Posts in month: May, 2009

I like the Internet … I hope it likes me (fingers crossed, still waiting for the Internet to take me out for a nice seafood dinner).

I also like the Washington Wizards …. so combining the latest news on the Wizards found via the World Wide Web all in one place on the Inter-web would make sense.

Hence … I introduce ‘Washington Wizards News’ from Truth About It via Tumblr.

You’re probably thinking, what the heck is Tumblr? Well, I don’t completely know, didn’t for the longest time and still don’t quite understand. All I know is that I’m watching Crocodile Dundee on TBS right now for some reason, and it’s the part where the condescending d-bag in a white dinner coat, ‘Richard’, is talking mess at dinner until Mick Dundee punches his face out.

Long story short, you want your Wizards news (and perhaps commentary), and you want it now (ok, lil’ too dramatic, this isn’t one of those silly J.G. Wentworth commercials).

Tumblr, as I understand it/use it/try to figure out what to do with it, offers an immediate outlet for the best and latest Wizards news, notes, commentary, quotes, links, etc., that I come across, all in one place (it could be a ‘blog’ too, but I’m not going in that direction).

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Player evaluations for ’08-09 are in full effect, up second is Juan Dixon. My thoughts are below, you can check on the full report on Bullets Forever.

[Previously: Oleksiy Pecherov]

Juan Dixon seemingly fell into the right opportunity last year … well, for him, not the Wizards. Gilbert Arenas goes down and signing Dixon, local kid made good via prevailing under abysmal childhood circumstances and a Maryland Terrapins national championship, seemed the perfect fit.

Dixon knew the system, having previously played for the Wiz under Eddie Jordan, and would presumably provide the same veteran guard skills and bench scoring punch that was vacated by Roger Mason, Jr. (or not really).

Unfortunately, so went the season, so went Dixon’s recognizable contributions to the team. His play, when it saw the court, was inconsistent, and his lack of veteran poise drew the ire of many on Bullets Forever, especially after an embarrassing five turnover effort in a late season loss against Toronto. What did we expect from the guy? Well, we kind of expected better.

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NBC Washington had a good video piece on Kevin Grevey and the ’77-78 Washington Bullets championship team earlier today (video above, obviously …. unless you are getting this through an aggregator/reader, then click the link).

Ahh, the memories … before my time.

I naturally wanted some more on Kevin Grevey, so should you.

The first place you should go is Bullets Forever for a piece about Grevey, all-time BF #20, by Mike Prada … bonus is an old school video of Pete Maravich playing horse.

Then jump in the way-back machine and head to a story from the Sports Illustrated Vault about Grevey leading his ’75 Kentucky Wildcats to a big win over Alabama. Read more »

Just a hunch … that’s all I’m saying.

And hopefully, unlike Andray Blatche Summer ’07, we won’t be singing Free ‘Vale McGee like Bun B did for the late Pimp C.

Cheers.

[via twitpic]

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Player evaluation time has come again. You can find the evaluations from ’07-08 here. Up first for ’08-09 is Big Oily Pecherov. My thoughts and some images from the season are below, you can check on the full evaluation report on Bullets Forever.

I could cite some of Oleksiy Pecherov’s mediocre numbers, including his assist per 138.5 minutes rate, but they’re a moot indicator as to his value to the franchise. The 23-year old just didn’t get enough time on the court. However, when a guy’s player evaluation from last year can be easily recycled, a bulk of responsibility lies on his shoulders.

Rail if you will on the Wizards’ player development, or lack thereof, and whether or not Ed Tapscott stunted growth. The fact remains that if Pecherov gave more reasons for increased run, the minutes would have found him, especially in such an injury plagued year. The epitome of his season’s effort was more when he got blocked by the 6’2″ Boobie Gibson in the last meeting against Cleveland than the few positive moments.

Already behind a prideful veteran exempt from the bench (Antawn Jamison), a rookie with more fire and defensive instinct (JaVale McGee), a role player with court smarts (Darius Songaila), an inconsistent prospect with a much better skill set (Andray Blatche), and the occasional Etan Thomas sighting, the Ukrainian goof-ball dubbed ‘Big Oily’ was already in a position where working extra hard was a prerequisite for more time.

At one point, Pech seemed to want to rebound, which is more than you can say for many European big men with an outside touch. But it’s not encouraging that hustle on the glass decreased, while hovering around the arc increased, toward the end of the year, at least in practice as Kevin Broom highlighted on the Secret Weapon. I like Pechrov, but his comedic shtick isn’t much without meaningful contribution.

