Punch Line - flickr/John WeiseNot to say the Washington Wizards aren’t already a punch-line among NBA circles, but how long until NBA-oblivious Ma and Pa Kettle are watching the last days of Jay Leno as he screeches out a joke in a sporadic high tone involving approval ratings and the names of George W. Bush and Eddie Jordan? Or hearing a Letterman quip about finding the Wizards mascot in a Chinatown alley, beaten and battered, covered in “Change We Can Believe In” bumper stickers, only to find out the assault was staged by G-Wiz himself?

On vacation and visiting family, Saturday was a good day. I witnessed my alma mater prevail in a football-basketball double header, was able to catch-up with friends unseen in years, and spent time with my dad. I had illusions of re-watching the Wizards-Knicks game on Sunday, hoping to see a team coming together, taking advantage of a depleted New York squad. But as I’ve previously written, expectations on a game-by-game basis are nil. So upon seeing the final score scroll across the ESPN ticker, another Wizards blunder had no chance of ruining my day.

Right now, I feel it’s unreasonable to think that Washington versus any other team in the NBA would be anything but a game of Pick Your Poison. Either the Wizards give up a ton of threes, or they get out-hustled on the boards, giving up second chance points in the process, or they allow opponents to run their offense like a well-oiled machine fueled by high octane assist to made field-goal ratios. No matter the toxin, the concoction most likely leads to a loss seemingly more morbid than the last.
Judging by blurbs from ’round the net, unless I’m into self-inflicted pain, I best not watch Saturday’s game against the Knicks. I’d suggest that the Pradamaster do the same.

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If the Wizards didn’t hit bottom Saturday night with a 122-117 loss to the short-handed Knicks, it’s downright scary to think about what bottom could be.
[Eight's Enough for Knicks, Too Much for the Wizards - Ivan Carter, Washington Post]
The Wizards found themselves outrunned and outgunned in a 122-117 loss after failing to maintain a fourth-quarter lead for a third straight game.
[Wizards equal their worst start - Mike Jones, Washington Times]
I had a feeling the night wasn’t going to go Washington’s way when Malik Rose (Malik Rose!) threw up a pump fake and drove to the basket for an easy score in the first quarter. Malik Rose? Really?
[Terrible Loss Makes Wizards 1-10 - Ivan Carter, Wizards Insider]
To make matters worse, the 5-foot-9 Robinson finished with six rebounds – more than all but two Wizards players.
[Wizards equal their worst start - Mike Jones, Washington Times]
“It was a pretty gutsy win,” said David Lee, who had a season high with 22 points to go with 12 rebounds. He and the other four starters played 40-plus minutes. “We had seven guys basically running on fumes today. We were able to dig deep.”
[Knicks able to roll seven - NewsDay.com]
Luckily for the Knicks, they were going up against the worst team in the East, and the 1-10 Wizards also were playing the second game of a back-to-back. Antawn Jamison led Washington with 29, while Caron Butler added 23. The Wizards have never played good defense under Eddie Jordan, and this season is no exception, which helped the Knicks’ cause.
[Knicks cap Wizards behind Quentin Richardson's 34 - NY Daily News]

Pink Elephant = Caron Butler’s Bad Defense?
Eddie Jordan sat Caron Butler for the entire second quarter after Butler was largely on the receiving end of six Quentin Richardson 3′s in the first quarter.
[Terrible Loss Makes Wizards 1-10 - Ivan Carter, Wizards Insider]
You would think that a team with two all-star caliber veterans would take a hint about staying in front of a man, but night in and night out, they simply don’t get it. This is not the first time a three-point barrage has handed the Wizards an embarrassing loss, and it likely won’t be the last. But something has to give for this team to earn respectability, let alone a playoff berth.
[Only the Wizards Die By the Three - JC, Stet Sports]

Eddie Jordan’s Impending Ulcer

“Yeah, it’s been tough because it wears on you,” Jordan admitted before Saturday’s game. “You go to bed with it, you wake up with it. In the morning, a win or a loss is magnified when you wake up. A win feels
a little bit better in the morning than it did even that night – and a loss feels just as worse.”

On how he copes with the stress, Jordan said: “My wife helps me out a lot. My kids, your household helps you out a lot, and my assistant coaches are great. Even the players. They text me and say, ‘Coach, we’re behind you 100 percent.’”
[Seen and heard at Madison Square Garden - The Washington Times]

The Wizards, Crushing the dreams of 9-year old boys

7:36 AM (Nov. 22, 2008) Dave Johnson checking in…team flew up to New York last night. I am about to catch a train with my 9-year old son—if we win I will take him on the road the rest of the season.
[WashingtonWizardsBlog]

[photo source: flickr/John Wiese]