When news of the Gilbert Arenas-Rashard Lewis trade broke, it was received with a groan. The less-than-enthusiastic reception of the 31-year-old Lewis wasn’t so much a public damnation of his basketball abilities, nor an uninterested dismissal of his more intangible, clichéd qualities – veteran leadership, for instance. No, it was the result of a city, of a fanbase, coming to grips with the end of an era.

The Washington Wizards traded away their (cult) hero, and all they got in return was a “lousy” stretch four.

Just a week before Christmas, Lewis arrived in the nation’s capital with his long frame, his long contract, and his long face. Rough. Nick Young—by way of Gilbert Arenas’ interview with ESPN’s Michael Wallace—made Lewis’ first impressions public:

“He was telling me about Rashard Lewis. Nick was like, ‘I don’t know if he’s going to make it two weeks here. He feels like the world just ended.’ “

From a professional standpoint, getting traded to the Washington was one of the worst things that could have happened to Lewis. In the time it takes to pen a bit of chicken scratch on a trade agreement, he went from championship contender to NBA doormat. But for the Wizards, the acquisition of the former All-Star was the best thing that could have happened to team—luck of the lottery draw notwithstanding.

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The highlights and good times from John Wall’s rookie year represent the icing on the big ol’ cookie (or cake) that vested hype-machine types gladly diddle themselves to while resting assured on pillows encased with media & PR mints at night. Fodder for rainbows, puppy dogs and ice cream, but relatively useless to Wall himself. He doesn’t seem to take comfort in digits and puffery. Rather, he’s the sort wired to be driven toward success by frustration and failure, i.e., he’s a non-believer in the injury/rebuilding excuses readily applied by some around him. Nor does he appear to possess a complacency or apathy toward loving the game of basketball as some of his teammates have so often conveyed. He actually appears to despise such attitudes. At least this is what dime-store pessimists such as myself optimistically believe.

No, it’s not ‘John Wall Wednesday’ here at Truth About It.net, although there could be a subsequent related post coming this evening that would make it three in a row about the 2010 No. 1 NBA Draft pick. But, you see, no biggie when it comes to the franchise pillar. Wall’s inaugural season has barely been put to rest as his NBA future looks to gainfully go from embryonic to full-on fetus mode. And then who knows… a crawl, walk or sprint into the postseason seems inevitable. Rookie year perspective is a prerequisite, yet no one will know how to properly assess Wall’s 2010-11 until a couple/several years from now. In the meantime, let’s take a videographic look at the experience of the rookie’s emotions through his carefully considered and well-trained quotes to the media covering his team, the Washington Wizards. Dissect this one way now and be ready to reconsider down the road.

John Wall is so fast, but he’s always waiting.

He breezes past defenders with more than quickness, aided by long strides and big steps. Still, he often waits.

In attacking the rim with an offensive mind, Wall plays the waiting game. Waiting for the defending arms to clear out of the way. Waiting, and bracing, for a potential hit… a foul call if he’s lucky. Waiting for the last possible second to release his shot, a layup attempt at his final destination. Waiting until the coast is clear. Waiting to finish with points.

Some haven’t considered the exciting, scary thought — those two emotions coming from two different angles. You didn’t see an NBA-ready John Wall this season. His rookie eating habits were horrible, but expected for a teenager. His mentality fought to adjust to League-caliber athletes, and in many instances made them adjust to him. His body was not always fully healthy, and he admittedly rushed back before fully healed (yet one day he’ll have to play hurt like Kobe Bryant). His semi-suspect Reebok shoes went through some “adjustments” to make them “firmer” after Wizards officials and training staff met with the shoe company, according to the Washington Post’s Michael Lee. If these things were holding Wall back to even the slightest degree, Wizards fans should be the excited ones, and the rest of the League should be scared.

Wall was introduced to the District with police escorts, red carpets and a section of a city unknown to him draped with marketing efforts featuring his name. He scored 1,131 points, tallied 574 assists, 317 rebounds and 121 steals in 69 games. No other NBA rookie has reached those milestones in less than 70 games; Chris Paul, Mark Jackson and Tim Hardaway are the only other rookies who have done it period, according to Basketball-Reference.com. Wall also won the NBA’s Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month Award in January, February, March and April. All of the meaningless pizazz, surface accolades and numbers are there, but the best has yet to come. Just you wait.

