[The DC Council -- After each Wizards game: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the bench, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is over the table. Game 65 contributors: Ryan Gracia (@rgracia2378),John Converse Townsend (@JohnCTownsend) and Kyle Weidie (@Truth_About_It).]
Score
Washington Wizards 96 at Cleveland Cavaliers 85 [box score]
Nineteen wins, people. With a 95-86 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Washington Wizards have now matched their win total of three seasons ago, 2008-09, the first season they did not make the playoffs after making four post-seasons in a row. Meaninglessly meaningful, totally. While you were likely watching Capitals playoff hockey, Adam McGinnis (@adammcginnis), John Converse Townsend (@JohnCTownsend) and Kyle Weidie (@Truth_About_It) have your Wizards-Cavs reaction…
M.V.P.
-John Converse Townsend
John Wall is the obvious MVP, having recorded his fourth consecutive double-double, the longest streak of his career, with 21 points (7-for-16 FGs), 13 assists, seven rebounds, and seven steals. Wall’s second half was extra special. He played a role in 24 of Washington’s 28 third-quarter points, opening a 14-point lead for the Wizards which proved to be too much for the Cavaliers to overcome. Impressive, right? But consider this: since 1985-86, only three other players have put up a 21-13-7-7 line—Steph Curry in 2010, Chris Paul in 2009 and Denver’s Fat Lever back in 1987. Wall is still young and has plenty of room to grow as a player — he still overestimates his athleticism on the defensive end, particularly when defending away from the ball — but he has clearly matured into a point guard who understands how to create for others in just about every situation. Read more »
ShareBullets: A Q&A with Kemba Walker and some links…
Before Monday’s Wizards-Bobcats game, I headed to the Charlotte locker room while it was open to the media. Tumbleweeds. The Cats’ beat reporter from the Charlotte Observer wasn’t even sent to cover the game. Go figure. In any case, upon my entry into the threshold, some eyes turned toward me, and then quickly looked away. I could’ve sworn that Kemba Walker immediately looked at me, deadpanned, and said, “No.” Can’t blame the Bobcats players. Not. At. All. But, Kemba did end up speaking with me — perfectly willing and perfectly nice about it, he was. So here that goes…
KYLE WEIDIE: Going from winning a championship at UConn to being on the worst team in the NBA, who is giving the best advice on how to deal with the drastic environment change and what are they saying?
KEMBA WALKER: “Nobody really, just the people that’s around me on an everyday basis, like my coaching staff, Rod Higgins, just everyone who’s just been around … my teammates, just doing a great job of keeping me positive and making sure that, regardless of the losses, that I’m still getting better.”
Do you tell yourself anything… anything extra to get motivated to play?
“I always want to play, regardless of the losing. We always come to play every night, it might not show sometimes, but we really work hard regardless. But as far as myself, I just want to get better. I plan on being here for a long time, so I want to improve my game as much as possible.”
[The DC Council -- After each Wizards game: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the bench, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is over the table. Game 64 contributors: Ryan Gracia(@rgracia2378)and Rashad Mobley (@Rashad20) from behind the television screen, and Adam McGinnis (@adammcginnis) and Kyle Weidie(@truth_about_it) from the Verizon Center.]
Score
Washington Wizards 101 vs. Charlotte Bobcats 73 [box score]
Someone had to be the first to throw a flagrant elbow after the Ron Artest-James Harden incident. And if Vegas had set odds, Charlotte’s Tyrus Thomas, a guy who recently got in a physical confrontation with his coach, might have been one of the favorites. Last night in Washington, he delivered.
No, it wasn’t a violent, or even wholly, apparently intentional blow. If you were following Twitter at the time, you might have even seen comment that Thomas delivered a phantom elbow to the chops of Washington’s James Singleton, that he didn’t really connect. And, perhaps, that the referees had found their first post-Artest victim of hyper-senstitive, swift reaction (although Artest — Metta World Peace – has yet to receive game suspension punishment from the league himself). Let’s watch…
Hard to concretely tell from that video. And personally, I didn’t see the play unfold while attending the game at the Verizon Center. But the refs immediately hit Thomas with a flagrant-2 technical foul and stopped the game for a more in-depth video review. Not long after they were done watching, Thomas was ejected from the game. A muted elbow swing or not, the referees obviously saw enough to make an educated decision. What they heard, however, likely played an even larger role in the punishment than the visuals.
First, let’s see what Thomas had to say after the game, courtesy of TAI’s Adam McGinnis:
Is change in the air? Certainly not if you ask Washington Wizards fans this morning, a majority of whom are entrenched in disenchantment with the reported return of team president Ernie Grunfeld. The only true change fans might be used to at this point is a high-rate of roster turnover — after this season, the longest tenured Wizard, John Wall, will have been with the team for only the last 148 games– as well as the inescapable, save for one time, disappointment in NBA Draft Lottery position.
