Win #1 is in the books for Eddie Tapscott…..thank god. Sure I’m disappointed that Eddie Jordan had to go, but at the same time….I suppose Eddie Jordan had to go. No sense in doing anything other than fully supporting the man in place, whether it be for the long haul or the short term.

But a win is what Tapscott really needed, almost more so than the team. He needed to get the monkey off his back so that nerves could be calmed. The pressure on the Wizards’ coach to win simply did not dissolve with Eddie Jordan’s departure, rather, it was transferred to his successor.

Now, surely a lot of people are giddy over last night’s win…and I fully realize that things could have gone entirely different. But we can’t judge the history of this battle until we get further along in the war. Did all the energy and effort suddenly appear because of Tapscott’s presence, or Eddie Jordan’s absence? Was it the ineptitude of the opposition? Or was it a ‘We got our coach fired, is it now time to be fed up with this sh*t?’ Q&A session with the team in the mirror?

I personally can’t get psyched-up about a single victory. I’ll go with Jim Zorn on this one and try to stay medium. Naturally, such a win sparks two immediate questions: Why couldn’t the Wizards/Andray Blatche do this before?, and, Can the team, not just Andray Blatche, build on this in the immediate future? Stay tuned to find out.
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We now know the scapegoat threshold on an NBA season in the District of Columbia: 10 losses against a solo win. As head coach of the Washington Wizards, Eddie Jordan is no more. If the WizzNutzz only had the foresight to include this among their Screaming Headlines…..

Someone had to take the fall. The Wizards crack medical staff? Well, they can’t exactly control the environment in which they work, but by most accounts, they are no medical staff of the Phoenix Suns.

The most glaring problem for the Wizards during Jordan’s tenure was bottom-of-the-barrel defense. Despite these facts surrounding the team’s stars: Gilbert Arenas, a bad defender; Caron Butler, a bad defender; Antawn Jamison, a bad defender; Antonio Daniels, a bad defender……when the pattern of defensive inefficiency creeps into its sixth consecutive year, the ultimate responsibility falls on the shoulders of the head coach.

All the tinkering and gimmicks in the world…..match-ups zones, doubling the ball off screens, the scheming of Randy Ayers (and to a lesser extent, Flip Saunders, who made a cameo in training camp as an instructor of zone defense)…….could not circumvent the fact that it’s easier to get rid of a coach than make roster adjustments.

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Not to say the Washington Wizards aren’t already a punch-line among NBA circles, but how long until NBA-oblivious Ma and Pa Kettle are watching the last days of Jay Leno as he screeches out a joke in a sporadic high tone involving approval ratings and the names of George W. Bush and Eddie Jordan? Or hearing a Letterman quip about finding the Wizards mascot in a Chinatown alley, beaten and battered, covered in “Change We Can Believe In” bumper stickers, only to find out the assault was staged by G-Wiz himself?

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The 2007-2008 history between the Washington Wizards and the Miami Heat was posted prior to Friday’s game. The history of this season? Well, it’s only a couple days old. Read the full Heat-Wizards game 7 blog if you’d like, but all you need to know about the embarrassing 97-71 loss is the 20-3 run that Miami went on to end the 3rd quarter, after the Wizards had a couple chances to cut the Heat lead to four points.

Strong words were uttered in the aftermath. The Wizards claim to know the salve that can cure what ails them, but knowing and and applying are two different things. The Miami Heat have gone 1-4 on the road this season, being defeated by an average of 10 points in the four losses. If the Wizards once again struggle and the game is close throughout, you may want to put your money on the team with the bona fide superstar.

Game Day Reading:

• The Wizards have played the fewest games in the league so far and that has been a recipe for inconsistent, often disjointed basketball. Even after putting things together and earning their first win of the season over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night, the Wizards came out flat and were beaten in every aspect during Friday’s 97-77 loss in Miami.
  [Wizards Eager to Find Rhythm - The Washington Post]

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Downtown Miami – flickr/anonymonk

For the longest time the Miami Heat had the number of the Washington Wizards. Remember the Wizards when Gilbert Arenas was playing and the team was winning? Yea, those Wizards. Well, when it comes to last year….sorry suckers. SWEEP!