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Countless people, possibly from Iowa, likely a family member or a friend, probably told Kirk Hinrich, “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger,” in reference to his tenure with the Wizards. It amounted to an eight-month rental, a Nietzschian level of suffering in exchange for a better future, while the depreciation of basketball assets actually made Kirk weaker, ironically. In reality, aside from a potential second round playoff match-up, Atlanta may be no closer to the mindset of sweet home Chicago than Washington was. But in the eye of the beholder, Hinrich carriers on as if left with no other choice. This is an ode to Kirk Hinrich, mostly because he now possesses the forced knowledge of what it’s like to be a Washington Wizard…

An unwilling District arrival after a Bullish flirtation with a puppet King,
The Wizard Kirk Hinrich role-played the reluctant leader with hints of relent,
But with a bounty fit for royalty that would make anyone sing,
The counter-Beltway mentality of balancing patience through lost time and money spent.

A transfer’s exchange of stale talent for a fresh rebuild,
A temporary professor breaking basketball barriers for Walls,
A shoulder shrug compliance to it is what it is.

The unappreciated professional who comes with great skill,
Not necessarily the leader, but a Captain to all,
Don’t worry much for fair Kirk, because it’s all just part of the biz.

Quoting Kirk Hinrich…

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When a key deadline trade goes down between a playoff team needing help and a non-playoff team needing to rebuild, most feel bad for the veteran going to the losing situation —  Sasha Vujacic, Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis, Mike Bibby, Maurice “Mo” Evans come to mind from this season. The secondary consideration, partially because he’s going to that losing team, is the young player who would gladly trade riding the bench during a playoff run for a chance to suit up for a team going nowhere. Jordan Crawford got that and more when he went from Atlanta to Washington. He got off to a hot start with a new team that he wouldn’t give up on, even when hindered by a back injury. He got that treasured green light, which is rare, even for a lottery team. But what happens when that green light ends?

Crawford arrived in Washington at February’s trade deadline along with the 18th pick of the 2011 draft and a good veteran influence in Evans. In exchange, the Wizards gave up Kirk Hinrich (owed $8 million next season) and Hilton Armstrong. They also got the unexpected bonus of a money-saving buyout of Mike Bibby, who also came with Crawford and Evans from Atlanta. Because of a knee injury to Nick Young, he suddenly found himself going from the 12th or 13th man on the bench to full-time starter by his seventh game with the Wizards. He ended up starting his final 17 games in Washington, out of 26 total games with the team. The carefree Wizards bunch went a respectable 7-10 in those last 17 games, during which Crawford averaged 20 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists (to 3.1 turnovers), and 1.3 steals. Pretty impressive for the 27th pick of the 2010 draft.

But what’s a constant green light scenario without some wrecks and gridlock? Specifically speaking, Crawford’s intriguingly erratic and promise-filled offense comes with the caveat of him shooting  .394 from the field on 19.5 attempts per game in 40.7 minutes per contest. Volume shooting like that can get you beat. He also shot .280 from three (1.2 makes per game), and .877 from the free-throw line (3.8 attempts per game).

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As the NBA regular season has concluded and the playoffs are now underway, sports pundits peppered the airwaves and series of tubes last week with playoffs prognostications. Storylines were plentiful abound.

Can the Los Angeles Lakers three-peat? Will the Kendrick Perkins trade prevent Boston Celtics from a championship? Do the San Antonio Spurs have another title in them? Will Lebron James finally get a ring now that he’s surrounded himself with more talent? Can the Oklahoma City Thunder or Chicago Bulls parlay their regular season accomplishments into deep playoff runs?

While the opinions of media members and fans do carry some weight (just ask them!), I thought it would be a good idea to ask the players, who actually compete against playoff the participants, what two teams they see making the NBA finals and who will win it all.

I complied the predictions of Washington Wizards John Wall, Jordan Crawford, Mo Evans, Nick Young, Kevin Seraphin, Trevor Booker, JaVale McGee, Othyus Jeffers, and Coach Flip Saunders in the video below. Watch to find out which two players chose to be coy in their responses.

Considering I selected the Wizards to win 40 games this season, my foresight credibility is on shaky ground, so I will refrain from making picks. Personally speaking, I would like to see a Thunder-Bulls finals. The Kevin Durant-Russell Westbrook versus Derrick Rose-Joakim Noah matchup would usher fresh faces to the championship stage, which could be nice for the League before it heads into a lengthy labor dispute work stoppage.

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Tension arises from the final Washington Wizards game of the season. Many fans were content with the loss to Cleveland. The 100-93 defeat on Wednesday means they stand-alone with the fourth-worst record in the NBA, and not tied with two other teams (New Jersey and Sacramento) for the fifth worst record, which could have had major implications on the NBA Draft Lottery. Other the other hand, they lost to Cleveland and looked pretty terrible in doing so.

