Posts in month: January, 2010

5:49:23 PM: If Mike Miller scores 26 points against the Mavs tonight, he’ll reach 9,000 for his career.

6:04:28 PM: Same starters for Wizards: Foye, Stevenson, Butler, Jamison & Haywood.

6:06:06 PM: When asked to grade the first half, Flip Saunders gave the Wizards an “incomplete.”

6:10:22 PM: In addition to Flip, other active NBA coaches w 600+ wins: Nelson, Sloan, Jackson, Brown, Karl, Adelman, Popovich & Dunleavy.

6:22:58 PM: Ha! RT @macg_og: @Truth_About_It Ask Miller about proposed All White League, 1st question, is he too black?

6:24:35 PM: RT @MrMichaelLee Terry is Arizona product like Arenas: “We’re a brotherhood. He’s going through a rough time, but we’re here to support him”

6:25:52 PM: RT @MrMichaelLee Flip: “We’re not where we want to be, no question…since Tawn got hurt in Cleveland, things haven’t fallen into place.”

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For the hell of it, here are some locker room portraits from before and after Monday’s game against Portland. And below the jump, some must-read links that you should check out.

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First, JaVale McGee swatted four shots last Saturday against the Kings to surpass 100 blocks for his career.  Now this:

I’d say things are looking up for the kid. Now if he can further prove his worth in Flip Saunders’ zone defense, he just might get more burn on the court.

Relevant Stat: Wizards team blocks per 48 minutes goes up 5% when McGee is on the floor. [82games.com]

Video: JaVale McGee on achieving his 100th career block:

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{flickr/Keith Allison}

Kevin McHale once told Randy Foye, “Anything [Dwyane Wade] can do, you can do.” I doubt Wade would have come up short in three crucial game situations as Foye did in Chicago, but the team and fans are finding out that the 26-year old might be worth keeping after this season. He has stepped up his play in Gilbert Arenas’ absence, and has proven to be a high character guy.

Not counting the blowout in Cleveland (because the Wizards were going through mental shock from the last-minute indefinite suspension of Arenas and Foye didn’t even start), in the seven games Foye has filled in as the Wizards’ starting point guard, he has averaged 18.6 points (.438 FG%), 7.1 assists, 1.9 turnovers, and 3.3 rebounds per game.

Of course, give any player more minutes and his numbers will go up. Foye has averaged 38:40 minutes over his last seven compared to 17:39 over his first 32 games. To put his latest stats in perspective, it’s best to compare his numbers per 36 minutes between the defined pre- and post-Gilbert Arenas eras [note: Foye's one missed game came November 14th against the Pistons; he had a sprained ankle].

Here are Randy’s per 36 numbers over the recent seven-game span with the amount of change from his first 32 in parenthesis: Read more »

Before and after today’s Wizards game against the Portland Trailblazers, I was able to track down almost all of the players to get their thoughts on what playing basketball on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day means to them. I talked to everyone on the “official” Wizards roster except Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton (for obvious reasons), Fabricio Oberto (uh … just because), and Caron Butler (because he was able to duck out before garnering media attention).

Here’s the video, enjoy …

A framed picture of Gilbert Arenas making a goofy face, surely the reason why Antawn Jamison is laughing, still hangs outside of the entrance to the training room from the Wizards’ locker room.

Flip Saunders, 600 and counting …

Before asking Flip Saunders the first question at Saturday’s post-game presser, I congratulated the coach on his 600th NBA career win. He begrudgingly acknowledged the feat by saying, “It just shows that I’ve been in the league a long time.”

“It’s scary because we’re not that far away, yet we are far away,” said Saunders after the victory over Sacramento. You have to feel for the coach. He certainly thought he was getting into a better situation in Washington, and surely didn’t think it would take 39 games to achieve the 13 wins he needed to get to 600.

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The quote from an anonymous Wizard in a piece by Mike Wise and Michael Lee from last Friday’s Washington Post has clearly resonated negatively with me.

