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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. Game 22 contributors: Markus Allen (@mayminded), Rashad Mobley (@Rashad20), and Kyle Weidie (@Truth_About_It).]
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Look, Dwight Howard has long known that he does not want to be a member of the Orlando Magic past this season, so does it matter that his current team is in such disarray, losers of four games in a row with Howard calling out his teammates for effort? Probably not. In fact, it likely prompts GM Otis Smith even more to make a move, but it doesn’t make him any less desperate. (Read: this painfully drags on for Orlando up to the March 15 trade deadline… Have a fun next six weeks Magic fans!) So with Baby Dwight wanting a cure-all change of venue, but not able to cure-all as Superman himself, his team takes on the lowly Washington Wizards tonight, with Howard likely preparing to be as proud as a schoolyard bully (Orlando is favored by 10 points). This 3-on-3 drill prior to possibly just one of Howard’s last 23 games in a Magic uniform includes Nate Drexler (@natedrex) of TrueHoop Network blog MagicBasketball.net, along with TAI’s John Converse Townsend (@JohnCTownsend) and yours truly, Kyle Weidie (@Truth_About_It). Three questions, three answers starts now…
DREXLER: This is tough, because neither of these surprise me all that much. I suppose JaVale getting out sniped by Dwight from the charity stripe takes the cake, though. Look, when you have two bigs who shoot 60-percent and below for their careers, no amount of badness should catch you off guard, but McGee is getting close to 30-percent land! The biggest surprise of all is that no matter how hard I try to convince myself that JaVale McGee has star potential it just isn’t so. Guy sure is athletic, though. Why is it that athletic guys can’t shoot free throws?
TOWNSEND: Dwight Howard has always been consistent, if reliably unreliable, from the charity stripe, so I’m more surprised by JaVale McGee’s continued struggles at line. McGee has demonstrated a bit of a weakness for jump shots and perimeter-oriented play, as if he was a two-guard trapped in a 7-footer’s body, making it tough to comprehend how his free-throw percentage has dipped almost 25 points since his rookie season.
[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. Game 6 contributors: Arish Narayen, Rashad Mobley and Kyle Weidie.]
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Hello Orlando, the team with a close, recent relationship with the Washington Wizards, for obvious reasons vis-à-vis the Arenas-Lewis trade, but otherwise, they are in the same division, the NBA’s Southeast. And at that, Orlando has won 10 out of the last 12 meetings, both Washington wins coming in early 2010 (Jan. 8 in D.C. and Feb. 5 in Orlando) with a Wizards starting lineup of Randy Foye, Caron Butler, Mike Miller, Antawn Jamison and Brendan Haywood each time. Otherwise, Magic dominates Wizards. For today’s 3-on-3 we have Eddy Rivera (@erivera7) from the Orlando Magic ESPN TrueHoop blog MagicBasketball.net, and both Rashad Mobley and Kyle Weidie from Truth About It.net. Three questions, three answers starts now…
MOBLEY: Magic fans should be feeling anxious. They went to the Finals with Shaq, lost to Hakeem and the Rockets and then lost Shaq to L.A., then gained Dwight Howard, went back to the NBA Finals, lost to Kobe and the Lakers. Before the season, when it looked like Howard was going to be traded to the Lakers for Bynum and Odom or Gasol, there were still reasons for Orlando fans to be encouraged. Now all trade talks have slowed significantly, and threat of Howard walking for nothing looms large.
RIVERA: Well, the anxiety level will be at stratospheric levels until Dwight Howard makes a decision. The only consolation is that Magic fans already went through this exercise with Shaq in 1996. There’s a legitimate concern, with ownership eyeing veterans in any Howard trade, that the Orlando Magic will take the wrong path in trying to reload rather than rebuild.
WEIDIE: Howard will be gone, he has sent about a million messages indicating that he wants to cultivate his ego in New York or Los Angeles. Magic fans should move on to the next stage of coping and hope for the best in return. To perhaps help them, I’ve come up with a four team trade between the Magic, Wizards, Kings and Nets. It might not be perfect according to cap-ologists, and fans of each team could surely find reasons to dislike, but my biased opinion doesn’t think it’s bad for any team. Here goes:
By the time the referee threw the ball up to signify the start of the game against the Orlando Magic, the Washington Wizards knew they would be without Rashard Lewis and Nick Young. Lewis continues to battle knee tendinitis and Young was a late scratch with swelling his knee. Their absences meant the Wizards had to somehow account for the 30 points they usually bring to the starting lineup.
