[D.C. Council: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the subs, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is on the table. Game No. 62, Washington Wizards at Cleveland Cavaliers; contributors: Adam McGinnis, Rashad Mobley and Kyle Weidie via eyes on television screens.]
Calling All Young Players!
[Randy Wittman is in search of draft picks who can play.]
The epic rematch that everyone’s been clamoring for.
Here to provide the DC Council Opening Statements for Washington’s 61st game of the season at home versus the Charlotte Bobcats are TAI’s Adam McGinnis (@adammcginnis) and guest Ben Swanson (@CardboardGerald), who runs the Bobcats blog Rufus on Fire.
Wizards Starters (19-41):
John Wall, Garrett Temple, Martell Webster, Nene, Emeka Okafor
Here to provide the DC Council Opening Statements for Washington’s 60th game of the season on the road against the Brooklyn Nets are TAI’s Adam McGinnis (@adammcginnis) and guest Jeremy Gordon (@jeremypgordon), who writes about the Nets for Brooklyn’s Finest, an ESPN TrueHoop Network blog.
Wizards Starters (19-40):
John Wall, Trevor Ariza, Martell Webster, Nene, Emeka Okafor
“[Bradley Beal] is very talented. … He can play without the ball, he can put alot of pressure on the defense and he can shoot it. He is the future of the NBA.” —Jason Kidd.
[D.C. Council: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the subs, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is on the table. Game No. 57, Washington Wizards vs New York Knicks; contributors: Adam McGinnis and Kyle Weidie from the Verizon Center and John Converse Townsend from where he watches television in comfort.]
It’s Randy.
Hard to blame the coach for turnovers and missed free throws, especially in the land of tiny laptops.
By now, video footage of Washington Wizards television play-by-play announcer Steve Buckhantz is likely perculating its way to viral mortality. His incorrect call of Trevor Ariza’s last second shot is comedy gold. I sure laughed after realizing the ball did not go in. Yet, since I have been conditioned to experience moments of Wiz fandom utopia because of Buckhantz’s “Daggers,” for a brief moment, I was trying to convince myself that my eyes were lying to me.
[D.C. Council: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the subs, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is on the table. Game No. 54, Washington Wizards vs. Houston Rockets; contributors: Adam McGinnis and John Converse Townsend from the Verizon Center and Rashad Mobley from his favorite game-day seat.]
[D.C. Council: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the subs, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is on the table. Game No. 53, Washington Wizards vs Denver Nuggets; contributors: Adam McGinis and Kyle Weidie from the Verizon Center and Rashad Mobley from behind the television screen.]
Jordan Crawford was traded today, ya heard? A former 24-year old rebuilding chip was jettisoned to Boston for a couple 30-year old NBA vagabonds, Leandro Barbosa and Jason Collins. #SoWizards? Perhaps. Here’s the rundown of reactions from the TAI crew…
It really is a shoulder shrugger (and a head-shaker). I mean, I care. I’ll miss Jordan Crawford. I wish he would have been a better player. I wish that the relationship between him and the franchise didn’t go down in such an epic, flaming bag of shit. But it did. Fighting off the desire to not overreact, but something is amiss with how this team handles players (not all players, mind you). Everyone in the league seems to know it and the owner seems completely oblivious to it. I’ll reiterate: During the time that Ernie Grunfeld has led the Wizards (since the ’03 Summer) only one NBA team has more losses than the Wizards: the Minnesota Timberwolves, with 482 losses to Washington’s 475. But now, Ernie is evidently doing exactly what Ted wants. So there’s that.
Crawford certainly did his part to wear out his welcome—an estimated 80 percent part, I’d say. In return for the diminished asset, the Wizards save a little bit of money. Nice, but certainly not part of the plan. The Theodore Unit wanted to develop young players who could either be used as trade pieces or as pillars for the rebuild. Instead, they are giving them away. On the other hand, Crawford was good, but he was not a system player. He wasn’t about quick ball movement, and he was rarely conscious about offensive spacing. He knew how to fire up shots with confidence, and he had the ability to drop fancy, no-look passes when his teammates weren’t ready. Hardly useful in terms of winning.
DeAndre Jordan’s bricked free throw versus the Lakers last Thursday night caused the following reactions from current and former members of the Wizards:
