Posts for category ‘ed tapscott’

Whew. It’s over. Should have figured that the end would involve the Wizards blowing a lead. I hacked out my initial thoughts on NBC Washington, some more are below, and I’m sure there are more reflections to come.

Historically, most will point to injuries and youth and say that the 08-09 Wizards were destined to fail. Some will also tell of interim coach Ed Tapscott “biting the bullet” and “taking one for the team.”

Not saying that Coach Tap didn’t try his best, and by all accounts, including my observations of his interactions with the media, he’s a respectable and intelligent guy….he’s just not a basketball coach.

The fact is that the Wizards regressed under Ed Tapscott, evidenced by youth such as JaVale McGee, Nick Young and Andray Blatche overtly expressing me-first attitudes in wanting to get theirs. Whatever happened to working on your game, sharing with your teammates, and playing as a team (even in the face of losing)?

Read more »

Just over three minutes left in a close game, Wizards up by one point against an almost equally bad team, the thought crossed my mind….do I hope they lose?

I knew the Clippers and Kings, two of the other top three worst teams in the league, were playing each other last night. It would be “nice” to have better chances in the draft.

But just as quickly as the thought entered my mind, it left. All along, I’ve been against “tanking” or even hoping for more losses just for the possibility of maybe having a better shot at the top pick/Blake Griffin. It just doesn’t seem like good basketball karma, not like it matters with the Curse O’ Les Boulez anyway. But still, we’re talking principles…..principalities.

So eff the lottery it was, I was pulling for my Wizards to win, because that’s what fans do. And a win is what I thought we were getting when Juan Dixon squirmed for a layup with 47 seconds left, putting the Wiz up 96-90.

But nothing ever comes easy. Two straight Raptor threes later, the few of us on the Bullets Forever game thread were screaming for the ghosts of Anthony Parker, Michael Ruffin and Mo Peterson to be exercised.

So Juan Dixon, as the third option, hit an off-balanced fader in the lane with 19 seconds left….he probably traveled….Wiz up two. Game winner? Nope. Jose Calderon was allowed to saunter right down the lane for a lay-up…..splendid. At least the Wiz would get the last shot, one of the Dagger! variety.

Read more »

The Wizards were out of the game before it even started, and I really wish I had bet online. They came out lacking a ton of focus and turning the ball over….key ingredients to a disaster pie.

Cleveland was also aware of everything the Wiz wanted to do offensively before they did it. Javaris Crittenton would come down the court tapping his chin and Mo Williams would do the same. Guess the “intricate” offense (simplified for the youth, I know) of Ed Tapscott and Wes Unseld, Jr. won’t fool many.

To make matters worse, Washington was always a second behind on open passes, a telltale sign of the team going through the motions….a “we got this team in DC, so who cares about Cleveland?” type attitude.

Not to belittle the effort of some individuals, but as a team, it sucked a big one last night….what’s new? The game was no where close to the final 12 point margin.

Enjoy the screen shots.

Read more »

A great man once said that a picture is worth a thousand words…I could be wrong, but I think that great man was Jesus.

And, my game blogs, which have become noticeably sparse, tend to be very, very lengthy.

So, in lieu, I present what went down last night via screen shots.

Enjoy America.

Oh yea, part one of this is on Bullets Forever……go there first and then come back here.

Read more »

My first thought was: Are you effing kidding me?

As rumors about Gilbert Arenas’ possible return to the basketball court leaked via a supposed text message from Arenas to Comcast’s Chris Miller, then to the world wide web via a Twitter tweet from Comcast’s Andy Siegel, which was ultimately picked up by Mr. Irrelevant and the DC Sports Bog (twitters…internets…boy, if you were ever looking for more signs that newspapers are dying).

“Ur the first to get the truth,” Arenas texted to Miller.

Of course, Gil then told the Washington Post’s Dan Steinberg, “It’s only true if I play on Saturday. If I don’t play, it ain’t true.”

Ahh…if Gilbert only knew what the “truth” was….instead, he offers to play his basketball life out in a comedy of errors.

Read more »

Yep, us Wizards fans don’t have much to be happy about these days (wait, you are still a Wizards fan, right?). But even if you aren’t a Wizards fan, you can appreciate the below (except, of course, if you’re a Pacers fan).

I attended last Sunday’s match versus Indiana……the Caron Butler buzzer-beater game. I present, the pictures I took:

Game Run-Down:

[Wizards Insider]
Oddly, given how hot Butler was, Indiana Coach Jim O’Brien elected to not double team Butler on the final play. Danny Granger, who tied the game at 117 with a clutch three-pointer on Indiana’s last possession, drew Butler and had a hand in his face but it didn’t matter.

[Wizards Outlet]
Caron Butler said he doesn’t even know how he summoned the energy to torch the Pacers for 17 fourth-quarter points, including the Wizards’ last 15 and a game-winner.

[Bullets Forever]
How was Washington able to keep the game in check until Caron got cooking in the 4th? Give some credit to Antawn Jamison. He had 17 points in the 1st Quarter to keep things close while the Pacers ran up 37 in the first 12 minutes.

Read more »

Even Wizards TV guys, Steve Buckhantz and Phil Chenier, had to comment in the post-game show on the above “display of emotion” after a Wizards shot clock violation.

“Sometimes when you win, you really lose, and sometimes when you lose, you really win, and sometimes when you win or lose, you actually tie, and sometimes when you tie, you actually win or lose. Winning or losing is all one organic globule, from which one extracts what one needs.” -Rosie Perez, White Men Can’t Jump

The party has been effing ruined. I missed the Wizards game last night and have yet to decide if I’ll watch it on DVR….although, it will be damn hard to resist reliving an 22 point “thriller.” I guess I could always look for more Andray Blatche crop dusting incidents. But now that he’s in street clothes, he might get all fancy on us.

