoould give us more credit than barely missing the playoffs.

Michael Lee and I will be...

What's so great about Conseco Fieldhouse?

yeah really. how is Conseco better than Verizon Center ? BTW, am I the only one who hates the fact that the VC is the BRIGHTEST arena I've ever seen? Part of the charm of the Cap Center is that it was kinda dark and cozy. The VC is like a doctors office...too antiseptic. Lower the wattage and you'll definitely get a different feel in that place. It's like people are afraid to get loud and crazy in support of the team for fear of being on camera or being seen. Even Caps games are darker and allow the fans to go crazy. AM I alone here ?

Looks like Haywood and Blatche should have a distinct advantage vs. the undersized Jeff Foster and Ike Diogu if JO/Murphy miss the game. Well, at least on paper they should.

Mark you are on an island. Ivan/Mike what kind of minutes do you see blatche getting tonight? Also what kind of minutes do you see Mcguire and Young getting if any at all?

I do hope the Wiz destroy the Pacers tonight, it IS time to start sending a strong message to the detractors who keep coming out of the woodwork.

Juan DC....You are reading the spread wrong. On my website we are -2 which means we are favored by 2 or on the site you are looking at -3. +3 means underdog.... the - means favored.

I heard and saw good things from all our rookies so far during summer league and preseason but those successes are far from a guarantee of regular season success. How are the rooks doing in practice? Are they getting their butts handed to them by the vets and are they still looking like deers caught in headlight?

deers???? its deer

sorry hate when people correct grammar but had to do it that time

I thought this was a Q and A. Where are the answers?

Ivan/Mike what kind of minutes do you see blatche getting tonight? Also what kind of minutes do you see Mcguire and Young getting if any at all?

The answers will be in the chat transcript, which should be listed on the home page, down a little low, on the left.

Mr Lee,

Why do NBA analysts keep underrating the Wizards? Seems like everyone has such a short-term memory. A majority of experts predict the Magic to win the Southeast. Followed by Miami. This does not make sense to me.

Mr Lee,

Do you envisage Kobe being traded this season? I cannot imagine him riding it out especially after fans booed him yesterday.

deerses

Mr Carter,

Do you think Gilbert Arenas and/or Antawn Jamison will actually come back for less money than other teams offer if in fact the Wizards do get far this season? Or are they just saying that...

Mr Lee,

Who are your sleeper teams in each conference this season? I am thinking Grizzlies in the West and Hawks in the East.

Mr Carter,

How do you see Andray Blatche develop this season? Will he end up playing more minutes than Haywood?

How would you rate the level of Chemistry between the Vets and the newcomers?

In the past it seemed like some years the Wiz spent alot of time establishing a pecking order on the team. With the starting 5 all back and Daniels, Songalia and Blatch the first three off the bench, is it different this year?

For future Reference on WaPo on-line chat, go to Discussions on the main Washington Post page. You will see which are "live", and those that have already ended with the transcript available.

Dissappointment tonight. The wiz are picked to loose because that's what they do. Play to the level of their competition. When they win and win convincingly--with defense--then they will be picked to win something.

Kobe just traded to the Bulls. Should be hitting the wire shortly.

can we please stop these stupid trade talks. we finally have a fun to watch team in DC, we finally have players that want to be in DC. Gil is the best player we have had in 15-20 years and you want to trade him for a guy that broke up a champ team.. do you know how many teams have won the campionship in the last 10 years!! 10 that's how many do you know how many have not won 310.. we have a winning team with a little bit of luck we may have a team that can win it all. stop trying to ruin it before they prove they can't win. the youngs guy have to step up that's what it takes we have the Vet's Blatche Young McGuire those are the guy's that will put us over the top.. Give them time...

Sorry, been focused on NFL. But checked in to read the recent blog discussions about Kobe/Gil etc. and various sounds of apprehension surrounding the Wizards new season. I am no expert but

Per ESPN Analysts..the Wizards are rated pretty highly. This was Hollinger's Analysis for the Wizards. 10/31/07.

Team Strength: Midrange Shooting

Obviously Washington can score on you in all kinds of ways, but from 15-to-20 feet this might be the best team in basketball. Caron Butler is uncanny from this distance, ripping in line drives while totally ignoring whatever hands might be in his face, and Antawn Jamison is extremely accurate from there too -- especially when he can get matched up on a bigger player and force him to give chase around the perimeter.

In the backcourt, Gilbert Arenas rarely pulls up from this distance but is good from pretty much anywhere. Forgotten starter DeShawn Stevenson is very good from this range as well, much more so than his 3-point stats would have you believe.

And some of the big guys off the pine can stroke it too. Darius Songaila and the newly arrived Oleksiy Pecherov are both strong 17-foot shooters, while Andray Blatche has shown a nice touch that should only continue to improve.

This strength goes hand in hand with the low turnover ratio of last season. Thanks to all those jump shooters, the Wizards don't need to put the ball in harm's way in order to get off a good shot, and so the risk of turning it over is much less.

There were actually several articles of the same and I was amazed at all of them praising and complementing Stevenson as the defining player.

Barry, Adande, Greg Anthony and others..
very interesting.

Nothing I read today showed the Wizards as
"underdogs" So for me..I'll keep my positive articles and outlook.

"Let the games begin and may the best man win"