ESPN Insider: Chad Ford's take on the Mavs

[dirno2000]

Honestly, I haven't given the Wizards enough consideration to feel comfortable opining about their post-season chances and how AJ will fit, though it's obviously no secret that I think well of him as a player. I will say this: I doubt AJ will ever again be on a team that fits his gifts as well as the Mavs did last year, and if we'd had a healthy Raef instead of Walker I think the match would have been even better.

That’s possible. The bottom line as I see it is that we underachieved as a team. It’s easy to place all the blame on Walker but Dirk or Nash didn’t play up to their standards either and it was their team. All the while Jamison was putting up good stats and being the good guy, just like in G.S. How can you not think well of him?

But at some point, he’s going to have to step and show he can make a team better, otherwise he’s just a glorified role player. You don’t really have to study Washington, to know that the East is only three deep in good teams. He has the opportunity to prove me wrong. However, if he just goes out and gets his 20 every night while the Wizards stay mired in mediocrity it’s going to be hard to shake that label.