But we’re talking about change on the court, specifically the emergence of a basketball product that’s at least competitive — with a 101-73 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Monday night, the Wizards have now won four in a row for the first time since December 2007. Of course, we should also be mindful of the fact that the Wizards will, at best, finish with one of the nine worst season winning percentages in 51 seasons of franchise history. Also, 22.2-percent of Washington’s 18 victories this season have come against a Bobcats franchise that has now lost 21 games in a row and is flirting with the worst winning percentage in NBA history if they don’t win one of their final two contests.
Ask some of the Wizards players about the reason for basketball product differences between early in the season and now, and you’ll get veiled explanations about new personnel and guys coming together as a team. Does it boil down to the fact that I like, and strive, to beat like a dead horse: that Nick Young, JaVale McGee and Andray Blatche (hopefully) are gone? It feels all too easy, almost disingenuous, to use the mentally inept as scapegoats. Yet, here we are, with a different basketball team, one that actually might find success given the right additions this offseason.
Maybe veteran Mo Evans said it best when asked about how late season success this year, as opposed to similar circumstances over the past several seasons of futility, should be evaluated with any grain of credibility.
“I definitely agree with you, we finished strong last year, but we still had a core of guys that weren’t quite as committed as the group we have now, wasn’t quite mature,” said Evans after the win over Charlotte. ”We had some guys … contract disputes and Nick Young … just different agendas, and now we have a mature group of guys that’s really come together, and that’s really playing well at the right time.”
[Whether you're a Laker fan or a Thunder hater,
blows to the brain aren't anything to joke about.
Via onsmd.com.]
An intense game between two Western Conference powers. A hard smack to one player’s head.
The Lakers’ Ron Artest in the middle of it.
But this was February 2011 in Memphis, not yesterday’s Thunder-Lakers game. And Artest was the player getting popped in the head, not the one dishing it out.
Obviously, names and circumstances have changed in the past year. Our understanding of concussion-related risks, too.
So when Ron Artest…er, “Metta World Peace”…threw an elbow into James Harden’s temple on Sunday, I didn’t ponder whether it was intentional. I didn’t quip about “World Peace” committing the most violent act of the season.
I was terrified for Harden’s NBA future. Read more »
Long after last Wednesday’s win over the Milwaukee Bucks, Jordan Crawford remained in the training room. He likely knew the microphones waited for him to speak, but couldn’t do anything about it. A throbbing ankle spoke louder. Meanwhile, assorted media members squatted around his locker, eager to record the shooting guard’s comments after his big 32-point, 11-for-17 shooting performance in Washington’s 121-112 victory over the Bucks. When he finally emerged, Crawford gingerly limped over to his stall; he could barely put any pressure on his right ankle. He looked more like a man who would struggle moving to the right on a Metro escalator without falling down than one who just significantly diminished the hopes of a playoff contending team, including burying Milwaukee with a Agent Zero-esque 30-foot dagger to put the Wizards up six points with 50 seconds left.
Mo Evans argued that the sprained ankle, which afflicted Crawford from the opening tip, was actually beneficial:
“I think the ankle injury helped him because he slowed down, took his time and utilized all the many skills that he has; he has a ton of them. He was extremely effective tonight.”
Coach Randy Wittman expressed sentiments on Jordan’s decisive 3-point make:
“Maybe it was a good thing that his ankle was hurting him, because then he didn’t try to put his head down and drive and get into trouble.”
On Saturday night in South Beach, the Washington Wizards beat a LeBron James/Chris Bosh/Dwyane Wade-less Miami Heat team, 86-84. The Wizards improved to 17-46 on the season without Trevor Booker, Roger Mason Jr., Andray Blatche and Rashard Lewis, as Ted Leonsis might remind you (playing without Blatche… very funny, Ted). Showing signs and giving hope that this current set of players is more worthy of playing together as a team going into next season, the Wizards now hold the second-worst record in the NBA after the seven-win Charlotte Bobcats and before the 20-win Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Hornets. With three games left, beating the Heat also gives Washington their first three-game win streak of the season. The Wizards won three in a row once late last season over the Cavaliers, Bobcats and Pistons. Prior to that, a streak of three wins or longer hadn’t been accomplished since victories over the Heat, Bulls and Pistons in April 2008. Below is the reaction to that rare third win.
M.V.P.