Game time soon….quick history from 07-08:

Game 22: Washington Wizards @ Miami Heat – Dec. 13, 2007
Missed the game, but the game blog was covered by AJ. Wiz came out in the first aggressive on D and running….got them to a 12-point lead after one. As the game would continue, the Wiz held control for the most part with Miami making a run every now and then. Caron Butler started out slow, but caught fire in the 3rd quarter. Ultimately, the final score made the game seem closer than it was; the Wizards had some chances to blow the Heat out of the water. This was also one of those “DeShawn Stevenson playing out his ass” games as he went 6-12 from three point range. Wizards 104 – Heat 91

Game 29: Washington Wizards vs. Miami Heat – Dec. 29, 2007
Missed this game too….wedding…thank god I have a DVR for this season (I know, I’m a laggard). All you really need to know about this one is that Ricky Davis led the Heat in scoring with 22 points and Luke Jackson was second with 14 — and Dwyane Wade did play (ouch for them). The Wizards also got 42 points from their bench. Wizards 96 – Heat 74

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I hear the calling. It reminds me of around a quarter past eleven on Election Tuesday in my neck of DC…..the emissions of excitement I could hear out my apartment window coming from the buildings around me and the streets below. Ok…..well maybe I don’t hear it that much, but people really want JaVale McGee to start. From the distinguished Mike Wise, to the pragmatic Pradamaster at Bullets Forever, to the feigning rationality of Michael Wilbon, the call to get to the Choppa (JaVale McGee) is loud and clear.

With the movement among the blogosphere and MSMers full steam ahead, I’ve like to offer my alternative opinion. And not to say that I’m completely against inserting JaVale McGee into the starting lineup, it’s just doesn’t need to happen……yet. Here are five reasons for feeling the way I do:

An old prophet once said, “I need you to do two things, be real with me, and be real with yourself.” You know who that prophet was? Jesus. Wait….no it wasn’t…..it was my old college roommate. No matter, a couple of Washington Wizards are having serious issues with this concept.

Case Study #1: Andray Blatche

Ok, I don’t recall every chance that Andray Blatche had to block out….maybe that’s something I should pay closer attention to in the future since it’s a problematic area for him. Remember, Blatche only played 3:49 seconds in the final preseason game specifically because he badly missed block-out assignments on two consecutive trips. Doing such a horrendous job in that one instance against the Nets, at such an important stretch of the game, would not lead me to think he did “well” at boxing out. Bigger picture….if turnovers are the only area in which Andray Blatche didn’t fare well last night, then we’ve got a problem with Blatche’s own assessment of his game. How are you going to improve if you’re not your own biggest critic?

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NBAE/Getty Images from nba.com/wizards

NBA.com has a series of GM surveys posted, and Eddie Jordan received 8% of the votes on the question: ‘what head-coach makes the best in-game adjustments?’. That puts him behind Popovich, Larry Brown, and Carlisle, and tied with three others for 4th.

A couple other Wizards were recognized:

Caron Butler
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photo from washingtonwizards.com

I suppose people, myself included, can’t exactly help themselves when a team jettisons two guys named ‘Johnson’ from its roster. The official Washington Wizards blog treated the happening as if naming a law firm (or health care products/pharmaceuticals company) with the title, “Wiz Waive Johnson and Johnson.” Wizards Insider, usually run by the Washington Post’s Ivan Carter and Michael Lee, went the safe route with, “Wizards Release Two.” Someone named Alexa Steele filled in for Carter and Lee on this specific post….I guess when you have what sounds like a porn name already, you might want to avoid sexual innuendos by spitting out Johnson, the word. But alas, Mike Jones of the Washington Times ‘went there’ with his title, “Wizards Cut Johnsons.” C’mon Mike….don’t you know that Johnsons would rather be released than cut?

Ok…enough of that, back to the point at hand. Two positions of need assumed by Wizards fans this past offseason, before Gilbert Arenas went down, were a small forward to backup Caron Butler, and a third string point guard. After Dee Brown was signed, along with the summer league developments of Dominic McGuire’s mid-range jumper, the school of thought was that the former player would fill the latter position of need and vice versa. Working off these assumptions, Ernie Grunfeld would hold the 15th roster spot in a glass encased box to be broken in case of emergency.

Then Gilbert Arenas happened…..then Brendan Haywood happened….Haywood’s wrist surgery not having a greater influence over roster moves, as the Wizards seemingly had a logjam at the post position (Etan, Oily, ‘Dray, JaVale and Jamison — hey, that sounds like a MotheringHut t-shirt…..just remember where you heard it first).

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When the Washington Wizards decided to pick up the third-year option on Coach Eddie Jordan’s current contract, extending him through the 2009-2010 season, I thought, “Well, that’s a little random.”

There have been questions about Jordan’s status from year to year…..whether it be general disapproval from fans, the fact that he wasn’t an ‘Ernie Grunfeld’ selection, or that Jordan’s hand-picked assistants were only renewed on a year-to-year basis.

I’ve been a staunch supporter of Jordan. Sure there are issues, as I outlined in his evaluation. But I factor in his DC resume, and an appreciation that for the last four years, I haven’t had to cross my fingers when ping-pong balls start mixing in late May.

But in terms of the timing, I was perplexed as Prada at Bullets Forever….why now? Perhaps my curiosity was more the result of surprise at the unexpectedness of the re-up. But after further pondering, it was a good move by GM Ernie Grunfeld and Owner Abe Pollin.

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