Ok, Halloween Night, at the Verizon, ready for the Wiz to make up for last night’s loss in Atlanta. Unfortunately, the Wizards didn’t just lose the game, but they lost Caron Butler too.
Butler had an MRI and X-Ray today that revealed no structural damage; the diagnosis was a bruised kneecap. Before the game, Flip Saunders said he expected Butler to be back in the lineup against the Cavs in Cleveland on Tuesday. The official injury report is that he’s day-to-day.
In Caron’s place, Randy Foye will start; Mike Miller will move to the three-spot. Arenas obviously still starts at the point and Fabricio Oberto and Brendan Haywood will hold down the front court.
I spoke to Foye before the game. He said it will be a little bit different on out the court with the starters, but he will have the same mindset to play his game … be aggressive on offense, execute plays, and play hard on defense.
Foye will likely matchup against New Jersey’s Courtney Lee. He said he played against Lee last year and knows he’s a slasher who also likes to shot the corner three. His main goal, as with most any defensive assignment, is to make it tough on Lee before he gets to ball so that he can’t get in a good position to score.
Success of the Wizards is contingent upon the court leadership of Gilbert Arenas. This is not a ground-breaking concept. Despite looking “back” in Dallas, he’s still rusty, and he and the team have a good deal of the development “process” to go.
Nothing could have more exemplified this than the first quarter in Atlanta. As I wrote in the previous game post, Arenas had eight points, one turnover in the game’s first 6:20 and one point, five turnovers in the remainder of the first half. When the offense started to get sloppy, Arenas did not exert control on this situation to calm his team down.
A large part of the problem was that Arenas was breaking a lot of plays to drive to the basket. Yes, it’s true that you want Arenas to be aggressive, in particular because it would wear down Joe Johnson. However, that has to come more in the flow of the offense than it did tonight. Arenas kept calling his own number instead of letting the offense run itself and then dumping the ball to another scorer. The rest of the players were often not prepared for Arenas’ decisions and didn’t get in position to defend in transition.
The strive to achieve more balance is new to Arenas. It’s gonna take some time. All Wizards fans can do is have faith that the experience of Flip Saunders will work to correct these issues and the desire of Arenas to be a better player will make him wholly receptive to the process.
Let’s also be glad that Sam Cassell is around to put some flavor in Arenas’ ear.
Just as holistically in-sync the Wizards looked on Tuesday in Dallas, they looked about the exact opposite on Friday in Atlanta. What gives?
Sure, the team came on late behind some yesteryear Hibachi appetizers and a little Epic Vale pogo-stick length. But when Agent Zero goes from eight points and one turnover in the game’s first 6:20 to Agent Turnover with one point and five giveaways in the first half’s remaining 17:40, the team is digging itself a hole.
Gil likes to listen to Jay-Z before games … I wonder if he was listening to track #12 off ‘Kingdom Come’ pregame at the Phillips Arena.
Not to discredit the Hawks, they are a good team. But it was less of them beating the Wizards and more of the Wizards beating themselves. Oh … and well, Atlanta was also 31-34 from the free-throw line while the Wizards shot 14-22. The disparity seems dramatic, but the Wizards migrated between trying to carelessly attack the basket and settling for jumpers. So in that regard, the Wiz really don’t have anyone to blame but themselves … but I’ll also credit Atlanta’s defense just a tad.
Looking for areas to pin blame? Point guard play and poor initiation/stewardship of the offense stand out to me. To others, it was the defensive presence of Haywood (minus-11, tied with Arenas for the second worst plus/minus) and Blatche (team worst minus-17), and their inability to contain Al Horford and Josh Smith.
There were a couple positives … a bit of sun shining on the hound dog’s ass through a cloudy Georgia day if you will.
Just released: Team President Ernie Grunfeld announced that the Wizards would exercise the contract options on Nick Young and JaVale McGee. Young will be retained for his fourth season (2010-11) for an estimated $2,630,503, and McGee for his third season (also 10-11) for an estimated $1,601,040. [Salary Source: HoopsHype]
Now on to the preview of tonight’s game … back to the ATL already?
The Wizards were in Atlanta just over 10 days ago for a preseason game that was disappointing … to put it simply. Of course, they were without Gilbert Arenas and Mike Miller due to the flu, and Antawn Jamison due to a shoulder subluxation. Still, lack of effort is lack of effort.
Part of me wonders if tonight the players will be more motivated because of such a languid effort against a full Hawks squad last time. The other part of me says the past shouldn’t matter. Games now count, the effort should be present regardless.
Flip Saunders talks about the opening night win against the Mavericks and looks to Friday’s game against the Hawks in Atlanta. He also praises JaVale McGee for a hard practice and relates how his rotation can always change if players want to earn time.
Jamison talks about his shoulder feeling good, shooting for the first time, and being a cheerleader in Dallas.
Also, NBC 4′s Lindsay Czarniak sat down with Irene Pollin to talk about her involvement in professional sports with her husband Abe.
There are two states Wizards fans should be in after last night’s game: anxiousness relieved and mid-range.
Between Jamison being out for the next ten games or so, and an inconsistent preseason where the Wizards’ major players didn’t really see a ton of court time together, fans really didn’t know what to expect on opening night … in hostile territory and against a team that many expect to be amongst the best in the West (after the Lakers and Spurs).