With nine assists and zero turnovers in the fourth quarter (13 and five on the night), how could I not give the MVP to John Wall (especially after I spoke bad about his passing on Twitter)? Also, credit the strength of Nene’s hands and his ability to finish with agility; four of Wall’s assists in the final period were off pick-and-roll action to the Brazilian, including the game-winning layup with 0.5 seconds left. But, ultimately it was John’s blazing bursts of speed that Mario Chalmers could not touch which gave the Wizards better chances, and the win. Wall still has major lessons to learn about creating and seeing passing lanes, and his jump shot continued to look bad (0-for-5 outside the paint; 13 points on 6-for-11 FGs), but he was active on defense (four steals) and put his body on the line to draw a key charge against Udonis Haslem late in the game. Wall had what it took to win on this night.
X-Factor.
Cartier Martin scored a career high 22 points of the bench on 8-for-15 shooting, 4-for-8 from 3-point land. It wasn’t just Cartier’s ability to catch and shoot, but his overall offensive game has really shown improvement in this latest stint with the Wizards; he had a huge dunk off a Wall pass to put the Wizards up 82-80 with 1:30 left. Martin also stepped up his defensive focus against the Heat (from recent efforts), and put his body on the line to draw two tough charges; five rebounds isn’t bad, either. Of course, I’d be remiss to not also give an X-Factor nod to Kevin Seraphin (17 points, 8-for-15 FGs, six rebounds). He continues to amaze on offense. Joel Anthony, Dexter Pittman, Halsem, not one of those Heat bigs had the length get around Seraphin’s wide body and truly contest his array of offensive post moves. He really must be surprising and re-writing any scouting report against him with his ability to hit that quick, soft hook shot using either hand. Read more »
[The DC Council -- After each Wizards game: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the bench, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is over the table. Click here for cumulative DC Council 3-star ratings over the course of the season. Game 61 contributors: Markus Allen, Arish Narayen, and Kyle Weidie (@truth_about_it).]
Score
Washington Wizards 87 at Chicago Bulls 84 [box score]
[Editor's Note: Lukas Kuba (@Luke_Mellow) has been TAI's go-to for all things Jan Vesely/Czech Republic-related. Today, Lukas provides a translation from one of Vesely's latest self-penned journals for the Czech website Pravo.newtonit.CZ, as well as from an older entry on the website Sport.CZ. Enjoy!]
In the last two weeks, the coach returned me back to the starting lineup and gave me plenty of playing time on the court. I work hard 100-percent, so perhaps I deserve this chance. I try to fully utilize it and the game in Charlotte, where I picked up a double-double for points and rebounds, I consider it my best game in the whole season.
No energy. No result. The Wizards dropped their 45th game of the season, this time in a home meeting with the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers. TAI’s Rashad Mobley (@rashad20) and John Converse Townsend (@JohnCTownsend) have the reaction.
M.V.P.
-Rashad Mobley
Luke Harangody. On Friday night, he was playing for the Canton Charge in the D-League. He flew into D.C. today, participated in shootaround, and as he walked off the court, Byron Scott told him he was starting in place of Antawn Jamison. Harangody led the Cavaliers in both scoring and rebounding (16 and 10), and he hit a big 3-pointer in the fourth quarter to break the Wizards’ momentum. And for his efforts, he will be sent back to the D-League. Read more »
This past week has been a blur, mostly because I’ve been oddly feeling under the weather… in a haze of a head cold that won’t quit. It also might be the Wizards. Have I mentioned how this 2011-12 NBA season can’t be over soon enough? A week? These past several years of the Washington Wizards franchise, one that can’t stop finding ways to top itself in futility, has been a blur. Actually, they’ve been bottom-feeding for a while, so nothing should surprise, even almost breaking the all-time franchise low for points scored in a game (64), which happened to be set less than 100 days ago.
After getting embarrassingly demoralized, 103-65, by the New York Knicks in their only appearance in Madison Square Garden this season, Washington has now collected 223 losses since falling to the New Jersey Nets on opening night of the 2008-09 season. There are just 82 wins to show for it. During the calendar of those previous three NBA regular seasons and including this fourth, lockout-shortened one, Wizards fans have experienced a loss every 2.8 days, a win every 7.5 days of a season.
But the key number from Friday night’s defeat: 22. The Wizards made 22 field goals, a franchise low, and committed 22 team turnovers, while the Knicks had 22 assists. How should fans respond to such ugliness? How can they? They can’t.
It’s not about this team losing to those Knicks in that manner on whatever night while being heckled by New York fans, media members and players alike. There are mitigating circumstances. Over the past eight games the Wizards have trotted out the youngest starting lineup in franchise history. The hard sell of the team and its television broadcast partners won’t let anyone forget.
The crew of John Wall, Jordan Crawford, Chris Singleton, Jan Vesely and Kevin Seraphin (three NBA sophomores and two rookies), has also been supported by a bench squad of Shelvin Mack, Roger Mason, Cartier Martin, James Singleton and Brian Cook. Love those guys, but hardly deserving of being called an NBA team. But hey, be patient. Also, guys are injured.