Here’s where the “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” conflict arises. During the game, Comcast’s television play-by-play man Steve Buckhantz mentioned multiple times how Flip Saunders instructed his players before the game that he wanted them to treat it like a playoff affair. But removing John Wall, Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee from the fourth quarter equation (when Washington went into the final period with a 74-71 lead), and then later taking out Jordan Crawford three and a half minutes into the period (the Cavaliers having taken an 81-76 lead), clearly swings the philosophy from treating it like a playoff atmosphere to tanking for the lottery. Worth mentioning that Wall “tweaked” something or another during the game (didn’t look major, better to be safe than sorry), Blatche and McGee were playing like they didn’t deserve to stay on the floor (we’ll get to them), and Crawford was 2-14 from the field (the lackadaisical demeanor assumed by some on the team clearly having an effect on the unit as a whole).

Flip Saunders told the Washington Post:

“I thought our first, main group played really well. I probably would like to see them play the whole game, the way they were playing. We were moving the ball, we were really active and pretty much dominating in many aspects. But it was a good opportunity for us to see a lot of the young guys.”

This is all fine and good … a minor blip of purposed losing on a crappy season. You can’t have your cake and eat it too, Wizards fans. It was also clear, per the Post’s Michael Lee, that many of the Wizards just didn’t give damn about the loss afterward, which also served as an indication of apathetic play during the game. Trey Kerby of the Basketball Jones so eloquently captures the scene as described by Lee.

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Thursday was exit interview day for the Washington Wizards. Players cleaned out their lockers for the offseason, engaged in parting conversations with the coaching staff, and met with the media as they trickled out of the Verizon Center with their belongings. JaVale McGee and Yi Jianlian lugged big garbage sacks full of their stuff while Nick Young was carefully leaving with a fat head poster of himself.

Throughout the individual interviews, there was an overlapping sense of reflection and relief that a long season had concluded. Jordan Crawford was thankful for the opportunity he received with the Wizards. Trevor Booker gave himself a B-minus grade for his rookie campaign. John Wall emphasized learning how to lead grown men in the NBA. And Nick Young mused nostalgic about his four-year career with the organization.

The past month of solid play provided optimism for next season, but since the Wizards missed the playoffs, the unknown future of a labor dispute is no longer looming. It has now officially moved to the forefront, with the clock ticking down to the end of June when the CBA expires.

This was apparent in Mo Evans, Vice President of the NBA Players Association Executive Committee, articulating the Union’s positions of not budging on a hard cap, contract lengths or giving up the Larry Bird Rights that past generations of players had won. Also, Young proclaiming that he is basically unemployed was a chilling reminder that he might not have a job for awhile, with or without the Wizards.

There were several moments of brevity and humor. JaVale McGee seemed to have no clue that Wall was a team captain, complained about $4 gas, would not disclose at which beach he was going to be vacationing, for fear of potential stalkers, and joked that his dribbling tendencies were because he was not always 7-feet tall.

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Big night tonight. The Washington Capitals begin their post-season with a game against the New York Rangers in D.C. while the Washington Wizards begin their off-season after their final match of the year against the Cavaliers in Cleveland. The Wiz Kids will one day be in the playoffs, next year according to John Wall, but until then, fans will have to be content with marking May 17 down on their calendars (when the NBA’s Draft Lottery will be held), while watching 16 other teams compete for the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Speaking of the NBA playoffs, I dropped some opinionated knowledge on ESPN.com about who will shine in the post-season … check it out if you will.

Moving on…

On Monday, 71-year old NBA referee Dick Bavetta called the Wizards home finale against the Boston Celtics. Known as the Cal Ripken Jr. of referees, Bavetta has been calling games since 1975 and has never missed an assignment. Going into this season, Bavetta had called an NBA-record 2,434 games that he’s obviously continued to build on in this his 36th season.

Watching him work a game from the sideline is an interesting experience. He barely makes a sound. Imagine that, a silent NBA referee. Bavetta doesn’t scream, he doesn’t even talk, much. Instead, he opts to communicate with the other members of his crew with hand signals and gestures, as well as getting players into their correct position in the same manner. I imagine he does it to conserve energy. Regardless of reason, the effective use of such a method conveys the respect that comes with time and age. There have been reports that the league would prefer Bavetta to retire, as they did not assign the dean of referees to work the NBA Finals last season. With clouds of a potential lockout looming, this season could really be the last for the legend.

