Most Likely to Get Fired While Making Final Preparations For a Holiday: Mike Woodson

NBA FanHouse walks through the Valley of the Most Likely; we shall fear no topic.

On Christmas Eve, Scott Skiles received the dreaded pink slip from the Bulls. Heartless? Perhaps. Unexpected? No fricking way. The NBA is a business, son, and business has to get handled ... even on a quasi-holiday. So who should fear the phone during Hanukkah, the 12 days of Christmas and New Year's Eve this year? We offer three candidates.
Eddie Jordan, Washington. The Wizards will suffer heart-rending injuries as always, with Gilbert Arenas on the shelf for another couple months and Brendan Haywood out for eternity. Getting canned due to injury isn't fair, but neither is life or bread pudding. If the Wizards hit the tank Miami-style this season -- it's possible when you're counting on Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee -- Jordan could be a goner.

Randy Wittman, Minnesota. Shockingly, the Wolves are building some expectations this year. No one dreams of 40 wins, but the team will at least need to be competitive throughout. There's a lot of room for error here: Wittman's roster is littered with special cases that need to be put in the right position to succeed, from Randy Foye to Ryan Gomes to Kevin Love. Something about Wittman's last 120 or so games at the helm doesn't provide encouragement, for some reason. Fall below Oklahoma City and say good night.

But the early favorite for a holiday offing is ...

Mike Woodson, Atlanta. If Mike Woodson's coaching career were a game of Risk!, Reality would have strongholds in North Africa, Middle East and Ukraine, and Woodson would be holding on for dear life in Brazil. Sure, Woodson could get lucky with a set of cards and secure the Americas. Acie Law could become an acceptable bench option, and Marvin Williams could turn into an All-Star. But do you really want to be in a position where that's the only way to survive?