The Wizards shot 50% from the floor last night but they were also outrebounded 43-34 and that hurt them in the end. John Wall had a outstanding game last night leading the way for the Wizards with 28 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists. Al Thornton also had a great game last night for the Wizards with 24 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot. Andray Blatche filled up the stat sheet with 18 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot. The Wizards are now 0-2 on the year.

The Wizards were outrebounded 53-25 last night and that’s a big reason for the beatdown they took. The Wizards didn’t play any offense (37.2% shooting from the floor) and the defense stunk too (Magic shot 55.8% from the floor last night) and that was a recipe for disaster in Orlando last night. SF Cartier Martin led the way for the Wizards off the bench with 17 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot in only 24 minutes. John Wall’s NBA debut didn’t go so smoothly last night as he only shot 6 of 19 from the floor while finishing with 14 points, 1 rebound, 9 assists and 3 steals. Kirk Hinrich pitched in with 12 points and 2 assists in his Wizards’ debut last night. The Wizards are 0-1 on the year.

The Wizards were 26-56 last season so it’s not a big leap to think they can win 7 more games in 2010-11. A lot of that will depend on the health of Gilbert Arenas & Josh Howard. Unless John Wall turns into the next Derrick Rose from Day #1, I would have to bet the under with the Wizards in 2010-11. The Wizards are also 100-1 to win the NBA Championship but it would be a big waste of money to make that bet.

The Wizards were a lousy 26-56 in Flip Saunders’ first year calling the shots. He will need to improve this year if he wants to continue being the head coach of the Wizards. Saunders has a career record of 613-452 (57.6%) during the regular season and he is 47-51 (48%) during the post season. Saunders is used to winning and I have a feeling that he could get the Wizards going in the right direction this year but it’s going to take more time to get them back into the playoffs.

22-year old JaVale McGee will enter this year as the Wizards’ starting center as he played pretty well after they traded Brendan Haywood to the Mavericks last year. McGee played in 60 games (19 starts) for the Wizards last season and he averaged 16.1 minutes, 6.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 0.2 assists and 1.7 blocked shots per game. McGee has now played in 135 games (33 starts) in his first two years with the Wizards and he has averaged 6.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game. The Wizards would be happy with McGee if he excelled on D and as a rebounder this year.

25-year old Hilton Armstrong will be one of McGee’s backups this year. Armstrong played in 33 games (0 starts) for the Kings, Rockets and Hornets last season and he averaged 10.2 minutes, 2.2 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. He has now played in 224 games (37 starts) in his first four years in the NBA and he has averaged 12.5 minutes, 3.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.

20-year old rookie Kevin Seraphin was a first round pick last June. He played in 97 games (47 starts) in the last three years in France and he has averaged 7.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Seraphin will likely be brought along slowly for the Wizards this year.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE WIZARDS CENTERS IN 2010-11: C