From scoring the first points of the game on a layup 42 seconds in, John Wall demonstrated that he was in an offensive state of mind and capable of picking up the slack by scoring 13 points in the opening period. Seemingly all of his baskets on the evening would follow this sequence: Wall would take the outlet or inbound pass, he would run by the Orlando big men, and then he would outmaneuver the Orlando guards en route to a layup. He peppered in a couple short jumpers, some free throws, and one three-pointer later in the game, but the majority of his damage was done in the paint. He finished with 27 points, five rebounds, two steals and just one assist.
It can be argued that Wall, who averages nearly 10 assists a game, wasn’t doing his job as a point guard if he only dished out one dime. False. Dwight Howard kept pressure on Washington’s big men by often catching the ball deep in the paint (thanks to repeated poor post position from JaVale McGee, lack of strength from Hilton Armstrong or lack of experience from Kevin Seraphin), and forcing them to foul. Howard went 8-11 from the free-throw line and 12-15 from the field to tally 32 points.
Wall kept pressure on the Orlando defense by repeatedly getting into the lane and ending up with a layup or a trip to the foul line. So what happened when the Magic actually stopped him and other teammates were forced to step up?
Kirk Hinrich got off to a hot start in the second quarter by scoring eight points, and looked to be headed towards a productive game. Unfortunately, he only shot the ball nine times and scored just two points after the second quarter. He did shake the living daylights out of J.J. Redick, forcing him to fall backwards, but he never provided Wall with consistent help.
Back on November 27th when the Washington Wizards last faced the Orlando Magic, four of their five starters struggled mightily. JaVale McGee was in foul trouble all night trying to guard Dwight Howard; Alonzo Gee, known more for his hustle than his scoring prowess (and now a former Wizard), had eight points and seven rebounds, but really had no effect on outcome. Andray Blatche grabbed 13 rebounds, but scored just 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting. Kirk Hinrich, starting for the injured John Wall, shot 3-for-12 and finished with nine points.
The fifth starter that night was Mr. Gilbert Arenas, and he lit his future team up for 31 points, and despite the Wizards’ 100-99 loss, Arenas’ play kept them competitive. He later admitted to the Orlando media that “he had to prove a point” to his friend, and Magic GM, Otis Smith.
Last night, Arenas no longer had to prove a point or show the Magic what he could do, because he was donning the Orlando Magic blue. Rather, Washington fans witnessing his return got more of a meat-and-potatoes version of Arenas; he scored 10 points off the bench to go with six assists, six rebounds and some decent defense. Unfortunately for the Wizards, their starters still struggled, and instead of losing by one point, they lost by 18.
Wall was healthy this time, and put up decent numbers of 14 points, five assists and five rebounds. But he did not have a good feel for the ball, did not find his teammates consistently and was visibly frustrated by the lack of calls. He picked up two technical fouls in a span of two minutes late the fourth quarter and he was eventually ejected, and the writers from Truth About It and Bullets Forever immediately began to tally up the resulting fines Wall owed both the NBA and the Wizards.
Nick Young and Rashard Lewis scored 17 and 14 points respectively, but neither player was able to establish a rhythm and distinguish themselves as a legitimate threat. Young seemed to be under Arenas’ spell, and Lewis, who swore after the game that he wasn’t under the spell of his former team, lacked the assertiveness he had displayed in recent games.
Gilbert Arenas begrudgingly dealt with the media on his return trip to Washington on Friday night. Well, that’s not entirely true. He was in no mood to talk before the game. After his Magic handled the Wizards 110-92, and as soon as the press was let into the Orlando locker room, Arenas rolled his eyes and said, “I was doing a lot better about 10 seconds ago.” He then exclaimed that he didn’t mean to be rude, but he was going to go take a shower … as 20 or so members of the media waited.
And they would continue to wait. Arenas knew this. He wants to talk, he just acts like he doesn’t. Yea, you remember ‘that’ guy … because that’s how Gilbert is, always looking for a show, or an angle, or to just make people wait for him. After he disappeared beyond the shower door just next to his spot in the visitor’s locker room, Dwight Howard joked with the media that he wasn’t going to come out.
“Agent Zero!, Agent Zero!,” Howard mocked the mass of microphones and cameras. “Agent One!,” another Magic player responded from across the room. Howard later joked that Arenas was taking a bath while another reporter joked that he might have found an escape route through the drain. Howard clearly didn’t know Arenas and how much the D.C. media, myself included, feeds off just about any quote that comes out his mouth, eager to jettison them into the algorithm in the form of pixels, tiny little pixels. “Well, we’re going to wait,” I responded to Howard at one point.
When Arenas was done with his excruciatingly long shower, he again put on an act of the unwilling.
