My column last week in the DCist got delayed due to my account, so it was posted this morning for you to kindly read. It’s all about how the “Our Time” motto worked out for the Virginia Commonwealth Rams, but not so much for the Washington Wizards. And as evident by the posters above from the crowd seen on television at VCU’s big win over Kansas yesterday, it was clearly a theme that resonated from when Rams coach Shaka Smart outlined it for his team at the beginning of their season. So a big congrats goes to VCU … go check out my DCist column … and the below screen shot captures how the ticket that I purchased in Las Vegas last July (while I was out there for the NBA Summer League) for the Kansas Jayhawks to win the NCAA national title feels.
Wizards-Warriors.
So the Wizards lost again on the road last night to the Golden State Warriors, 114-104, dropping them to 17-55 on the season and 1-35 on the road. The young, depleted Washington squad did not pay enough attention to shooters (Dorrell Wright went 5-11 from three-point land and Monta Ellis went 4-6) and were out-lasted by minor mistakes and a Warriors team with many more offensive weapons. Ten of the Warriors’ 11 3-point makes were assisted upon (Golden State missed 13 threes), while Washington went 4-16 from deep with all of those long buckets coming via assists.
Randy Wittman seems to be a guy who likes to color within the lines. And sure there is an occasional twitch, a little jerk that sends his coaching marker beyond expectations – take for example his colorful exchange with JaVale McGee, which left both men red in the face.
But slip-ups like that, at the very least, let you know that the guy is human.
“Trust me, I don’t want to be standing here talking with you guys,” he said with a smirk before Wednesday night’s game versus the Golden State Warriors, filling in for Flip Saunders, who was with his ailing mother who recently passed away. Even with his disarming smile, you could tell that there was a fire in Wittman’s words, a communication of purpose. Such passion is expected from a man who has lived and breathed basketball since the ’70s, I imagine.
“The effort has to be better, obviously,” said Wittman during his pregame presser. “It can’t fluctuate. […] To win in this league and be a winner in this league you can’t have fluctuations in your effort, energy, and desire playing. Chicago kind of took that out of us … they kind of took the will to win away from us and that can’t happen.”
He went on to say that effort — effort! – must be a point of emphasis for the team over the rest of the waning season.
Golden State Warriors rookie Ekpe Udoh got off of the team bus on Wednesday night in Washington expecting to play against the agile Wizards frontcourt. The scouting report his coaches gave him stressed the athleticism and versatility of JaVale McGee, Andray Blatche and Rashard Lewis. Udoh knew that type of game would work in his favor. What Udoh did not expect: to hear Golden State coach Keith Smart tell him that he’d get his first NBA start.
“Man, coach just walked by me and whispered something, but I really didn’t hear him at first,” Udoh said after the 106-102 Warriors win with a big smile on his face. “Then he told me that I would be starting and I was just surprised, but I did my best to calm down and just be ready.”
After the game, Smart explained his rationale for starting Udoh over Andris Biedrins:
To his credit, Biedrins was a good sport about the benching, and instead of blaming the coach or even Udoh, his thoughts were very introspective: Read more »
[Editor's note: Ryan Gracia is majoring in sports communication and journalism at George Mason University and freelances for local sites of Patch.com. Some of his previous work for TAI can be found here and here. Below, Ryan recaps the droughts of let-down for the Wizards against the Warriors on Wednesday night.]
It’s safe to say the Wizards have been inconsistent this year. They lost at home to the Phoenix Suns by 18 points back on January 21, then bounced back the next night to pull out arguably one of the best wins of the season against the Boston Celtics (thanks to some missed shots that Celtic vets don’t miss often — but hey it was a win nonetheless). I’ll also remind you that the Wizards actually boasted a winning record at home (13-10 leading up to February), while nearing an unbelievably embarrassing feat of setting an NBA-record 30 straight losses to begin a season away from the friendly confines of the Verizon Center, going 0-25 before their first win against the Cleveland Cavaliers — who had just ended a 26-game overall losing streak of their own.
I know, that’s a lot to take in, but those inconsistencies throughout the season were on display Wednesday night against the Golden State Warriors, and it set up quite an interesting matchup against the seventh-highest scoring team in the NBA this season.
Barely three minutes into the game, the 13-4 Washington advantage showing on the jumbotron must have been shocking even to the five Wizards players walking toward the bench following a timeout. Here’s why: Flip Saunders (or Randy Wittman in the case of Wednesday night’s game) wasn’t the pissed off coach calling the timeout following a big run.
Things then went back to normal when those players stepped back on the court. The Wizards allowed Golden State to make what was supposed to be an uphill battle of coming back from nine point deficit much too easy. They turned the tide to lead 18-16 from the time Stephen Curry hit a 3-pointer 12 seconds after the timeout to the point when Curry finished the run by hitting the free throw to complete a 3-point play barely two and a half minutes later. A 13-4 run in just over three minutes to start a game is nice — very nice after knowing that the Wizards were the team that completed the feat. But a 14-3 run (scored by only two players, Curry and Dorell Wright) in two and a half minutes? Well, I’d say that more than counters the run from the Wizards. Those three Wizard points, by the way, all came from the free throw line.