Best in Show:

[Wizards Insider]
How bad was it? Consider that the Wiz reserves were outscored 50-14 by the Heat reserves. Bottom line: this Wizards team looks a lot like the Miami team that won only 15 games last season. Some of these young guys have potential but the gap in confidence and NBA ability we’re witnessing on a nightly basis is scary.

[Wizards Outlet]
There’s no other way to put it other than this is a bad Wizards team. Only 14 assists opposed to 18 turnovers that went for 26 Miami points? The Heat didn’t shoot well at all — just 39 percent — but they made 10 3-pointers and 19 of 22 free throws. That made the difference right there.

[Washington Post]
“It’s the same thing we’ve seen so many times this season,” said Butler, who also had six turnovers as he and Jamison were again swarmed by an opposing defense. “Play well for a half or three quarters but then have problems in the fourth and lose. That’s just been our season.”

Read more »

via this site – h/t both teams played hard

• Against the Trailblazers on Saturday, the Wizards turned the ball over 26 times. That’s right, 26 freaking times.You know the last time the Wizards turned the ball over 26 times? Let’s go back 699 games to the year 2000. On opening night, All Hallows Eve, Juwan Howard and Mitch Richmond tied to lead the team with five each as the Wizards lost to the Magic. [Wizards Acting Like They Don't Care - NBCWashington.com]

• At 9-34, I’d argure that the fabric of the team is already irrevocably torn so there’s no real point in worrying about tearing that fabric anymore than it’s already been torn. [It doesn't look like McGee will be getting any more minutes anytime soon - Bullets Forever]

• “On a lot of those shots, I always used to ask him if his eyes were open,” interim coach Ed Tapscott said about Jamison, who is averaging team highs of 20.8 points and 8.8 rebounds this season. “And he insists they always were, so OK. Antawn Jamison is a very unique player, and I doubt anyone will come along that’s quite like him for some time.” [An off-balancing act: Jamison's game on offensive end is full of tricks and surprises - Washington Times]

Read more »

Well, who was I kidding with this? Watched the game this morning despite my protests….newsflash: we’re terrible. Keep reading.

Q1

Caron starts by shooting a three….miss…no surprise.

McGuire is all over on D…..deflections, etc.

Wiz look sluggish in every aspect.

Read more »

Last night against the Portland Trailblazers, the Wizards committed a season high 26 turnovers. Here are Ed Tapscott’s range of emotions reacting to one of them.

Eyebrow raised, slight surprise:
“Is that another fucking turnover?”

“Un-fucking-believable.”

“Ok Ed, look away, goddammit just look away.”

Read more »

Last night was the first time this season that I just watched the game, instead of trying to take notes/blog during. I can’t say whether it caused me to have a different perspective, but it led me to finally conclude: we are just a bunch of losers (oh, the “we” thing….no, I’m not on the Wizards, nor part of the franchise, but I am a fan, and “with” the team in good times and in bad).

You might be asking yourself what took me so long to come to said conclusion? Sure, the Wizards have been bad pretty much all year, but there have been signs of hope. And despite Mike Wise writing off this season as an inevitable mulligan four days ago (although technically not a “do-over”), some, perhaps myself included, thought that the Wizards could come together as a team, show some spry, accumulate some wins, and then look up and see themselves suddenly in a playoff chase.

Not so, not so at all. I’m not going to call out veterans like Caron Butler or Antawn Jamison for not trying. No, they’re out there, seemingly giving it their all. And I’m not going to call anyone else out for misplaced effort. Well, maybe Andray Blatche…I mean does the picture below look like a guy who is ready to play a basketball game?

Last night, it was the little things that you don’t think about, a bobble of the ball, a travel, that led me to succumb to the thought of writing the entire 2008-2009 season off. I twittered this, and even made the same comment on the Bullets Forever game thread, but I’ll reiterate: The Washington Wizards are simply stuck in a state of mental absence from the game of basketball.

Read more »

This Wizards lost again and all that…..surprise, surprise. Your web hits are below.

“We met the opposition and it was us.”
-Ed Tapscott

[Wizards Game 34 Blog vs. Toronto Raptors: Groundhog Day Continues - Bullets Forever]

[Wizards Outlet]
Another game, another slow start, and more inability to climb out of it because you’re physically and mentally spent from just trying to get even again. That is the position the Washington Wizards again found themselves in tonight.

[Wizards Insider]
Toronto, one of the worst rebounding teams in the league, finished with a 39-28 edge on the boards, made three more three-pointers and seven more free throws.

Read more »

Well, there’s not much I can say about Friday night’s home loss to Philly. Hell, there’s not much I want to say at this point. [Wizards-Sixers Game 24 Blog on Bullets Forever]

I’m seeing some progress, especially out of Andray Blatche. But without a W in the books, the frustration continues to mount regardless of trying hard.

What really baffles me is the inability to score down the stretch….the inability for the stars, Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler, to will the team to a win by taking matters into their own hands and dropping the ball in the bucket.

As you may have read, and some of this is also covered in the web hits below, no one has a huge problem another Wizard taking an open shot when opposing defenses focus on Butler and Jamison…..it just shouldn’t become a habit.

So why are Butler and Jamison “less clutch”? Your guess is as good as mine. We all know that the absence of Brendan Haywood has had a significant effect on the team defense, but the Wizards continue to be without the offensive weapon of Agent Zero. So for the life of me, I can’t figure out the reason for the season to season scoring drop off when the game is on the line.

Read more »