I doubt anyone is at the "Gilbert Who?" stage yet, but anyone who's been watching the Washington Wizards play since Agent Zero went down would be hard pressed to deny that the team has been just plain fun to watch these last few weeks - perhaps because with the big gun out, they are playing like a team. Last night three players had double-doubles and a total of six players scored in double figures......

The recent Kobe for Gilbert trade rumors (shot down yesterday by Ernie Grunfeld — not that that means anything) should give you an indication that the Washington Wizards are at a crossroads season in regards to the franchise's future. Gilbert Arenas has gone on record saying he will opt out of his contract at the end of the season and Antawn Jamison is in the final year of his deal. Something's got to give......

Last night at the NBA Draft, the West got better by picking some young talent (Greg Oden to Portland, Kevin Durant to Seattle) and the East got better by trading for talent (Zach Randolph to New York, Ray Allen to Boston). The Wizards got better by selecting USC shooting guard/small forward Nick Young. Young averaged just over 17 points per game last year at SoCal and is known for his mid-range jumper and fearless......

A scant 21 days remain until my favorite day of the entire year, the NBA draft. And while Cleveland and San Antonio start the NBA finals tonight (9:00 p.m. on ABC), the rest of the league, including the Washington Wizards, are firmly entrenched in the off season. What's in store for Team Zero? Let's take a look. The Wizards have roughly $38 million in guaranteed salaries committed to the core of the team next......

After getting handled by the Cleveland Cavaliers Sunday afternoon, the Wizards did their best to step up their game. It would be hard to argue that last night's showing was not a step up from Sunday's dreary performance. The Wizards increased their point total by 20, but the end result was the same: another L in the books as Cleveland rode a strong performance by Drew Gooden (of all people!) for a 109-102 victory. Gooden......

A tumultuous weekend for the Washington Wizards took an unexpected turn for the worse on Sunday when All-Star Caron Butler fractured his right hand in a 121-107 win against the Milwaukee Bucks. Bulter was trying to contest a dunk by Ruben Patterson and hit his hand on the backboard. His availability for the rest of the regular season and the playoffs is very much in doubt at this point. "Caron is going to be......

In retrospect, it was inevitable that Saturday's Wizards / Lakers matchup would be a bit of a letdown when it was all said and done. The game had a media build up more reminiscent of the weekend's other big game with the Post going as far to call it "Star Wars II" and the most "highly anticipated regular season game since Michael Jordan made his home debut for the Wizards in November 2001." Chuck......

The Wizards 104-99 win over the Detroit Pistons last night at the Verizon Center evened the season series to 2-2, solidified D.C.'s grip on the top spot in the Eastern Conference, and has rendered it extremely probable that Eddie Jordan will coach the East's All-Star Team in Vegas. Good news all around then, except for the small matter of Antawn Jamison re-injuring the left knee he tweaked playing Boston on January 20th. Jamison suffered......

For the past two days the media have been wondering why no one double teams Gilbert Arenas when he has the ball. So the Knicks tried it last night to great effect. Agent Zero was held to 16 points on 4-14 shooting, but got the ball in the hands of his teammates consistently, which enabled the Wizards to take down the Knicks 99-98. Yes, it was another wild finish at the Verizon Center last......

Gilbert Arenas left the court at the Verizon Center yesterday as fans serenaded him with chants of "MVP! MVP!" after hitting yet another game winner at the buzzer. The Utah Jazz were Agent Zero's latest victim, falling 114-111 in an incredible Martin Luther King Day matinée. Arenas, who tied a Verizon Center record with 51 points, traded three pointers with Utah's Memet Okur down the stretch, but got the ball last and made Utah......

With all the attention Gilbert Arenas has garnered over the last month of the NBA season, it's easy to forget about his very capable teammates. Luckily for the Wiz, they were ready to pick up the slack last night when Gilbert had an "off" game. A look at the stat sheet might tell you the Bulls defense held Agent Zero to just 16 shots, but it wouldn't show Gilbert's determination to get his teammates......

