{Game Faces}

A focused pre-game Gilbert Arenas.

A plotting, thinking Flip Saunders.

Contrasting bench facial expressions.

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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.

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{The Dallas Skyline - flickr/Victor F}

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).

GO WIZARDS!

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Some recent links (with commentary) and forgotten notes from last Friday’s preseason game against the Mavericks at the Verizon Center in D.C. …

Caron Butler and a very tall clown {via WashingtonWizards.com}

Evidently on Sunday morning, Caron Butler was slated to co-chair the ‘Sister to Sister’s Bike For The Heart’ event with D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty at the Verizon Center in Washington. But the Wizards also had a preseason game in Toronto, Canada at 3 pm that afternoon. Event host Irene Pollin, Wizards co-owner, told Butler that he could attended that morning and just catch up with the team at their next stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The team’s other ‘co-owner’, Irene’s husband Abe, said “nope,” indicating he wanted Butler in Toronto, supporting his teammates. So Abe called up his private jet and whisked Butler, along with team president Ernie Grunfeld, to T-Dot after the event and in time for Butler to get in a workout before the Raptors game.

Wizards Preview

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{Gilbert Arenas in the now dead gold jersey - flickr/Keith Allison}

It was a tale of two quarters for Gilbert Arenas. In the first, he frustrated fans and probably his coaches and teammates alike because he didn’t even take a shot when opportunities were ample. Did he lose his offensive mojo and become the Agent Austin Powers instead of the one they call Zero? Arenas did have four assists to a sole turnover in the 9:12 he played first quarter, but that’s not exactly going to make the Wizards’ offense better.

Before the game, Flip Saunders said “I think with Gil, my thing is going in, playing in 10 minutes and that’s pretty much it. If he feels pretty good about where he’s at, then come back a little bit. If he doesn’t come back it doesn’t mean, ‘Oh somethings wrong with Gil.’”

With the ‘same’ passive Gil to start against Dallas, did Saunders really have a choice but to play him more?

“He needs to get that aggressiveness so other guys can get used to playing in that type of environment,” said Saunders after the game. When asked if he encouraged him at halftime, he said, “We all encouraged him. I told him, if he’s open and doesn’t shoot it, the next guy you pass it to is probably going to be covered.”

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5:35:20 PM: Walking to the Phone Booth for the only Wizards preseason home game. #ipodcheck ‘All I Need’ Jay-Z, The Blueprint

5:41:46 PM: “Got fiends throwing up on themselves like Willie Beamon.” #jayz

6:57:54 PM: At the Verizon Center, nothing crazy. Missed Flip Saunders’ court interview. Not much to ask the players about in the locker room bf game.

7:08:24 PM: Seen in the Wiz crowd: a bald headed white dude with a Nick Young jersey, but it’s not Dan Steinberg.

7:09:43 PM: Tweet bf Wiz-Mavs start: Stevenson starting for the Wiz, Drew Gooden at C for Dallas .. hope Haywood abuses him.

7:16:25 PM: Haywood getting offensive rebound then fouled by Gooden then crumbling 2 floor holding his ankle sends moans & cuss words through crowd.

7:17:40 PM: But Haywood OK. Also, Wiz making the 3 white guys sit @ the end of the bench again. Tuff Juice scores 7 of Wiz 1st 11 points. Jumper = Wet.

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The Wizards will play the second game of their preseason slate against the Dallas Mavericks tonight … the only home preseason game on the schedule. It will televised on Comcast SportsNet and can be heard on DC’s 106.7 The Fan.

Also, I’ll be reporting from the game, and likely doing another live Twitter post on Truth About It (of course, this time within the NBA guidelines of a three ‘Tweet’ limit during each quarter and one during each of the two quarter breaks (but no limit on pregame, halftime and postgame Tweets).

But in terms of the Mavs, fellow TrueHoop Network blogger, Rob Mahoney of The Two Man Game, agreed to answer a couple questions about his team. Here that goes …

[UPDATE: Head over to The Two Man Game to see my return answers to Rob's questions.]

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(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)

check more (and video) at You Got Dunked On.com

The Wizards were just what the Mavericks needed on Saturday night….yep, that’s my cliche opening sentence. How ’bout it?

I watched all the way up until around ten minutes left in the 4th quarter, the Wiz having just gone down by 13 points. It was at that point I felt a loss was imminent, secure in the fact that it was time to go out drinking.