The players are expecting trades will be made between now and the Feb. 18 trade deadline. When asked how the team can focus on basketball moving forward, one player said, “It won’t matter. We all going to be out of here anyway.”

On one hand, you can’t look down upon said player with complete disdain. Part of human nature is having an emotional reaction when you feel that your efforts are fruitless. It happens to regular, non-millionaires in their jobs too. We are all capable of having such irrational and irresponsible thoughts enter our minds, if only briefly.

What acts as a separator is the difference between those who act on such thoughts and those who know better, those who let them escape from their minds because their character is higher than others. Guess which side the player who anonymously shares his apathy with a newspaper man is on.

I don’t want to be the guy who harps on a “these guys get paid millions” agenda. But professional athletes get paid so much because fans spend their hard-earned money to watch them play. The players are obligated to earn their salary by giving it their all in an attempt to display the best product possible.

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The above image is iconic in the history of the Washington Wizards/Bullets franchise. The 7’7″ Manute Bol, the 5’3″ Muggsy Bogues … it’s easy to see why.

And while the image below of the 7’7″ Gheorghe Muresan reaching out to slap fives with the 5’5″ Earl Boykins isn’t even close to being as iconic, it’s still pretty damn adorable.

Unfortunately, this scene had to come after yet another Wizards loss, their 24th of the season. The look on the kid’s face to the right says it all … notice his less than half-hearted attempt to give the Wizards a hand slap as they exit the court.

Washington has lost two games since, four in a row overall, and head into tonight’s game against the Sacramento Kings with a record of 12-26. Flip Saunders is still searching for his 600th career win. I’m at the Verizon Center to cover the game and I’ll be rooting for him. Read more »

I don’t want to pick on Randy Foye. He’s a good guy who wants to succeed in the most honorable way possible. His numbers have also been admirable as of late. Over the last five games, Foye has averaged 20.6 points, 7.8 assists, 1.8 turnovers, 4.0 rebounds and a block and a steal. So, I can’t exactly blame Foye for having the ball in his hands at the end of regulation, the first overtime AND the second overtime with the game on the line, but I can blame the Wizards as a team for putting Foye in those situations.

It’s absolutely unfathomable that neither Antawn Jamison nor Caron Butler — the stars, the studs, the captains, and perhaps two Wizards in the midst of their swan songs with the franchise — had the ball in their hands in any of those crucial waning moments where the game was lost, but could have been won. Remember the game winners Caron Butler hit against Toronto and Indiana last season? I do.

But the Wizards fought the whole way. Butler, Jamison and Brendan Haywood combined for 77 points, 46 rebounds and 159 minutes. The team limited turnovers, only six, and shared the ball to the tune of 23 assists. The bench didn’t provide much, aside from an eight point flash from Earl Boykins, and got outscored 27-14. Andray Blatche put up a stat line of three missed shots, two rebounds and three fouls in 10 minutes.

The Wizards lost 121-119 to the Bulls in double-overtime. Oh well, nothing new. It bes like that sometimes.

{Randy Foye’s Three Moments}

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Gilbert Arenas attempted his most over-the-top gag ever. Wearing a fancy designer backpack to the front, Arenas brought a gun to the Washington Wizards locker room on December 21st specifically to escalate a gambling dispute by playing what has been called a prank on Javaris Crittenton, rendering moot Arenas’ claim that guns were in the Verizon Center because he didn’t want them around his children at home. Instead of a prank, Gilbert ended up playing himself and the team.

Joke’s on you Wizards fans! Behind doors one, two and three, the choices are all the same … {game show announcer voice} your franchise is in shambles! Congrats!

Someone has loaded this franchise’s cubicle with packing peanuts, wrapped all office supplies in tin foil, placed frozen cans of shaving cream in desk drawers, hidden dead fish in unknown places, submerged the computer in toilet water, and oh yea, there are loaded guns buried somewhere in those packing peanuts. Be careful.