The Wizards absolutely crushed the Memphis Grizzlies last night at the Verizon Center in the most one-sided NBA game we've witnessed in a while. D.C. exploded to a 45-18 lead in the first quarter, and set a new Verizon Center record by scoring 77 in the first half. Gilbert Arenas took his new Kobe-inspired mantra of "quality shots" seriously, scoring his 31 points on just 13 field goal attempts in 33 minutes. Thanks to injuries......

After a three game losing streak, who would have thought a match up with the Cleveland Cavaliers, owners of the second best record in the NBA going into Saturday night, would be just what the doctor ordered for the Washington Wizards? Both teams were coming off games on Friday; the Wiz lost at Detroit and the Cavs pounded the hapless Timberwolves at home. In this topsy turvy start to the NBA season, the Cavs......

Don't look now, but the NBA season is just two weeks away. When last we saw the Washington Wizards, LeBron James was carving up their defense and talking Gilbert Arenas out of winning games from the line. The Wiz may not have made as much noise this offseason as last, but sure-handed (and recently re-signed) General Manager Ernie Grunfeld did make some moves. They include: 1) Re-upping coach Eddie Jordan for three more years.......

Saturday night's season ending game for the Wizards played out true to form. Build up a big lead (check - up double digits in the first half), lose it in the second (check - down three late), get some game saving heroics from Agent Zero (Check - an incredible three pointer from over 30 feet out) and then ultimately lose it due to their defense (a wide open Damon Jones three pointer with three......

With three blogs, Matthew Yglesias is one of the more prolific progressive political bloggers out there. The 24-year-old writer for The American Prospect, who hails from New York City, has also, since he moved to D.C. a few years ago, been dubbed by just about everybody as either a "rising star" or "up-and-coming pundit." Yglesias took time to chat with DCist over email about everything from the D.C. blog scene to Gilbert Arenas.......

The Washington Wizards started last week one game below .500 and facing four games in a span of six days that threatened to send their season into a tailspin if things went badly. After an overtime win at home on Tuesday against the woeful Raptors, the team failed to gain any momentum, losing three games to Eastern Conference rivals Indiana, Chicago and Miami. Getting destroyed on national TV to the Pacers was bad, but......

After a rough stretch that saw them lose five games in a row and six of seven overall, the Washington Wizards rebounded (no pun intended) last night with a 96-89 win over the road weary Portland Trailblazers. The Blazers, playing the last game of a grueling seven game road swing, obviously had that not so fresh feeling after a loss Tuesday night in Philadelphia and had trouble containing the Wizards All Star duo of Gilbert......

Shaq or no Shaq, the Wizards fell once again to the Miami Heat on Saturday and with it brought the end of their season. We could pull a Tony Kornheiser and run around screaming "Remember the Caps?" or listen to Mike Wise when he says that a "bright future" doesn't always turn out the way you envisioned it. We could do that, but we're not going to. Instead let's focus on what the Wiz......

>> Despite their propensity to fight through injuries this year, the absence of All Star Antawn Jamison was evident last night as the Washington Wizards fell in Denver to the red hot Nuggets 127-98. Gilbert Arenas led the Wiz with 25, but the team shot just 39% from the field. Coach Eddie Jordan might want to look at the team's defense too. The Nuggets shot over 55% and it's never a good thing when......

The new look New Jersey Nets traveled to the nation's capitol last night and came away with their collective tail tucked between their legs as the home team dropped a team record 14 three pointers and rode the hot hand of Larry Hughes to a 112-88. The win, the Wiz's third over the Nets this year, moves their record to 17-13, good enough for second in the Southeast Division. Despite Hughes gaudy numbers, 33 points......

Lost amid the Redskins “playoff push” and the whole DC Baseball brouhaha has been a quiet but impressive start to the season by that other pro sports franchise in town, the Washington Wizards. The Wiz were shot down by the Miami Heat last night 98-93, making them 0-4 against the Heat this season, but take away those 4 losses and the team is a very impressive 12-4. Even with them, their record is good enough......