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Caron Butler recently sat down with NBC 4′s Lindsay Czarniak for an interview. Interesting tid-bits are below, followed by the embedded video from NBC Washington.

• Butler, like most NBA players, has mad love for the Cheesecake Factory.
• He enjoys the ‘large’ chicken Caesar salad.
• He’s a great dad, often working out from 1-5 am so he can rest and then be home when his daughter gets back from school.
• Tuff Juice has 22-23 straws ready to chew during games … he calls it a fetish.

Wizards Web:

Marbury to the Wizards? [Frank Isola, Knicks Knation]
“Marbury, according to a source, was contacting Flip Saunders almost on a daily basis during the postseason and there is a chance that Marbury could be reunited with his first professional coach (okay, second after Bobby Cremins) next season. Read more »

The internets are ablaze with one specific Wizards trade rumor today.

That trade: JaVale McGee and the #5 pick go to the Oklahoma City Thunder for the #3 pick. The Wizards would then select heartthrob Ricky Rubio and if for some reason he’s not available, the Wiz would “settle” for Hasheem Thabeet.

[via Chad Ford on ESPN then Bullets Forever]

Reaction Process:

1. A resounding no.
2. Why not trade Andray Blatche instead? (Unsilent Majority’s claims that ‘Dray runs the fast break like a drunk point guard notwithstanding.)
3. Many of us in Wizards Nation have tossed around the notion that some other unsuspecting GM would be glad to take a chance on Blatche … in a Kwame Brown for Caron Butler type of way.If Grunfeld is dangling McGee instead of Blatche, either other GMs would rather stay away or Gruns and Flip think that Andray (with his four years of “experience”) is more suited for the ‘win now’ plans.
4. “Great” the Wiz get unlucky on draft night and are looking to trade two prospects for one.
5. Would Thabeet even be an upgrade over JaVale McGee? Doubt it.My reasoning: Read more »

To see all 14 of the NBA Draft Lottery faces, head over to Hardwood Paroxysm.

What “They” Are Saying:

Tom Knott: No Griffin, no Rubio and no luck – Washington Times

Michael Wilbon: When the Lotto Gives You Lemons . . . – Washington Post Read more »

Good riddance NBA draft lottery. We don’t care about you. Yea, it’s been a bad week … and we’re going to wallow in our sorrows for a bit. But I’m here to say you are dead to me. The Wizards are going to make the post-season despite you. You’re in heaven with grandma now … So in your honor, these songs will be played at your local barbershop.

Raekwon | Heaven & Hell

Master P | Heaven For A Gangsta

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David Stern’s Dream Scenario:
Blake Griffin to the Wizards and Ricky Rubio to the Knicks
(that’s right, Stern would rather Griffin in DC than OKC)

Well folks, we made it … to NBA Draft Lottery evening. It’s been a while since I’ve cared about one of these. Four years of Wizards playoff action did it’s job to erase some of the memories. And when the Wizards last won the lottery in ’01, I was away in college, a bit lost in my following of the team.

Part of me has been somewhat giddy as I’ve gone through today, knowing that there is a chance. But then again, I’m a Wizards fan … I’m pretty sure we will NOT be landing in the top two. Guess finding a balance between these two is keeping medium, as Jim Zorn would advise.

I’m not really a superstitious person … no consistent lucky charms, just an odd infatuation with May 19th (so much so that I ran the ESPN lottery machine 19 times today, results below).

But I’ll surely find something “lucky” to do tonight, such as laying out all my Wizards/Bullets jerseys on the floor, starting with a #1 Rod Strickland Wiz jersey, followed by a #2 Chris Webber Bullets jersey, but definitely not a #4 Webber Bullets jersey. C-Webb will be on-stage representing the SacTown Kings, maybe the #4 will bring him bad luck.

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“Taste of Eleven”

Looking for a way to celebrate a Wizards draft lottery victory (or fail)? On Wednesday, Wizards Care will be hosting their 2nd annual “Taste of Eleven” luncheon at the Verizon Center in Chinatown, DC.

Basically, $11 buys you a ticket where you can select six lunch items from a selection provided by a ton of local restaurants. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Capital Area Food Bank.

The event is scheduled to run from 12:00-2:00 pm and tickets will be available to purchase at the door. If you are in the neighborhood, like me, might as well eat some good food while supporting a good cause.

My Pick Six: Cafe Atlantico, Matchbox Vintage Pizza Bistro, Morton’s Steakhouse, Zaytinya, Zengo and Zola.