“Y’all know the Super Bowl’s going on, right?,” he said as he finished getting dressed from a seated position, surrounded by dozens of pairs of feet. When he was asked who he liked in the game, his retort was simply: “Whoever wins.”
Nick Young and Gilbert Arenas were close … still are. When Arenas was traded, before he left town as quickly as a plane could carry him to Orlando, he knocked on Young’s door to tell him the news, and a goodbye. He didn’t even say goodbye to his family (and now we kind of know why), but still … point is, Nick and Gil were a close pair of teammates. Here’s a link to Young talking about Arenas before the Wizards played the Miami Heat on the day of the trade.
Midway through pre-game warm-ups before tip-off of Arenas’ return to Washington as a member of the Orlando Magic, a basketball “mysteriously” went astray from the other side of the floor, bouncing right near Arenas. None other than Young surfaced to claim the errant ball, smile on his face and eager to catch up with his friend. Below are a couple pictures of their encounter…
Long ago, in reference to his team’s troubles at the time, former Orlando Magic GM Pat Williams said:
“We can’t win at home. We can’t win on the road… As general manager, I just can’t figure out where else to play.”
The year was 1992 and the Magic fielded a 7-27 record when Williams said his quote that’s become one of the more infamously comical ones in NBA history. The 1991-92 season started out well enough for the Magic, as they won four of their first six games, two of which came against the Washington Bullets, one in Orlando and one in Landover, MD, despite 30 points from Michael Adams.
But when Williams said his memorable quote, the Magic had won just one out of the previous 21 games and held a 4-12 record at home and a 3-15 record on the road. After the quote, the Magic lost their next game at home versus the New York Knicks, but then won four out of their next six games. As irrelevant as all of this is, it all worked out for O-Town. Well, kinda. Their poor record that season landed them the No. 1 pick in the lottery and thus, Shaquille O’Neal, who later skipped town without winning a championship.
One way in which Ernie Grunfeld can be commended is that he found a situation relatively suitable for all parties, speaking of Gilbert Arenas too. And isn’t that what it’s supposed to be about? Should fans always feast on the blood of perfect-world trades and maneuvers? Or should they consider moves in their entirety? Maybe that last sentiment can only be reserved for special cases such as Arenas’ relationship with Washington, but that’s all we have to go off nonetheless.
Let’s go back to mid-November when I asked Arenas why he went from jersey No. 0 to No. 6 to No. 9…
You can’t really go through a proper rebirth unless you change cities, traditionally speaking in the professional sports world. And now that Arenas has found a warm place in Orlando outside of the rebirth canal, he has switched jerseys again, going from No. 9 to No. 1 in the spirit of Penny Hardaway.
Ted Leonsis implored people to re-embrace Arenas, insisted that his team wasn’t looking to trade to maligned former star. But that was more about feel-good marketing buzz, not the type of words that make decisions. We knew this. We knew it’d be easier for Leonsis to alter his sound bites when rebuilding efforts naturally can involve decisions on the fly.
Before a trade even went down, and as legitimate rumors made their infiltration Friday night, I somewhat contemplated the departure of Gilbert Arenas from the Washington Wizards. It was vastly incomplete, but my point was that in D.C., Arenas will be remembered for both good and bad, but mostly for the good.
As the trade became official while I was scrambling to get to the Verizon Center for the Wizards-Heat game on late Saturday afternoon, I spurted off several reactions on Twitter, but I don’t consider them as being anywhere close to complete either. The departure of someone who was so ingrained into modern D.C. basketball culture, much less franchise history, is difficult to contemplate, especially so soon. Surely many, myself included, will digest Arenas’ tenure in Washington plenty in the future … and then regurgitate and digest again.
But until then, below is one digestive attempt I made on the trade after Ernie Grunfeld’s press conference, which was held just over 100 minutes before tip-off. I had the opportunity to write this for ESPN.com’s TrueHoop blog, where you’ll also find a brief analysis of both of Orlando’s blockbuster trades from respective Magic and Suns bloggers in the TrueHoop Network. So, check out what I have to say below and be sure and get the full picture at TrueHoop.
In his news conference regarding the trade, Wizards team president Ernie Grunfeld spoke of the opportunity that presented itself. “Opportunities don’t come along that often in the NBA,” Grunfeld said. He later countered with, “People in this league will always want talented players, and Gilbert is a talented player.” That “always” for Arenas was evidently a closing window Grunfeld had to jump through on Dec. 18, almost two months before the NBA’s trade deadline. So why the urgency?