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“It’s ‘Groundhog Day,’ man.” -Antawn Jamison

That pretty much sums it up…..no need to further dissect Sunday’s loss against Dallas.

You can check the Wizards-Mavericks game 25 blog on Bullets Forever, and Jake’s recap.

I also exchanged a blogger Q&A with Dallas Dedicated — their answers about the Mavs are posted here — you can find my return answers about the Wizards there.

Otherwise…..good luck against the Charlotte Bobcats tonight, the Wizards always need it.

As you probably know, DeShawn Stevenson is out (of the starting lineup), Dominic McGuire is, perhaps, in…..got anything to air out? Might as well do it now before turning over a new leaf in about eight days.

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The Mavericks game is in the books, another L for the Wizards. There will be game blogs, recaps, etc. posted soon…..but until then, the guys at Dallas Dedicated, an all encompassing Dallas sports blog, agreed to be part of a Q&A session. Their answers about the Mavericks are below, I’ll update this post with a link once my answers about the Wizards are posted over there.

1) How’s the Rick Carlisle era going? Do you miss Avery Johnson? Do you think the Lil’ General would be a good fit for the Wizards?

The beginning of the season was more of an adjustment period; once the team got used to his system, the better performances came (13-4 in the last 17, including tonight). To be honest, Avery isn’t too missed. It didn’t make too much sense to us, though, that both Johnson and Devin Harris were gotten rid of. They couldn’t coexist with each other, but instead of getting rid of one and keeping the other, both were replaced. Avery would be a help to Washington, especially on the defensive side of the ball. He has an ability to relate to the players given his young age, yet still be able to coach and improve them.

2) Josh Howard, trade him or keep him?

We say keep, and we say that for two reasons. First, and more optimistically, we think Howard can still perform at an All-Star level–he needs to stay healthy. In last season’s playoffs he played poorly, which began the calls for him to be traded, but people forget that it was only an isolated time of bad play. Secondly, with all his off the court issues of late, his trade value has decreased below his value. If the Mavs wanted to trade him, they wouldn’t receive the compensation that a trading a player of his caliber deserves.

3) The Mavs are currently a 1/2 game behind Phoenix for the 8th playoff spot. Other stats from KnickerBlogger.net indicate that Dallas is a middle-of-the-pack team (ranked 10th in pace, 16th in offensive efficiency, 12th in defensive efficiency) — so what do the Mavs need to do to boost themselves to a championship contender….make a move or simply do _____ better? Read more »

Jeff from CelticsBlog.com is doing the grunt work to put together a comprehensive NBA preview from bloggers ’round the ‘sphere. The Atlantic Division Preview was first, and now the Southwest Division is out. Here are the highlights from the participating bloggers for each team:

Dallas Mavericks

[Mavs Moneyball]
The single biggest move made in the offseason was the dismissal of head coach Avery Johnson and the hiring of Rick Carlisle. The Mavs have the luxury (or curse) of having their core team signed for some time. This continuity will certainly help the team transition under a new coach, as they only need to adapt to him rather than a bunch of new faces.
Prediction: 55-27

Houston Rockets

[Dream Shake]
The Artest trade will go down as one of the biggest steals in NBA history if you ask me, and since you did, that’s my stance. Even if Greene turns out to be a solid player, we got a top 30 player for a rookie, an old PG and a future very late round pick (I can only assume). That’s a steal as long as Ron Ron can play more like No Lay-ups and less like Crazy Pills. I believe he can.
Prediction: 63-19

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Perhaps Josh Howard is not being pointed in the right direction, while Dirk Nowitzki
is off to make more videos of him preventing drug use with a magic wink.

I was kinda willing to give Josh Howard a pass for his weed smoking radio proclamation. Sure, for his own sake, he should have kept his mouth shut. And of course, throwing NBA colleagues under the bus was stupid. But at least he told the truth…….or lied less.

Back home in North Carolina and running a basketball camp, one would hope that Josh Howard avoid being the anti-role model for the kids. Nope, he decided to street race his black Lexus against a silver Volkswagen, and get caught by the police. ESPN is reporting that Howard was going 94 in a 55. Speeding and reckless driving was the case that they gave him.

The first thing that came to mind was the eight counts of vehicular manslaughter recently charged to two Maryland men. Back in February, eight bystanders were killed as a result of an illegal street race on Indian Head Highway just outside of Washington, DC.