Let’s take of look at some pictures I took from what could be Bavetta’s last game in Washington…

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Sure, the best thing about the missed Von Wafer dunk on Monday night was him unknowingly flexing/basking in his own non-accomplishment afterward on the baseline, and then turning around to run back on defense only to find a teammate who’d recovered the live ball directly in his path. That teammate, Jermaine O’Neal, ended up being called for a violation because Wafer ran into him after he’d picked up his dribble, causing him to take another dribble. Boston turnover.

Actually, the “best thing” was that Wafer’s dunk would have put the Celtics up four points with three minutes left in overtime; Washington ended up winning by one point. But another “thing” about the failed dunk attempt was the warm towel and icy-hot rubdown that JaVale McGee and Andray Blatche offered Wafer as he easily glided toward the basket, unimpeded and observed from a comfy distance by the defense. Maybe the courteous treatment actually helped Wafer blow his easy dunk off the rim. We’ll never know.

What we do know is what the whole event looked like from the sideline, in picture form, and partially obscured by referee Dick Bavetta:

The Dunk Attempt.

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[The Experimental McGee & Green - photo: K. Weidie]

Around 6:10pm, just 50 minutes before the Boston Celtics were to take on the Washington Wizards, a weary Doc Rivers stepped out of his office to meet with the media.  He exchanged a few pleasantries with the familiar Boston media, and then he got right down to business and told everyone that Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce were going sit the game out.  The starters were going to be Delonte West, Von Wafer, Jermaine O’Neal, Glen “Big Baby” Davis and Jeff Green.

This was a curious move considering the Celtics went into Monday night just one game behind the Miami Heat for the second seed in the NBA playoffs.  The Heat had to visit Atlanta to play the Hawks, and the Celtics had a very winnable game (with their starters at least) against Wizards, who they had just beaten on Friday night.  Rivers seemed to be prematurely conceding that second seed to the Heat by removing his starters from the equation.   He explained his actions before the game.

“We’re gonna sit our guys today and try to get some rest and get ready for the playoffs.  The way were playing, we do need it, so we’re going to take it, plus we don’t have a lot of time.  We got Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday [to rest our starters] and then Wednesday could be a great practice, so I’ d rather do that…The decision ws made in how we played last night [Sunday night's 100-77 loss to Miami].”

Rivers’ decision meant that West and O’Neal would get the minutes they needed to find their games, as both have missed significant time due to injury.  It would allow Wafer and Davis to get starter’s minutes and refine their respective games before the playoffs, and most importantly, it would allow Jeff Green to find some degree of comfort.

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So I mistakenly published a post before last night’s game that I’d already prepared about Andray Blatche versus Kevin Garnett without first finding out that Garnett was to sit out against the Wizards. Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo and Shaquille O’Neal also joined Andray’s sort-of rival in not taking the court, a rivalry which Andray now gladly plays down.

But the game without Boston’s stars and Washington’s “veterans” (Nick Young, Rashard Lewis and Josh Howard) wasn’t exactly meaningless. Combined with a Miami Heat win over the Atlanta Hawks, Boston’s 95-94 overtime loss to the Wizards means they will finish third in the East with a match-up against the New York Knicks awaiting in the playoffs. Miami will face the seven-seed Philadelphia 76ers. On the other hand, all of the teams Washington’s draft lottery combination odds needed to win last night ended up losing. At 23-58 with one game left Wednesday at Cleveland, the Wizards now sit softy with the fourth worst record in the NBA, a game better than the Toronto Raptors and a game worse than each the Sacramento Kings and the New Jersey Nets, who both sit tied for the fifth worst record at 24-57.

“You always have people saying, ‘you’re winning games, you’re losing lottery balls,’ but I guess last year we showed it really didn’t matter where you are,” said Flip Saunders last night after the game. The coach relayed that he’d rather see his team learn the lesson of making a six-point comeback with less than a minute left in regulation than worry about down-the-road chances. And with that, I’d have to agree, especially if it means a disappointing departure for the Celtics fans that infiltrated the Verizon Center.

Waiting for Saunders at his post-game press conference, many members of the media scoffed at the idea of Washington’s win being entertaining. Flip himself called it a “grinder.” But if you like big missed dunks (thanks to Von Wafer), rookie No. 1 overall draft picks knocking down three crucial free-throws in a row (thanks to John Wall’s calmness that brought the Wizards within 83-82 with 21 seconds left in regulation), and a lottery-bound team making a six point comeback on playoff-bound reserves, amongst other notable occurrences, then the game was for you. If you like the nuance of a physical affair, played more like a meaningful game rather than with completely careless unfamiliarity, then you might be a basketball fan. All the stars need not be aligned, or around, to form a basketball game worthy of enjoyment in the season’s home finale. Wall and his team came through for the D.C. fans.