Two initial thoughts upon hearing “strong” Gilbert Arenas trade rumors (via: Yahoo!, Orlando Pinstriped Post, Washington Post):
1) So what? If he’s traded, he’s traded. If he’s not, he’s not. Arenas has had a colorful past in D.C. that will always be remembered, mostly good … but it wouldn’t be colorful unless there’s some bad, and that will be remembered too.
Gilbert has come back relatively quietly this season (aside from emo acts, the fake knee injury, or shoe poop stories). Whether truly humbled, who knows, but he’s at least playing the part. The struggle with whether he should stay or go should now be released, regardless of if the rumors become true or not. People will surely struggle with how to remember him, many will dramatically paint broad pictures with broad brushes … just remember him.
It reminds me of a fight I once had with my girlfriend. It got pretty heated, and in a dead serious moment she looked up at me and said, “I hate to get all Mike Miller on you, but it is what it is.” And then the fight was pretty much over. I cracked up because she had the perfect way to break the tension, and get my attention, rending the conflict silly in the big picture. Then we moved on.
Otherwise, I know everyone would’ve liked to have that 2009 fifth overall pick and Ricky Rubio or Stephen Curry, but without Mike Miller, we wouldn’t have been able to add the absurdity of a repeated sports cliche as a way of moving on into the lexicon of this basketball franchise’s history and beyond. Thanks Mike Miller, thanks a lot.
The Wizards take on the Raptors in Toronto tonight, still aiming to win their first road game of the year … and they’ll be doing it without Hilton Armstrong.
In a November 24 poll, when the Wizards were 0-6 on the road instead of the current 0-8, 33-percent of voters said the Wizards would notch their first road win tonight against the Raps. My dad recently told me that he thought the Wiz would get their first roadie in Sacramento — in that case, you’ll have to wait until December 8, when the Wizards would face the Kings with an 0-11 record on the road. The NBA: Where Amazing Happens.
Anyway…
Let’s look back and break down the play of the night from Monday’s game versus the Miami Heat. This one involves none other than Gilbert Arenas and Andray Blatche running a pick-and-roll, one where Blatche actually rolls to the basket. Imagine that.
Also imagine something else for a second … the Orlando Magic discussing a Vince Carter for Arenas swap with the Wizards, at least this is what’s being reported by the Orlando Pinstripped Post (h/t: Bullets Forever), also indicating that the trade could involve Blatche, Rashard Lewis and Daniel Orton as well. Read more »
Poor Vince Carter. Above, he can be seen shooting a basketball before a recent meeting between his team and the Washington Wizards in the District of Columbia. He didn’t play in said game against the Wizards, as Carter is wont to do — not play in games due to injury, that is.
Poor Vince Carter. He’s getting paid $17 million this year. He’s previously quit on a team from Canada according to some (Like A Bosh), he could keep his current team, the Orlando Magic, from winning a championship, and he seemed to be ever so slightly perturbed that the photographer taking these pictures, aka me, was taking these pictures.
“They’re supposed to be out here already?,” blabbered Carter to an assistant coach. I appeased the man by walking away upon detection of his annoyance at such a disturbance. Sorry Vince.
I guess it was just too much for Carter to stomach, as he is currently not exposed to opposing crowds aiming to thwart his jump shot attempts with noise. The soft clicking of photos being taken. From a distance. For a couple minutes. What a distraction. Poor Vince Carter. Read more »
No one likes moral victories. They aren’t supposed to happen in professional sports, at least not acknowledged. Moral victories? Those are for the college underdogs, the 15 or 16-seeds in the Big Dance.
But if you’re the Washington Wizards, fighting hard against the Orlando Magic to the point where the game was decided by a Gilbert Arenas missed runner in the paint (after being stuffed like turkeys on Thanksgiving night in Atlanta), you’ll take it as one to grow on.
“Well, we competed,” Flip Saunders said, almost reluctantly, after his team fell 100-99 in the waning seconds. “Had opportunities, I thought we could have very easily hung our heads when we got in the situation and got down 12, but fought back, had some great individual play.” The coach relented his answer before even being asked a question at his post-game press conference.
Wizards fans can only hope the players see the type of effort displayed against Orlando as more positive bricks in their project of rebuilding. Saunders had an excellent game plan and his players worked hard to implement it. But the little things made the difference on Saturday night, according to the Wizards’ coach.
“It’s just the little things,” Saunders noted. “We wanted to wrap [Dwight] Howard up, not let him get layups. We gave him too many layups.”
“I mean, he is a beast,” the coach later continued about the gargantuan Orlando center. “You know, you gotta grab him with both arms and try to hang on and hope that they call a foul and you don’t get hurt.”
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