NBA Playoff Preview: Washington-Cleveland

Is the third time the charm for the Washington Wizards? It's the third year in a row that the two teams have met in the first round, and the Cavs have beaten them each year. This year is a bit different, even though many of the names and stars are the same. Why? Well, even though you can look at different items such as simple win-loss, points against, points for, and what not, you have to remember one big thing that is missing from the overall statistics: Gilbert Arenas.

Love him or hate him, you know he's a player. And because he missed the majority of the season up until the last month, the stats that the Wizards have put up have been somewhat skewed. Frankly, the Wizards have been playing makeshift for quite some time with different players having different issues throughout the year; however, they have found their chemistry and are starting to click at the right time. The problem is that their defense is straight up awful.

And that's not a good thing against a team who as arguably the best offensive player in the game: Lebron James. While the team dealt away Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes and got Ben Wallace in return, the biggest X factor for this matchup could be the old man in the middle, Zydrunas Ilgauskas. He has been very solid throughout the year, and with the team needing more points (they won't get them with Wallace), it's his time to step up considerably.

The Cavs have been reeling as of late, and could be prime pickins' for the upstart Wizards. It will be a great series--much better than the first two--and I think this is the year that Washington breaks through in 7 games.

Picture Source: AP

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