Email Bag

email #1

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Some links as I waste my Sunday away, preparing for a couple game sevens, wearing my smelly, dirty homemade Ron Artest shirt, hoping for a Rockets win, or two close games in the least.

This past week, the Washington Post hosted a roundtable of Wizards bloggers. Each blog weighed in on what the team should do at a given draft position. Pretty cool when you think about it … MSM and Bloggers hanging out and stuff.

Pick #1: Keith McMillian, Washington Post
Pick #2: Truth About It.net (this place)
Pick #3: Wizards Extreme
Pick #4: Bullets Forever
Pick #5: WizzNutzz

Misunderstanding Media
Detroit Pistons blog, Full Court Press (on mlive.com), cited four paragraphs from the Bullets Forever contribution on Wizards Insider. Problem being, author Dave Dial failed to accurately represent that it was a blogger roundtable. He quoted three paragraphs written by the Pradamaster of Bullets Forever and one from Michael Lee of the WaPost without distinguishing the two authors. Dial also led with, “The Washington Post’s ‘Wizards Insider’ gives more credence to the fact that if the Wizards do not land in the top two picks they will look to trade the pick,” which is inaccurate. Yes, it is well known that Ernie Grunfeld sees the pick as an “asset”, i.e., trade-bait. However, the roundtable was speculation, and not necessarily an official team report as Dial’s use of the word “credence” seems to implicate.

We all make mistakes, and this really isn’t that big of a deal. But still, Dial clearly cut some kind of corner by not taking the time to fully understand the nature of the Wizards Insider piece.

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As if it was ‘Blog About Brendan Haywood‘ week … but as you’ll see, it’s not all about him.

Haywood had an online chat session via ESPN last week and took the opportunity to subtly call out a couple of the Wiz kids. And what would be a Wizards offseason without hoping that certain someone finally gains some maturity?

When asked how he could help the young bigs, specifically Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee, Haywood responded, “Both those guys have the skill but it comes down to being in shape and wanting to do it. Nothing I can do to help them, they have to want to do it on their own.”

Blatche’s career issues have been well documented. From getting shot during a car-jacking, purportedly set-up by gold diggers after a night of clubbing, to sleeping at the arena because he couldn’t pay rent, to snacking on nachos before a game because he didn’t think he’d play, to soliciting an undercover D.C. cop posing as a prostitute, to getting arrested for reckless driving and driving on a suspended license (three times over), Andray has had plenty bumps in the road, somewhat validating why he was overlooked by many GMs en route to slipping to the second round out of high school.

Blatche also hasn’t shown the improvement expected of him on the court. Despite claims of being more mature and “hungry” before ’08-09, which was snicked at by Haywood and Antawn Jamison, Blatche’s flashes of brilliance have been plagued by long spells of inconsistency, which can be mostly attributed to his poor conditioning, and general lack of focus. He’s even been named to the NBA All-Scapegoat team (ok, well … nominated by me).

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Blogging ain’t easy. Just ask Gilbert Arenas, who stopped his contributions to ‘Agent Zero: The Blog File’ on NBA.com (so he says) because blogging turned into a “double-edged sword.”

Now, a newbie to web-logging his thoughts, Brendan Haywood, is just trying to get his feet wet and learn the ropes.

In his first post on Yard Barker, Haywood threw some digs in LeBron James’ direction, saying “I think we all know that anytime you touch LeBron James, you’re going to be sent to the showers! You accidentally bump into him and you’re going to be “rub-a-dub-dubbing” in the locker room bathtub!”

For more of my thoughts on the subject, you can head to NBC Washington, “Haywood Tired of LeBron’s Superstar Treatment.”

But just as we were digesting the initial post by Haywood made only yesterday, Yard Barker is sending out email alerts that BTH has posted another blog entry today. Huh? Guess the guy is full steam ahead with his contract year media campaign.

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Did the Caps depress you this weekend? Did you spend time drinking on it?
Sorry.
The series isn’t over,
but you’re always welcome to pull up next to a Wizards fan at the bar.

First a couple Wizards-related pieces I wrote for NBC Washington (shameless self promotion):

“[Ernie Grunfeld is] panicking and that whole franchise is panicking, they are a dumb blockbuster trade waiting to happen,” said ESPN columnist Bill Simmons.
ESPN Columnist Wants To Fleece Wizards [NBC Washington]

From Miami, to throwing the opening pitch at a Nationals game, to La-La Land, Caron Butler is on a tour, going each and every place with a mic in his hand .
Caron Butler’s Championship Campaign [NBC Washington]

Speaking of … in case you missed Butler’s redemptive throw [via DC Sports Bog]:

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