[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. 72, Washington Wizards at Orlando Magic; contributors: Conor Dirks, John Converse Townsend and Kyle Weidie from the comfort of their abodes.]

LeWittmanFace [#WittmanFace to Kevin Seraphin, image via @Above_Legit] Love how Wittman said “HEY!” on this late #Magic FT Att. #Wizards vine.co/v/bjEwq6Q06nv — Kyle Weidie (@Truth_About_It) March 30, 2013

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John Wall was waiting to grab a rebound during warmups before Washington’s game versus Orlando, and his face instantly lit up when he recognized Jay-Z’s voice over the loud speakers:  ”Aw man, it is Big Pimpin’ Baby.”

Wall continued to sing verses of the Jay-Z hit single as he filed through the layup line, enticing smiles out of his teammates. John Wall was back where he wanted to be, and the mood of the team was noticeably lifted. This was a different scene than that of the Nick Young/JaVale McGee/Andray Blatche era, where jacking around reigned supreme in warm-ups and a level of seriousness never materialized when it mattered. Wall was chatting up Bradley Beal non-stop and the rookie could not contain his laughter. The future franchise core tossed each other alley-oops—Wall struggled converting some dunks on his “jiggly legs.” Jan Vesely and Kevin Seraphin followed Wall’s lead with impressive slams of their own. Later during warmups, Wall started playing around with Kevin Seraphin on the left wing, shaking the big man with a crossover. Both cracked up. Wall mocked Seraphin’s inability to stay on his feet.

Wall’s engaging personality is often hidden in the button-downed, risk-averse image he presents in media interviews. Spend any time around Wall and you see the happy-go-lucky attitude is real and genuine. He appears to know every elite basketball player and partakes in many pregame pleasantries with opponents. The Orlando game was no different, as he greeted Magic reserve guard Ish Smith at half court—both hail from North Carolina, and likely know each other from the hoop circuit in the Tar Heel state. As the national anthem approached, Wall’s roommate and best friend, Tyrone (Ty)  Williams, came over for their pre-game conversation ritual.

Williams grew up with the dynamic point guard in Raleigh and, although not blood related, Wall call’s him his “brother.” Ty attends almost every home game and sits near the floor. Through Wall’s infamous club appearances (which certain bloggers passive aggressively concern troll), trouble and off-the-court drama has never surfaced in any capacity. This might seem trivial and not worthy of praise, but being a young, rich NBA player makes you a target when you are just doing a simple activity like being out socializing with your circle of friends. This can be difficult waters for famous hoopers to navigate in a world full of hanger-ons and distractions. Williams deserves credit for keeping Wall away from any negative publicity or troublesome situations. (If only Arenas and Blatche had similar peeps.)

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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. 35, Washington Wizards vs Orlando Magic; contributors: Adam McGinnis and John Converse Townsend from the Phone Booth, with Rashad Mobley taking in the TV feed.]

OH, SNAP! Read more »

[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. 27, Washington Wizards vs Orlando Magic; contributors: Dan Diamond and Conor Dirks from the Verizon Center.]

Post-Game Steez Face. [Jordan Crawford, Steez]

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Here to provide the DC Council Opening Statements for Washington’s 27rd game of the season against the Magic in the District are TAI’s John Converse Townsend (@JohnCTownsend) and guest Nate Drexler (@natedrex), who writes about the Magic for the ESPN TrueHoop blog Magic Basketball.

Wizards Starters (3-23):

Jordan Crawford, Shelvin Mack, Bradley Beal, Martell Webster, Nene, Emeka Okafor

Magic Starters (12-16):

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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. 23, Washington Wizards at Orlando Magic; contributors: Adam McGinnis, John Converse Townsend and Kyle Weidie from behind the T.V.]

A Pre-Broken Fandom. Read more »

Here to provide the DC Council Opening Statements for Washington’s 23rd game of the season against the Magic in Orlando are TAI’s John Converse Townsend (@JohnCTownsend) and guest Noam Schiller (@noamschiller), who is all over the basketball blogosphere but contributes here today as a writer for the ESPN TrueHoop blog Magic Basketball.

Wizards Starters (3-19):

Shaun Livingston, Jordan Crawford, Bradley Beal (game-time decision), Martell Webster, Chris Singleton, Earl Barron, Emeka Okafor

Magic Starters (11-13):

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[The DC Council -- After each Wizards game: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the bench, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is over the table. Click here for cumulative DC Council 3-star ratings over the course of the season. Game 58 contributors: Markus Allen, John Converse Townsend (@JohnCTownsend), and Kyle Weidie (@Truth_About_It).]

Score

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[J.J. Redick - via flickr/Keith Allison]

The shutting down of Andray Blatche for “conditioning” meant less jeers being thrown about the Verizon Center, as the power forward has been infamously booed by the hometown crowd almost all season. Fans sometimes express displeasure for their team (or an individual) after a bad play or sequence, but the audible disgust for 7-Day Dray would start when he went to the scorer’s table to check in and again every time he touched the ball. It even seemed like the Wizards coaching staff would sneak him into the game during timeouts to avoid igniting the negative reaction. Wizards opponents indicated they had never seen such behavior by home fans, and many gave Blatche advice on how to deal with his unpopular aura. TAI’s John Converse Townsend even penned a compelling piece on how his own booing of Blatche as a fan seemed counter-intuitive.

This unfortunate storyline overshadowed the fact that there are actual opposing players that Wizards fans still heckle on a regular basis; the normal way crowds are supposed to do it.

Ex-Wizard Kwame Brown has been a target for years; Wizards fans of a certain age will never forget that he was a bust as a No. 1 overall draft pick. For being the playoff adversary to Agent Zero and the Wizards back in the mid-2000s, Lebron James is still lustily yelled at; his decision-quest from the Cavaliers to the Heat simply propelled how Wizards fans felt to mass audiences. Even the presence of Juwan Howard can still spark bad memories of him never living up to his egregious contract in Washington. And surprisingly, Indiana Pacers forward Tyler Hansbrough has heard it from fans in the Phone Booth this season, which one would assume derives from his days at North Carolina and “Psycho T” being a relatively unlikable player in Maryland Terp country.

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(photo credit, CSNWashington.com)

With 3:53 remaining in last Wednesday’s game, Orlando leading Washington 92-87, Jameer Nelson found Jason Richardson cutting toward the basket. Trevor Booker slid over from his man to cut off Richardson, putting both arms straight up and holding position on the right block, which forced Richardson to miss his shot. Booker then won the loose ball rebound battle with Dwight Howard; Richardson, frustrated by the miss, was called for a foul after hitting Booker on the arm. As Trevor ripped the ball away, his right leg inadvertently hit Richardson’s and forced him to fall on the ground.

The Magic guard popped off the ground and immediately got into the face of Booker. He wanted to verbally inform him of his displeasure from the accidental trip. The exchange escalated when Richardson tugged at Booker’s shorts, causing Booker to react by shoving his hands off of him. Richardson then lunged forward as the former Clemson standout stood his ground, apparently ready to throw down. Tensions eventually subsided and both players were assessed double technicals.

Booker commented on the skirmish: Read more »