Wait, you didn’t get the joke? Well, you’re just too damn sensitive. Get over yourself.

>>>>

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What I know from Twitter reports & the D.C. Superior Court website (so far):

• Case: 2010 CF2 000904 United States Vs. ARENAS, GILBERT J
• Arenas pleads guilty to felony charge of “Carrying a Pistol Without a License [Outside Home or Place of Business]“
• Among other guns, the prosecution is saying that Arenas brought a .500 Magnum Silver Smith & Wesson revolver to the Verizon Center on December 21.
• Prosecution also says that Arenas threatened to “shoot [Crittenton] in the face during plane confrontation.”
• The government is recommending “low end” guidelines, which would include six months or less in prison (could be no time in prison, could be more time in prison – it is all up the the judge at this point).
• Arenas has been released and must surrender his passport and “refrain from possessing guns.”
• Sentencing for this case will be on March 26, 2010; the Wizards play the Bobcats in Charlotte on that date.
• The judge has declined to expedite sentencing to a sooner date. Evidently the judge was open to prior week, but Arenas’ lawyer was not available.

Twitter Sources: @dcsportsbog, @MikeJonesSports, @MrMichaelLee and @mikedebonis, with thanks to @theReal_ScottR for the lead on court documents and @wzzntzz for pic via TwitPic.

Links: Washington Post Story

UPDATE from ESPN.com:

[Prosecutor Chris] Kavanaugh, reading in court from a statement of facts that Arenas agreed to, said the charge stemmed from a Dec. 19 dispute with another player over a card game. Kavanaugh did not identify the other player, but authorities have searched the home of teammate Javaris Crittenton for a gun.

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Has a franchise ever been at a crossroads like the Washington Wizards? As some analysts predicted Washington to compete for a fourth seed this season, no NBA team has fallen further from expectations. That should be enough. Now, the once face of the team has been cast aside, partially due to his irresponsibility in bringing guns into the locker room and partially due to his resulting immature treatment of a serious situation.

Antawn Jamison is the consummate veteran, a Gentleman, as goes his nickname. Caron Butler is the during-game straw chewing guy, former mass consumer of Mountain Dew who arose from 15 arrests before 15 years on this earth to make the NBA, one whom his former coach Eddie Jordan nicknamed, “Tough Juice.” Gilbert Arenas was once the guy who went to Barry Farms, D.C.’s equivalent of Rucker Park, by himself sans entourage just because he liked being around regular people. All three of these massive basketball figures in the Nation’s Capital — each playing a role in the four-year playoff run that resuscitated basketball in the DMV, are on the verge of being set afloat down the Potomac.

Now, one is making vain attempts for a team wrought with futility. Another only provides waning memories of a past All-Star self. A third has created an unfathomable situation, with pranks, guns, shoe turds, and exposing the issue of guns and NBA players via the quiet, polite kid from Atlanta whom no one would expect to lock and load his own gun while singing. All could be gone by February. Question is, will management gut the house, bulldoze the structure and give everything away? Or will Ernie Grunfeld get some ‘Bubs from The Wire’-like ingenuity and receive assets in return for his valuable scrap metal. Either way, if cap room is the direction, the Wizards better hope they get lucky in the draft and overpay the right veteran free-agent, else the future is a long time away.

[This originally appeared in the January 15, 2010 edition of the Daily Dime on ESPN.com] Read more »

Statement from Washington Wizards:

“We are aware of the charge filed against Gilbert Arenas today and will continue to follow the ongoing legal process very carefully.  We will also continue to cooperate fully with the proper authorities and the NBA.  Beyond our previous statements on this serious and unfortunate matter, will have no further comment at this time.”

Not much here.

