Terps and Bullets: A Tale of Two Seasons

First of all, your Hackneyed Headline of the Week is brought to you by Meow Mix. Meow Mix -- tastes so good, cats ask for it by name!

Now on to the post. Like it or not, the DC area's two premier basketball teams are the Washington Bullets and the Maryland Terrapins. (And yes, the Terps are still the top college program in the area. If you disagree, just have your team win the national championship, and I'll concede.)

And right now, these two teams are headed in complete opposite directions, with last night providing a perfect illustration. First, the the Bullets beat the Pistons to split the season series with them and basically become the unquestioned best team in the East as it stands right now. Gilbert, who I'd say is currently third in the MVP race behind Dirk and Nash, went for 36, 11, and 7. He's more than just a shooter -- at least, according to those pesky things called statistics. But it goes beyond him. The team has gelled over the past couple seasons, and it's really showing. If only all teams had the patience to reap the rewards of continuity *coughredskinscough*. And for the sake of my own optimism, I'm going to ignore Jamison's knee injury for the time being. Knee injury, what knee injury? Lalalala, can't hear you, la la la la la. I'm glad we could handle that like adults.

On the flip side, Maryland resumed their backslide, as Florida State put a whoopin on the Terps on the road. I'll admit Al Thornton played out of his mind in the second half. There's not much you can do against a performance like that. I can only think of one thing that could have maybe worked, and that is if Maryland maybe at some point had tried to GUARD him. I don't know -- just thinking outside the box a little bit. When FSU broke free for dunk after uncontested dunk, was that the Terps showing what warriors they are? D.J., where are your explanations when we need them?

It's funny, because five years ago, if you had told me that the Wizards would be #1 in the East and Maryland would be eighth in the ACC standings, I'd have laughed in your face. Go figure. Anyway, I'm glad at least the Bullets are good. With the Terps in reverse and the Skins entering another wacky, rudderless offseason, they will prevent me from going, I don't know, totally insane this winter. Thanks, fellas.

Hyperlinks:
- Terrapins Get Shelled Yet Again on the Road [Washington Post]
- Wizards' Gain Not Pain-Free [Washington Post]

Technorati tags: Washington Wizards, Maryland Basketball, Maryland Terrapins, Terps