Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
November 2, 2007, Washington Post

The Big 3 and 3 Big Questions

Any talk right now about the Washington Wizards' chances for a winning season begins with the team's Big 3.

Gilbert Arenas scored more than 28 points a game last season. Agent Zero (Arenas wears that number) is coming back from a knee injury but should still be the high scorer in the team's offense. Root for Arenas to score a lot because he and the Wizards' owners donate $100 to local schools for every point he scores. Go Gilbert!

Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler each scored more than 19 points a game last season and were the team's top rebounders. Jamison also had some big scoring games in the playoffs after Arenas and Butler got hurt.

But the key to whether the Wizards can win their division and go deep into the National Basketball Association playoffs could be how some of their not-so-big players perform this season.

Brendan Haywood is big but sometimes plays small. The 7-foot Haywood will get more playing time now that Washington's other center, Etan Thomas, is out with a heart problem. The Wizards don't need much scoring from Haywood, but they do need him to play hard and help on defense.

Andray Blatche joined the Wizards out of high school. The 6-foot-11 forward was not ready for the NBA, so he sat on the bench for most of his first two seasons. Now, after a solid preseason, he might be ready to contribute more points and rebounds coming off the bench.

Nick Young is the Wizards' prize rookie this season. The 6-6 swingman from the University of Southern California can play guard or forward and showed during the preseason that he can score. Coach Eddie Jordan said of Young: "He's going to be a pretty good NBA player." Young could really help the team if he keeps scoring now that the games count.

Everyone likes to talk about NBA stars such as Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and even the Wizards' Big 3. If they stay healthy, Arenas, Jamison and Butler are going to get their points. But the Wizards really will be in business if Haywood, Blatche and Young step up and become solid pros.

That's something to think about if you are getting ready for your basketball season. Even if you're not one of the top players, you still can help your team. If you practice hard and improve at shooting or playing tough defense, that might help the team more than if the high scorer gets one more basket.

For teams to play their best, everyone has to play well. Not just the Big 3.

Fred Bowen writes KidsPost's sports opinion column and is an author of sports novels for kids.

© 2007 The Washington Post Company