Wizards Playoffs?

Maybe soon I won't need that question mark after the word playoffs. The Washington Wizards, standing at 26-15 going into tonight's game against the Orlando Magic in Orlando, are winning ballgames. Just think about that for a second if you will. In fact, let's break down that sentence. The noun: Wizards. The verb: are winning. The object: ballgames. Put it together: Wizards are winning ballgames. Well, even diagrammed, that statement seems out of place, and that's mostly because the Wizards have been one of the most woebegone franchises in the NBA for decades, matched in futility by only the Los Angeles Clippers, Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors. This year, though, the Wizards have shed the losses and gained the victories. If losses were carbs, the Wizards players would be the spokespeople for the Atkins Diet.

What has sparked this turn around? Believe it or not, it started with Michael Jordan. Sure, His Airness left on acrimonious terms to say the least, but before his departure, he made two savvy moves: He freed up cap space, and he signed Larry Hughes. He found a willing trade partner in Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks, so he shipped Juwan Howard over there for Etan Thomas, among others. Howard's salary, an albatross on the franchise, was off the books. Then, Jordan signed Hughes. Jordan's failure was proclaiming Hughes the team's point guard, when he's too ill-suited to hold such a position.

But Jordan's honeymoon was short lived. He drafted Kwame Brown, who may go down as the worst No. 1 draft pick in the history of the NBA, right after Doug Collins, a former Wizards coach. And while Jordan suited up for Washington, he created too tense an atmosphere in a locker room full of young players. Jordan wanted to be the show, and he failed to let the young'uns mature. So, Abe Pollin shipped him out and signed Ernie Grunfeld to be the general manager.

Grunfeld signed Gilbert Arenas last year, the first step toward making the Wizards a winner. Then, this past offseason, the Wizards robbed the Mavs blind again, trading Jerry Stackhouse, Christian Laettner and the rights to Devin Harris, the fifth pick in the NBA draft, for Antawn Jamison. (Maybe the Wizards should thank the Mavericks for their turn around. It seems whenever Washington needs something, Cuban is more than willing to help. He could quite possibly be the most generous owner in the league.)

So here are the Wizards, 11 games above .500 thanks to Hughes, Arenas and Jamison. Hughes is out for another month, but Washington has gotten along fine without him. That's not to say they don't need him. They do, especially if they want to hold onto that No. 4 spot in the Eastern Conference. And with him, you never know, the Wizards could overtake the Heat for the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. Still, the Wizards, as Michael Wilbon has said, is the most fun team to watch this side of Phoenix.

And more importantly, they're the only team worth a damn in the Washington/Baltimore area at the moment.