Posts for category ‘New York Knicks’

The end of the Slam Dunk contest on Saturday night signified the end of any Washington Wizards involvement here at NBA All-Star weekend in Los Angeles.  My plan was to attend the game, tweet a little during, and then hang around the media scrum afterward to see if I could snag something interesting.  Luckily for me, something interesting fell right into my lap involving Deron Williams of the Utah Jazz.

First, a little background.  A week and a half ago when Jerry Sloan resigned, there were rumors and reports that Williams was the reason.  At halftime of a game against the Bulls, Williams and Sloan had argued (as they had several times during the year, and as Sloan has done with other players, such as Karl Malone, many times before), and when Sloan retired the next morning, Williams was essentially blamed. He was not happy about it at all. Williams lashed out at the media and named names over the radio airwaves on KFAM 1320AM:

All those guys, Ric Bucher, Chris Broussard, they’re all in our locker room everyday.  I’ll let them report what they want to report, that’s what they are paid to do. That’s why I’m always short and rude with the media, because they’re your friend. Ric comes in and sits by me every time I see him, acts like he’s my friend, but the day they find something they want to spin, they jump on it. That’s why I am the way I am and will continue to be the way I am.

I had just talked to Williams about a month earlier in Washington, and he was nothing but forthcoming to both myself and David Aldridge.  Even when I talked to Williams after the All-Star practice this past Saturday, he didn’t appear short or rude. Rather, his answers were expansive and thoughtful, and I appreciated his time.

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{flickr/Aquarius.1973}

The Wizards continue to lose on the road (and at home), in spite of John Wall.

Wall had a productive 34 minutes against the New York Knicks last night. He had 18 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and two steals. He also had four turnovers — two of which should be excused. Early on, Wall put two three-quarter-court passes right on the money. Both times, his teammates (Andray Blatche and Al Thornton) let the ball slip through their fingers. Instead of turning Wall’s great vision and pinpoint execution into four easy points, Wall receives credit — perhaps blame would be more appropriate, at least from the viewpoint of the pitiless box score — for a couple of turnovers.

But don’t roll your eyes. Effusive praise will not be heaped on the rookie point guard today, as much as he might deserve it. Nor will I take on the role of a John Wall apologist, aiming to vindicate him from his errors.

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Dateline: New York; Road Losses: 21, 0 Wins; Knicks 115 – Wizards 106.

What it was: Andray Blatche being Andray Blatche, somehow getting the ball stuck to his hands too many times on offense in the end instead of John Wall, who, some say, is the face of the franchise. But that wasn’t the game changer, it was the Wizards, themselves … being themselves. The Washington Post’s Michael Lee wasn’t sure if he’d ever seen Flip Saunders as animated as he was during a late-game timeout. The way Flippery stormed off the floor on television after the loss sure got my girlfriend to notice.

Blatche will be the most glaring non-existent in the box score — six points on 2-10 shooting with five rebounds, two steals and three turnovers in 28 minutes — but it could have been anyone on this night. The Wizards lost as a team. Not all the Mustafa Shakur’s can overcome 10 first quarter turnovers for the Wizards, three by John Wall and three by Blatche. Different cities, different names, different night, same result that can neither be explained nor coached away … at the this time.

Flip Saunders after the game:

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The Washington Wizards were down five points to the New York Knicks Friday night with 52 seconds remaining when John Wall stole the ball from Amar’e Stoudemire. Wall quickly raced down the court in his customary Mach-1 speed and raised up for the finish. The play unfolds in the following pictures:

{photos by Adam McGinnis}

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{photo: Adam McGinnis}

The NBA is all about the Pick & Roll, right? John Wall, even in limited games thus far, is getting a crash course in the adjustments he needs to make in execution on both ends of the floor. The transition from college to pro involves more games, more minutes and more plays per game, and a majority of those plays involve … you guessed it, the Pick & Roll. So, if Wall is going to get better running the P&R on offense, and better at defending the plethora of young point guards in the League trying to do the same thing, he has plenty of opportunity.

After Friday’s game against the Knicks, I asked Flip Saunders to speak on Wall’s P&R execution and progression. Saunders said:

“Some of those plays are designed as a decoy to get other players open. I think what’s happening is John — we watch film, we have to watch more — he’s got to make the adjustment of understanding when players are going under those screens a lot, that’s when he can be more aggressive to the paint, and a lot of times, he’s kind of walking off those screens. When you slide off those screens, the defense doesn’t have to commit.”

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Prominent film maker and New York Knicks superfan Spike Lee was the court-side guest of Wizards Owner Ted Leonsis at the Wizards game last Friday night, a 101-95 Knicks victory. The duo struck up a friendship while Leonsis made his first film for his movie production company Snags Films, and Lee will return the favor by hosting Leonsis for a Wizards-Knicks game at MSG in New York. Lee’s presence highlighted the boisterous number of Knicks fans littered throughout the Phone Booth. Shouts of “M-V-P!” showered upon Amar’e Stoudemire and the Knicks’ recent stellar play obviously motivated the fans of the away team to be louder than usual.