Then, there’s the Bobby Phills incident. Which make me wonder, would Brad Miller do something like this? I don’t know, but something tells me that Josh Howard should be added to this list from Pyle of List. Read more »

When I was younger, my dad would say, “I wouldn’t root for so-and-so if they were playing against the Chinese communists.” ‘So-and-so’ being a hated sports team.

Over the years, I’ve filled-in the blank with the likes of the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, New York Knicks, New England Patriots, Los Angeles Lakers, Duke Blue Devils, Notre Dame Irish, Ole Miss Rebels, and of course, the Dallas Cowboys.

Well, in this modern day, China and their communists have become a tad more amicable to the American sports fan……human rights issues such as Tibet and the opinion of Ira Newble notwithstanding. And since Beijing is hosting the 2008 Summer Olympic games, my dad’s sarcastic statement no longer carries the same weight. China just isn’t the enemy it used to be.

So where do we turn? Towards the Axis of Evil, naturally. Originally made up of Iran, Iraq and North Korea…..I’m pretty sure it’s safe to drop Iraq from the list (as Saddam, Uday and Qusay are no more — talk about evil, Uday owned THREE copies of Air Bud), and North Korea has claims of denuclearization. So, that leaves us to wash the Iranians with a bucket of haterade.

In his latest move of defiance, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is sending the Iranian National Basketball team (which miraculously qualified for the ’08 ‘Lympics by winning the FIBA Asia games last year) to the U.S. of A. to infiltrate the Rocky Mountain Revue and fight a couple jihads against the summer league teams of the Dallas Mavericks and the Utah Jazz.

Now if this was last generation’s Utah Jazz, you might find many utter the statement, “I wouldn’t root for the Jazz if they were playing the Iranian Freedom Haters.” At least most that I knew had a severe distaste for Messrs Karl Malone and John Stockton. Personally, as great as Jordan was, I thought it was time that the Bulls be taken down….a ring for each finger on one hand was enough. Basketball blasphemy? Whatever.

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This is going to be a tough one, but aren’t they all?

We remember that the Wizards beat the Mavericks in Dallas back in game 14 of the season. The keys to beating the Mavericks today remain pretty much the same as they were then.

1. The Bullets need to start the game off hot with buckets – In these last 5 games, the Wizards really only game out balling on offense in last Friday’s home win against the Knicks. Luckily in the other 4 games, the Wiz were able to win 3 of them with tight defense.

   Although….Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison combining for 62 points as they did that night in Dallas wouldn’t hurt.

2. Contain Devin Harris and dribble penetration, the key ingredients to the ignition of the Dallas offense. In game 14, Harris had 7 points, 7 assists and 0 turnovers at halftime. He didn’t do anything in the 2nd half save for scoring 5 points.
3. Energy & Hustle – yea, you can say they need this every game…but especially against an explosive team such as the Mavs. I’m sure that Dallas fans have written off that first loss as a bad shooting night as the Mavs went 3-21 from 3-point land. I attribute that to great defense. Not only did Washington limit paint penetration, but they also did a great job at contesting shots. Back then, nothing came easy for Dallas. Let’s make that the case today.

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Okay, so no one is exactly expecting the Wizards to win tonight, Danny Sheridan’s odds on USAToday.com favors the Mavericks by 12. And I’m sure that Eddie Jordan may be giving the “no one outside this locker room thinks you are going to win” speech…actually, do NBA players even need this speech? Especially since there are so many games? I wonder if most all NBA pre-game talks are more technical and strictly about business. I can’t exactly see Eddie Jordan trying to fire a team up.

If the Wizards want to be in this game, the need to stop the penetration of Devin Harris first and foremost. Yea, we know, the Wizards have been trying to protect the basket which has lead to inefficiencies in defending the 3-point line. But, the Wizards would not have to do so much basket protecting, and so much shifting on D, if the dribble penetration was limited.

The Pradamaster on Bullets Forever has an issue with the excuses given by Eddie Jordan in today’s Washington Times article. Prada makes some good points…hell, we all are frustrated with the team defense over the past couple of years. But I saw the article as less of Eddie Jordan trying to make excuses and more of a little politicking for Ernie Grunfeld to seek some help and for Abe Pollin to dig in his pockets to find a means. Yes, guys do need to step up when the chips are down, but you also need to replenish the cupboard after some plates are accidentally broken.

The Basics:
1) Stop/Slow Devin Harris
2) Play with Effort & Energy
3) Step Up and Score — the Wizards need someone other than Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison whom they can depend upon as a scoring threat

Now let’s start the show….

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