And without Kevin Garnett, Andray Blatche found all he could handle in a Glen “Big Baby” Davis. Both players went face-to-face and belly-to-belly in an overall physical match-up that involved the two teams combining to commit 56 fouls and to score 53 of the game’s 189 points from the free-throw line. Let’s go to the pictures from this grind-it-out affair. Read more »

[UPDATE: So yea, Garnett is not playing tonight, so there's that with publishing a pre-prepared post without checking.]

A match-up between the Washington Wizards and Boston Celtics always brings a bit of intrigue, regardless of win-loss records. This can usually be attributed to the presence of two players: Andray Blatche and Kevin Garnett.

The spat is like big brother, little brother, with Blatche once looking up to Garnett as an upcoming player. Many experts also long ago aptly compared the style of both. Well, a comparison in terms of their ability as lengthy big men who can stretch the floor. But that’s pretty much where it ends. Blatche has always lacked something intangibly significant that Garnett has. If you know anything about the game of basketball, you know what I’m talking about. And that’s seemingly what angers the old Celtic most in his face-offs against Blatche, that Andray is not what he should be. The treatment of little brother never ends in a friendly manner.

Watch during the game. Garnett will attempt to instigate Blatche out of his mental comfort zone with poking, prodding, talking, and everything in between. Last season, Blatche responded to Garnett’s “wolfing” (or woffing) to the point where it caused some strife between Blatche and his own coach, Flip Saunders.

Flip’s main point as one with much experience coaching Garnett: when Andray responds or reacts to any degree, Garnett wins. Since, Blatche has tried his best to ignore Garnett’s prickish antics and just play basketball. It hasn’t always worked out, but the Wizards also always seem to be more competitive than expected versus the Celtics, partial credit due to Blatche.

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[John Wall before the tip-off.]

People will say that the Atlanta Hawks lost to the Washington Wizards on Saturday night because they were without Josh Smith. Because they were unmotivated against a free-flying Wizards team with their playoff seeding already set. A date as the five seed going to Orlando to play the Magic awaits the Hawks in the first round, but did they have to get blown out by the Wiz Kids 115-83?

Regardless of Atlanta’s effortless situation, the Wizards countered with one of their best team defensive displays of the season, turning 23 Hawks turnovers into 27 points, partially thanks to 11 steals. And as the Washington Post’s Michael Lee has written, much credit is due to D-Leaguers Larry Owens and Othyus Jeffers — Owens putting in 10 points off the bench and Jeffers scoring 13 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. The energy of on-the-cusp players has made some of the more contractually secure Wizards not take their situation for granted.

Jeffers’ contagious explosion of hustle shouldn’t be taken for granted for the next training camp the Wizards hold either. He, along with Andray Blatche, were big reasons why the Wizards got off to a 29-18 jump on Atlanta after one quarter. Blatche worked Al Horford and Zaza Pachulia to the tune of nine points, five rebounds and 3-4 from the free throw line in the period. And Jeffers picked up two boards, one offensive, and 3-4 at the charity stripe in six and a half minutes off the bench. The disinterest of Atlanta was especially evident when they allowed Yi Jianlian to counter Jamal Crawford’s 11 points in the second quarter with 10 of his own. Washington led 61-46 at half.

Jordan Crawford didn’t have a particularly good first half. Limited with three fouls, he scored just four points on 2-3 shooting in 15 minutes, but he did have three assists and zero turnovers. In the third, Crawford didn’t try to force his own offense the entire time, even though he did go 1-6 from the field in the period. Instead, he proved that he’s not a limited basketball player by dropping five assists to one turnover and three rebounds. He finished the game with six points on 3-9 shooting with an 8-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, flipping zip passes to teammates with the same confidence he has in his offense.

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It’s a bit of a reunion Saturday here at the Verizon Center with Mo Evans, Jordan Crawford, Kirk Hinrich and Hilton Armstrong facing their respective former teams. But there is another type of reunion going on too, one from the 1993 NBA Draft — between Sam Cassell, who went 24th in the first round that year and is now an assistant coach with the Washington Wizards, and Nick Van Exel, a second rounder in ’93 (37th overall), who is now a player development instructor with the Atlanta Hawks.

Between the two, there is 212 games of playoff experience (136 for Cassell and 76 for Van Exel), and over 28,000 regular season points scored (15,635 for Cassell and 12,658 for Van Exel). However, according to the Basketball-Reference.com database, in 31 regular season head-to-head match-ups, Van Exel holds a 17-14 advantage. That’s a lot of classic games between two excellent guards. Let’s go to the YouTube archive…

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