The crowd was still 70-30 or 60-40 Wizards fans, but the heavy noise of Knicks cheers made it seem like the home team was outnumbered. Washington’s own sideline heckler and basketball personality, Miles Rawls, shouted across the court at Leonsis to move Lee down to a different spot. Unlike some of those scattered online voices who were critical of Lee’s seat, I am perfectly OK with it because the owner can host anyone he wants to. Lee’s appearance is positive exposure and maybe a rivalry in the future. I am more worried about Al Thronton’s continued disappearing act and trying to comprehend how Kevin Seraphin can go from starting to inactive in back-to-back contests.

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From FreeDarko’s Undisputed Guide To Pro Basketball History:

“Madison Square Garden, the game’s most hallowed arena, is the Mecca of Basketball. But this nickname had little to do with devotion to the sport; it was borrowed from the Shriners’ Mecca Temple, a venue that hosted boxing and wrestling matches in the ’20s and ’30s.”

Don’t forget to go buy that book, here’s a reminder why.

So, what happens when some of the Wizards’ big men go through their pre-game warm-up routine while some of the Knicks City Dancers do the same, on the same court? Or when Andray Blatche keeps loose with a game of one-on-one with Sam Cassell?

This video:

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Some might say, ‘So goes John Wall, so goes the Wizards.’ Maybe, but not really. This team has a lot more talent past their leading point guard, they just need to figure out how to put it together as a cohesive unit.

There were a lot of things which contributed to the Wizards’ 112-91 loss to the New York Knicks in a packed Madison Square Garden on Friday night. Almost too many to digest. What stood out most to me were the defensive rotations. The footwork was simply too slow and players were not running to their spots.

And while many want to point to youth and inexperience as the causes of problems high and low, and validly so, Andray Blatche, a tad ironically, attributed his team’s struggles versus the Knicks to lack of communication and the fact that it’s so early in the season, refusing to use youth as an excuse.

So what’s the answer? It’s pretty much a combination of everything. This team will get better with time and patience. Of course, with the roster constructed as it is, that patience will continue to be heavily tested because of the meager options Flip Saunders has to work with in the post and little availability of dependable outside shooters whose overall play (defense, passing, etc.) doesn’t turn out to be a negative.

Gilbert Arenas returning to form helps a little. Josh Howard getting back will too. Otherwise, get ready for some hard pills to swallow Wizards fans. This team will get better, but that doesn’t necessarily mean mounting wins.

I swear I saw four different Washington Wizards teams flash before eyes during their 112-91 loss to the New York Knicks tonight.

In the first quarter, I thought it was Spring 0f 2010, because Andray Blatche looked focused and assertive.  He scored 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting, and he seemed to have both his inside and outside game working to perfection.  John Wall was able to pick up an easy six assists, simply because Blatche was feeling it.  Unfortunately, Blatche’s good fortune did not continue, as he only scored six points on 2-of-9 shooting the rest of the game.  He also appeared to be a bit hobbled in the fourth quarter.

During the second and third quarters, the Wizards looked like the 2008-2009 team that finished with the futile record of 19-63.  John Wall and Kirk Hinrich seemed to alternate turning the ball over and there were numerous defensive lapses that led to open shots and even more wide open dunks.  Blatche reverted back to his immature days by picking up a silly technical foul, when he got tangled up with Ronny Turiaf, simply because he was upset he did not get a foul call.  The Wizards watched their one point lead, turn into a 13-point deficit at one point in the quarter.

I’m not sure what Flip Saunders said at halftime, but the Wizards came out with a little more fire in the third quarter, and they resembled the inconsistent team they’ve been during the first four games of this season.  Wall went up and down the court in a blur and made easy baskets, but he continued to turn the ball over.  Al Thornton and JaVale McGee would make brilliant plays on one end of the floor, only to give it right back on the other end.  Andray Blatche appeared to be out of shape, out of sync, and even further from his first quarter dominance.  The Wizards were able to outscore the Knicks, but they still weren’t able to put a significant dent in that lead.

Gilbert Arenas, who was making his regular season debut, heated up in the fourth quarter, and took everyone back to the 2006-2007 season when this was his town, not John Wall’s.  He stopped, he popped, he hit threes, he drove (tentatively) to the basket, and he single-handedly kept the Wizards in the game.  At one point, he even appeared to wave Wall away when the young rookie attempted to get the ball to bring up the court.   The lead shrank to six points, and it looked like Arenas was going to lead his team to a magical victory.

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The subtle occurrence, about to be slightly magnified by this blog’s humble reach, doesn’t mean much … unless you’re a fan of basketball nuance. And I’m assuming that you’re already a fan of John Wall, who recently made a small display that he would not be intimidated by Amar’e Stoudemire, ironically nicknamed “STAT” (standing tall and talented), even though he’s below average in a main big man stat category, rebounding.

It’s late in the first quarter in the Wizards’ October 17 preseason game against the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden. Raymond Felton, foolishly, according to the television analysis of Walt “Clyde” Frazier on the MSG Network, thinks he can play big boy veteran and pressure Wall far away from the basket.

Foolish indeed. Wall can’t shoot and Raymond Felton is Raymond Felton. His 6’1″, 205 lbs. physique, while stout, simply cannot keep up with the size and speed of Wall.

Felton goes to pressure Wall out near the Knicks mid-court logo, perhaps partially to avoid a sensed screen from Yi Jianlian. Wall counters by going away from the screen and attacking Felton by trying to get by him. The ref blows the whistle, much to the chagrin of Felton — rookies ain’t supposed to get calls. Sorry buddy, this is John Wall. Felton goes to take issue with the ref nonetheless.

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