[Editor's Note: For all of you sneaker heads out there, Adam Douglas, Truth About It.net photographer, got some shots of what the Wizards and Warriors were sporting last Tuesday night. Also check out Adam's previous edition of NBA Kicks, Wizards vs. Bulls.]
Last night, Washington National and San Francisco native, Nyjer Morgan, attended the Wizards game to put on for his Golden State Warriors.
Known in gentlemanly circles as “Tony Plush,” the center fielder showed up at the Verizon Center dressed in a warrior outfit and sat adjacent to a similarly dressed bro, who some have speculated to be the exact physical appearance opposite of Mr. Plush. Both rooted for the enemy.
The presence of Morgan was first noted on the Nationals blog, The Nationals Enquirer, which has a screen-grab of Plush throwing up a numero uno. Site photographer Adam Douglas was also able to get a couple shots of the baseball player.
I guess the pressure of a $111 million contract can hang over one’s head when they are injured or aren’t performing well. Must be nice … most would love to be called “Mister $111 Million.”
The idea of contract money being a burden to Arenas seems silly to the common man, and such silliness unfortunately led to Gil putting undue pressure on himself. Can anyone blame him for signing? Can anyone blame him for being injured? Not at all. But I suppose it’s a valid concern when blowhards like Tony Kornheiser spit their ignorant rhetoric. Kornheiser doesn’t go to Wizards games (maybe he watches him), and he doesn’t talk to Gilbert Arenas.
Not to turn Arenas’ 45 into a rant against Kornheiser and those alike. They are entitled to their opinion. But when their imbalanced analysis lacks compassion, patience and reason, it’s hard to take their thoughts on the matter seriously … and that’s why I don’t.
I’ve been hard on/disappointed with Arenas myself in the past. And the patience of Wizards’ fans has been tested for years. But what’s a little more in this holiday season? Gilbert Arenas is not a bad actor and he doesn’t want to let people down … not reasons to pepper him with “worst person in the world” comments as if he were Latrell Sprewell.
At basketball value, 45 points is just a small, but desperately needed, bonus. Some are calling it a breakout, but it doesn’t mean much unless part of a sustained run. But hey, it’s a start, and the beggars of Wizards Nation are in no position to be choosers.
Time for a win folks. I’ll be on ESPN’s Daily Dime Live around game time to discuss. Got a good feeling about this one.
The Wizards don’t want to be number one with seven
If the Wiz lose by four points or less again, they’ll surpass the 76-77 Suns with the most consecutive losses within that margin. The spread is Golden State by 2.5.
The Suns’ first loss in their streak came against the Cleveland Cavaliers on February 19th, 1977. Their seventh game on March 4th came, ironically enough, against the Warriors. The Suns didn’t lose to Golden State by four or less, they lost to them by five, 101-87. In fact, the Suns ended up losing 12 total before winning again.
Milestones: MLK day, Inauguration eve, JaVale McGee is 21, Michael Adams celebrates a B-Day as well, Wiz playing the team against which Ed Tapscott got his first win and Captain Jack does not care.
Q1
11:00: The Good Thing: Wizards don’t have too much of a reason to collapse into the paint on Biedrins Bad Thing: Blatche is sometimes allergic to blocking out…Biedrins gets a board and then Azubuike gets 2nd chance three. 5-2 G-State.
Not sure what Caron Butler going behind the screen on a shooter like Jamal Crawford has to do with him having to play the two-spot.
Jamison starts out focused against his former team with 6 of the first 8 points for the Wiz…..he’s also being guarded by rookie Anthony Randolph (who has to check out with 2 early fouls). 8-8 tie.
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.
[Upside and Motor] (check the great picture too) The Warriors jumped the shark.Two seasons ago they were a darling, last season they took a slight step back (but enough of a step to fall just short of the postseason), and now they’ll find themselves struggling to reach 11th place in the West. Welcome back, lottery balls; the Bay’s missed you. Predicted Record: 30-52
I was disappointed getting off a plane late Friday night to find out that the Wizards lost in a barn-burner to the Warriors. Thankfully, I was able to catch up on the game cause my boy Adam filled in on the live game blog. I’ve gone back and left some comments of my own. I’ll be back tonight when the Wiz take on the Grizz (uhh…that just doesn’t sound right). Anyway, take it away AJ……
Now for all you readers out there looking for the usual witty humor on today’s entry, sorry. Adam, the trusted ghost writer – is here to save the day.
Right from the start we are going to mix things up. I may miss a bit of the 1st quarter of the Wiz game because I am captivated with this LSU v. Arkansas 3OT game here in Baton Rouge.
Kayanne just decided to note “Too bad you don’t have two TVs.” Thank you Queen Obvious.
So, since I can only watch one game, I will give you a little PBP on this game, which I might add has National Title implications. LSU has a first down on the Arkansas 12 and needs to get not only a touchdown, but also has to go for 2.
