[This is Part One of a two-part post on Washington Wizards team president Ernie Grunfeld looking back at his almost 25-year tenure making player personnel decisions in the National Basketball Association. Part Two can be read here.]

“I told you I was going to get
the best brains in basketball.”

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[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. 78, Washington Wizards at New York Knicks; contributors: Sean Fagan, Adam McGinnis and John Converse Townsend via television sets.]

Melo Watching [Original photo via Jason Szenes for The New York Times]   Yep, that Carmelo super-quick hesitation move vs Chris Singleton gets Vine’d. #Wizards-#Knicks vine.co/v/btOrgXOVvDu — Kyle Weidie (@Truth_About_It) April 10, 2013

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Taft Rec. Center, NE DC – photo: K. Weidie

Most everyone, ever, is taught to focus on the rim when aiming for a jump shot (obviously). Most are also taught to keep focusing on the rim while the ball is in flight. But not everyone. Some watch the rim, but as soon as the ball leaves their hands, they observe the arcing sphere. Dirk Nowitzki famously looks at the ball.

It’s a question that’s intrigued me. I recall during the 2012 NBA All-Star game, Andre Iguodala, mic’d up, asked Luol Deng if he looked at the ball or the rim. Deng said rim. Steve Kerr and Reggie Miller later discussed the topic on Inside The NBA. Both said they look at the ball in flight once it leaves their fingers. Internet searches—with mostly message board discussions providing the results—confirm memory of this Miller-Kerr conversation. (Miller even went so far as to claim that answers amongst NBA players would be dispersed 50/50—rim vs. ball in flight; a very Miller-like, outlandish claim.) Other good shooters said to look at the ball in flight: Steve Nash and Kevin Love.

I personally keep my eye on the rim. Some coaches will tell you that switching focus to flight can add unnecessary motion, as you would tend to raise your chin to follow the path of the ball. My shot was never consistent enough to be affected by such nuance (or, rather, there can be dozen of other inconsistent ticks in motion for the average shooter). I just figured that it’s best to provide the highest amount of concentration possible on the ultimate destination. Plus, that’s how I was taught.

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“[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.

[video below / quote via TAI's Adam McGinnis]

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[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.

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[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. 48, Washington Wizards vs. New York Knicks; contributors: Rashad Mobley and John Converse Townsend from the Verizon Center, with Conor Dirks from the ATL.]

J-Wow.

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John Wall puffed his chest at Amar’e Stoudemire after the aging Knicks vet threw an extracurricular chicken wing his way. The boys scratched their antlers, marked their territory, did some flexing, and carried on. Later on, Amar’e, Carmelo, and throngs of Knicks fans would go quietly into the night. This is your reaction to a 106-96 Wizards win over the Knicks…

M.V.P.

There were Twitter jokes aplenty about amped-up Verizon Center rim microphones picking up the clang of John Wall’s jumper—classic Wizznutzz. Wall missed two mid-rangers on the same possession, and later bricked a robotic-looking 3 with plenty of time and space. But he also made a key jumper from the elbow area late in the game after both he and the Knicks had time to learn sign language and then Amar’e Stoudemire had time to sign, ‘Hey, John Wall, go ahead and take that jumper, punk!’

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[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. 14, Washington Wizards at New York Knicks; contributors: Kyle Weidie, Rashad Mobley and Adam McGinnis from behind the T.V.]

Discuss amongst yourselves. [via the Comcast SportsNet television feed, John Wall was giving Nene an earful, likely giving his overall assessment of the situation, toward the end of the blowout]

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Here to provide the DC Council Opening Statements for Washington’s 14th game of the season against the Knicks in New York are TAI’s Kyle Weidie (@Truth_About_It), guest Dion Black, who writes about the Knicks for the ESPN TrueHoop blog Knickerblogger.net, and TAI’s John Converse Townsend (@JohnCTownsend), who bookends the post with his game prediction.

Wizards Starters (1-12):

A.J. Price, Bradley Beal, Trevor Ariza, Kevin Seraphin, Emeka Okafor

Knicks Starters (10-4):

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[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. Preseason Game No. 2, Washington Wizards vs. New York Knicks; contributors: Rashad Mobley and Kyle Weidie.]

Washington Wizards 101 vs. New York Knicks 108 [box score] Stat of the Game: The Knicks shot 18-for-33 (54.5%) from the 3-point line. Steve Novak led the way by going 7-for-7. Read more »