Bullets Seeking Chemistry, Not Wizardry

It’s an important time for basketball in Washington, where after this season the Bullets are shot. You already may know that Washington’s NBA franchise is changing its nickname from the Bullets after 34 years, just don’t go ballistic over it.

Next season, the Bullets become the Wizards, a name the fans chose in a close vote over Sea Dogs and Dragons. Actually, Wizards is probably as good as anything, as long as they don’t mess with the uniforms and the players start wearing those pointed hats with the stars on them.

The fact is, today’s Bullets have yet to reach what is expected of a team in pre-Wizard status. In fact, after 24 games, the Bullets are 12-12 and leading the league in absolutely nothing, with the possible exception of underachieving.

It’s not their fault, say the Bullets, who feature two-fifths of the former Fab Five--Chris Webber and Juwan Howard--as well as one of the top five point guards in the league, the mercurial Rod Strickland.

“It’s early,” Coach Jim Lynam said. “Give us a little time. Maybe we could be just a little healthier, though.”

It’s a common complaint. Last year, the Bullets missed 243 games because of injury or illness. Howard sat out all of training camp because of shin splints, Gheorghe Muresan is coming back from a hip injury and Tim Legler and Lorenzo Williams are on the injured list.

Calbert Cheaney, a defensive specialist, sat out Thursday night’s 102-93 victory over the Clippers at the Sports Arena because of a strained hip.

Now, forget all that. Since the NBA remains a bottom-line business, you can rest assured there is a decent amount of pressure for the Bullets to start showing some major improvement. Soon would be nice.

A good start would be to make the playoffs, something the Bullets haven’t done since 1987-88, when Webber was a freshman at Country Day High.

Only two teams have winning records in the Atlantic Division and the Bullets are not one of them, but Webber believes it’s simply a matter of time.

“I think we should be good, very good,” he said. “Right now, the more time we spend together, the better we’re becoming. When things go through rough times, it’s easy to put the blame on people, but we haven’t done that.”

The Bullets have won five of their last six after dropping five in a row before that, a stretch that apparently tested the patience of General Manager Wes Unseld.

“I’m not going to be patient,” Unseld said. “I will do whatever is necessary to make sure we’re ready to play.”

Apparently if you’ve got the fifth-highest payroll in the league as the Bullets do, you tend to expect a little more. Unseld said he likes this team, to a point.

“I like it on paper,” he said. “I’m trying to see if the pieces do fit. We think they are there.”

Howard and Webber may the biggest pieces, although Strickland probably puts them in the right places and makes sure they go together.

The Bullets are Strickland’s fourth team in nine years and chances are it could be his best experience. But then anything would feel better after spending so much time butting heads with P.J. Carlesimo in Portland.

Strickland is among the NBA leaders in assists and steals, but that’s not nearly as impressive as the way he picked his way through a potential ego minefield with Webber and Howard.

“In the beginning, I just gave them the ball and moved out of the way,” Strickland said. “I wanted to blend in. But I found I was losing my aggressiveness.”

Webber said it has been a pleasure working alongside Strickland this season, mainly because Strickland goes way beyond getting the ball to him where he likes it.

“He gets me the ball where I love it,” said Webber, who, like Howard, had 25 points against the Clippers. “You don’t have to worry about that. He’ll get it to you where you want it, when you want it, while you want it, before you want it and after you want it.”

Meanwhile, all the Bullets want is to make the playoffs this year, then next year change their name, move into the new MCI Center in downtown Washington and live happily ever after, or at least until the salary cap expands again.