There are certainly many different types of swagger, just ask Dan Steinberg. What was seen last night was ‘Sustainability Swag’. Every time Dirk started heating up, every time you thought the Mavs might make a run, the Wizards’ veterans came together and withstood oncoming water like a brick wall. The Wiz didn’t dazzle and amaze. They simply looked good. They were poised. Such composure and consistency on the court has been a rare sight for this franchise. Enjoy this one folks, you deserved it.
But at the same time, it was just one game. Wizards fans should stay mid-range, which is the basketball version of ‘Staying Medium’ … via Jim Zorn. Not to associate the Wizards with Dan Snyder’s sinking Titanic. Zorn seems like a good guy, but aside from that, the philosophy of not getting too high or low after wins and losses is a good one. Yes, beating Dallas was a great win that puts others on notice. But again, it was just one game, this team needs something more sustaining.
Game night is finally here. It seems like only yesterday I was pouting about my favorite league in my favorite sport ending and it’s back already.
I must admit, just under three hours before the Wizards tip off their season against the Mavericks in Dallas, I’m not exactly as pumped as I feel I should be. A lot of it probably has to do with Jamison being injured and my current level of optimism being a bit more guarded as a result.
Meh … all of this will probably change once the ball is thrown in the air and I’ll be as excited as a kid on Christmas Eve (or whatever holiday you may celebrate where you know will be getting presents the next day).
Mike Prada of Bullets Forever and I decided to kick this season off with a Washington Wizards-related podcast … The Dagger Report.
Ideally this would have been posted first thing this morning (or even yesterday), ideally these podcasts will be more accessible in the future (such as on iTunes or in an embedded player instead of just a link below), and ideally you will see podcast episodes from Mike and I once a week featuring a variety of guests … as you can tell, we got a lot of ideas. It’s a work in progress, just like Flip Saunders’ coaching footprint on this team.
Below is a rundown of what we will talk about in this first episode (stolen from Prada’s post on Bullets Forever):
In our first episode, we talk with Rashad Mobley from Hoops Addict about the Wizards’ preseason. Who should start while Antawn Jamison is injured? Who should start at shooting guard? Have the Wizards experimented too much in the preseason at the expense of developing a set rotation? Rashad, Kyle and I discuss these issues and more.
We also talk with Mark Riggs, aka Rook6980, about Flip Saunders’ Hawk offensive system and his defensive philosophies. How are the Wizards picking this stuff up? Which players should fit well, and which players don’t?
Finally, with the Wizards set to play the Dallas Mavericks tonight at 8:30, we talk with Rob Mahoney from the Mavericks blog The Two Man Game. How will Shawn Marion fit in with the Mavericks this season? What’s the next shoe to drop for the Mavericks? Who do we think has the edge in tonight’s matchup? We discuss these questions and more, including a part where I question how we can consider Jason Kidd a defensive liability.
His teammates might not understand what he’s saying, even when he speaks English. Nick Young doesn’t even use the guy’s proper name, electing to call him “Roberto” instead because according to Nick, it sounds better.
But none of this matters. Fabricio Oberto lets his play do the talking. And that type of visual, interactive comprehension goes above and beyond anything words could express. From experienced vet to unbeknownst youth, every Wizard respects the contributions of the long haired Argentinian rock-and-roll aficionado. When asked about integrating Oberto into the team’s dynamic, Caron Butler said, “Definitely, he’s family now.”
“He sets great picks … just a great teammate to have,” said Butler. “You know if you pass him the ball, the only thing you gotta do is cut because you’re getting the ball (back). I love having him out there. I love playing with him.”
Maybe Young, Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee don’t yet comprehend how to do the “little things” on the court themselves. But when they see someone else setting unrelenting screens, hustling to keep offense boards alive, and making intelligent, pin-point passes, it should be easy to recognize the effort … and hopefully it’s contagious.
Ok, as chance would have it, my preview for ESPN’s TrueHoop Network (of which Truth About It.net is apart) and my preview in conjunction with the big NBA blogger preview (coordinated by Jeff Clark of Celtics Blog), happen to fall on the same day — the Monday before the start of the 09-10 season. Perfect timing if you ask me.
So, below you will find my massive, bang-it-out, smörgåsbord (don’t worry, the proper accents on the Swedish word come for free) preview of the Washington Wizards. Some content is specific to the TrueHoop Network preview, and some content is specific to the big NBA blog preview (which, for the Wizards, was actually supposed to be posted on Sunday, but I waited).
Enjoy and godspeed.
Basketball is a thinking man’s game?
Sure, many Wizards have a championship on the brain, but what else?
Well … the preseason ended on a poor note Friday in Chicago. Meh. At least the Wizards’ preseason mantra of “It’s just the preseason” can no longer be used … cheers all around.
Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that forward Antawn Jamison’s right shoulder has been re-evaluated and that the findings were consistent with the original diagnosis of a subluxation. He is expected to miss from four to six weeks from the date of the injury (Jamison sustained the injury in the Wizards’ 109-104 win in Cleveland on Oct. 14).
Honestly, I kinda expected this to be the case … especially when a shoulder briefly pops out of place. Better to be safe than sorry I guess.
Flip Saunders said he would probably start Fabricio Oberto tonight against the Bulls so that Andray Blatche can get used to his role of coming off the bench … wonder if this now changes the plan.
Antawn Jamison could be out until around December. Damn.
Sure, many Wizards have a championship on the brain, but what else?