And right now, the felony charge (specifically, “Carrying a Pistol Without a License [Outside Home or Place of Business], in violation of 22 D.C. Code, Section 4504(a) (2001 ed.)“), doesn’t mean much until we become aware of further developments. Of course, it’s certainly worse that a misdemeanor charge, but remember these important things:

• A charge isn’t a conviction.
• A felony charge doesn’t mean Arenas can’t plea down to a lesser charge, or plea to a felony and not receive jail time.
• A felony charge isn’t necessarily a step toward being able to void Arenas’ contract — that likely comes as a result of Arenas being convicted of a felony or him pleading guilty to a felony.
• Stephen Jackson pleaded guilty to a felony charge of criminal recklessness for firing a gun in the air in June of 2007. Jackson was fined $5,000 and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service. The NBA suspended him for seven games. His contract was not voided.
• For what it’s worth, in 2001, Ruben Patterson entered a modified guilty plea in Washington state to third-degree attempted rape. He made his children’s nanny perform oral sex on him. He was only suspended five games.
• The “moral turpitude” thing in terms of voiding Arenas’ contract is still in play, but many say that would be very tough to accomplish, unless there is a felony conviction or felony guilty plea.
• The Washington Post reports that Arenas will appear in D.C. Superior Court on Friday.
• So, hold those horses and whatever else you must hold. There’s a lot more to develop.

Also:

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Of mice, of men … the Hawks were the predator and the Wizards were the prey. Early, both teams were cold. I’ll concur with a comment of Wiz broadcast TV HOFer (or at least he should be if he’s not … if that type of thing exists), Steve Buckhantz, who said that unlike versus the Pistons, the Wizards started against Atlanta with energy. They just couldn’t buy a basket, and neither could the Hawks in the beginning.

The Wizards should have felt at home though, the Phillips Arena looked dwarfed by the Verizon Center in capacity. After getting down by as many as 22 points, 40-18 with 3:43 left in the second quarter, the Wizards made the game competitive, getting as close as two points, 66-64, with 11:41 left in the game. But they never could get over a seven point hump late in the fourth quarter.

The Wizards were bested by only 43.5% shooting from the Hawks and a couple ineffectual turnovers. They lost to the better team, and not necessarily because of lack of effort, but because they are not very good.

It’s worth observing that their reason to play inspired basketball has drastically dwindled. If two things plague this team most, one is lack of discipline, which is on the account of the players inconsistently following Flip Saunders’ game plan and often free-styling at crucial points of the game. The second is that the Wizards are not hungry, as in, ‘Did you see D-League call-up Mario West hustle his ass off?’ West had four offensive rebounds in 12 minutes.

As a team, the Wizards don’t know how to play like the Mario Wests of the world, many evidently comfortable with the status quo. Someone tomorrow will take solace in the fact the Wizards fought back from a deficit the size of Jim McIlvaine‘s jersey number. That same someone has started out the decade rooting for moral victories.

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With the latest goings-ons with Andray Blatche, I naturally was curious as to what two of the franchise’s more veteran players thought of the situation. Both Antawn Jamison and Brendan Haywood have played with Blatche for his entire career. So, it was worth asking them their opinion of the progress, especially maturity-wise, that Andray has made so far this season, and how big of a setback this latest one-game suspension for complaining about shots, among other things, was for the 23-year old, i.e., are those such as myself and Mike Jones overreacting to this most recent incident.

After the Pistons game, I posed some questions to each. One answered like a team captain, saying Blatche has got to “grow from it, and it’s not a time to really chastise him and dwell on it,” and also indicating that he would talk to Andray about it on the plane to Atlanta.

The other answered like … well, like he really didn’t want to answer. Just watch.

[Note #1: From the description above, you can probably figure out who was whom. It's worth noting that after I turned off the camera, Haywood said to me (half-jokingly), "I'm a vet, you're not going to get me like that."

I wasn't really trying to "get" Haywood, but I can certainly understand him taking a guarded approach with the media, especially in these times, and especially when some goofy white dude is following him a Flip Camera. To Haywood's credit, he also indicated he would speak with Andray on the plane.]

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