Wizards guard Nick Young recent joined some very exclusive company– we’re talking a club that only has 20 members over the course of NBA history (the time period being since 1979-80 when the 3-point line was officially introduced to the league). With his three 3-pointers made to just one assist against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday, Young now has 316 made 3-pointers for his career to 315 assists. There are now 20 players in NBA history who have: played in 300 or more games, played 7,000 or more minutes, and have more made 3-pointers than assists. This exclusive list, via Basketball-Reference.com, includes the likes of Rashard Lewis, Kyle Korver, Quentin Richardson, Peja Stojakovic, Jason Kapono, Matt Carroll, Tracy Murray, Charlie Villanueva, Matt Bonner, Matt Bullard, Eric Piatkowski, Andrea Bargnani, and a handful of other cats. Young ranks 12th amongst the group in career 3-point percentage (38-percent) and is tied with five others for eighth most assists per 36 minutes (1.5 per 36 minutes). So… Congrats Nick! Otherwise, the Wizards play the Blazers in Portland at 10 pm EST tonight, and for today’s 3-on-3 we have none other than ESPN TrueHoop’s Henry Abbott (@TrueHoop), along with TAI’s Adam McGinnis (@AdamMcGinnis) and Sam Permutt (@sammyvert). Three questions, three answers starts now…

#1) While reports indicate that Nate McMillan will not make a lineup change for the game against Washington on Tuesday, there are issues of concern that might need to be addressed; to be exact, removing struggling point guard Raymond Felton in favor of Jamal Crawford or someone else. Whatever the case, is any Portland point guard equipped to stop John Wall? Or does it not really matter given the surroundings that the PGs from each team have to work with?

HENRY ABBOTT: Almost nobody in the league can stop that short list of speed freaks one-on-one. But the team approach works well. Portland’s defense, in general, is as good as it has been — fourth in the league at defensive efficiency so far. So, the Wizards will have trouble scoring, regardless. The guard issue that worries me, as a Blazers fan, is on the other side of the ball, where Crawford has always been shoot-first, ask questions later, and now Felton has been looking gassed, with a five-game stretch of hitting 23 of his last 61 attempts, with a mighty seven total rebounds to go with 15 turnovers. But I’d play Felton, simply because he has to develop great chemistry with LaMarcus Aldridge if this team is going to make noise in the playoffs.

ADAM McGINNIS: Felton’s shooting percentages (37-percent FG, 20-percent 3P) are abysmal and his last game highlighted these woes, as he went 4-17 from the field in Portland’s double-OT loss to the Dallas Mavericks. Jamal Crawford never has been any team’s answer at point, where his strengths are instant offense off the bench and closing out games with his big shot-making ability. I would give rookie Nolan Smith a shot at starting since Linsanity over the past week has taught us that you never know what can happen, and especially since Smith displayed defensive prowess at Duke. The Philadelphia 76ers executed the most successful defensive game plan against John Wall. They crowded the lane with bodies, calling it ”Building a Wall to stop Wall,” so the Trailblazers will clearly need a team effort as well.

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Blazers Beat The Future By 35 Points

Portland all-knowingly jumped the passing lanes, the young Wizards usually filling the prophecy as expected. The Trailblazers bumped as they pleased on the boards, hassled like bill collectors on defense, and made the game look very, very easy. They had the confidence.

“They’re just some young guys getting some experience on the floor,” Wizards television play-by-play man Steve Buckhantz would implore during the broadcast of Washington’s 111-76 loss in Portland on Tuesday night. Not in so many words, but in several pixels of prose, as if freshly picked from the algorithm tree and laid gently into his lap by the monster.

It’s like the fate (disclaimer: I don’t believe in fate) of the Washington franchise’s basketball path is trying to outdo itself in the absurdity of highly-stacked odds against. Three-rookie starting lineups featuring John Wall, Jordan Crawford and Trevor Booker, with JaVale McGee and Yi Jianlian serving as de facto rookies posing as starters … along with all veteran players past, present and future unavailable for contribution. (Andray Blatche, Nick Young, Josh Howard, Rashard Lewis, Rex Chapman, Chris Webber, Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, Larry Hughes and Mike Miller all sat out due to injury.) If the circumstance is unprecedented, you will hear about it.

Common mistakes and missed defensive assignments are accepted and approved as understandable. Lack of consistent hustle, selfish forays to the hoop and unfocused execution are ills seen too often, doctrine for some. The kids are swimming, but will 35 point losses in front of fervid Blazers fans help them build confidence? For some it will, for others it will not. Here’s to now searching for promise amidst those who won’t cut it in a promised future.

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[Last Friday night's win versus the Portland Trailblazers, in pictures. -KW]

So JaVale McGee received a pretty sweet half-court alley-oop from Gilbert Arenas, let’s watch the video:

Now let’s check what I saw from where I was located (in GIF form), which certainly seems better than Sean Marks’ perspective. Then again, he’s making NBA money.

More Pictures from the Phone Booth Floor:

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[Brandon Roy reacts as referee Courtney Kirkland points toward him, indicating a foul will be called on Roy, canceling Portland's possession of the ball and an Andray Blatche technical foul.]

With just over two minutes left in Friday night’s game, and the Wizards holding onto a 73-69 lead over the Portland Trailblazers, Brandon Roy took a three pointer.

He missed. Nicolas Batum got an offensive rebound and passed to Wesley Matthews in the corner. He missed a three. Joel Pryzybilla then missed a controlled tip from point-blank range. LaMarcus Aldridge tipped the rebound, and missed, and tipped the ball again, and again, and again, just swatting with the hope that something would go in his team’s favor for a change.

The final rebound then brushed past Roy’s hands. Andray Blatche swooped in to try to gather the ball as he teetered on the baseline, but in one move, Roy punched the ball away. As it left Blatche’s grasp, Roy grabbed him around the waist with one arm to prevent recovery. The ball went out of bounds, and having last touched Blatche’s hands, referee Scott Wall blew the whistle, signaling possession in Portland’s favor. Wall’s view of Blatche getting grabbed was blocked.

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[Portland's Brandon Roy expresses his displeasure at a changed/overruled call that could have meant a three-point swing with less than two minutes to go in a loss to the Wizards.  Photo: K. Weidie]

Prior to last night’s game against the Wizards, Portland Trailblazers guard Wesley Matthews declared it a must-win situation. When coach Nate McMillan got wind of this during his pre-game press conference, he bluntly refuted that premise.

“I think all games are a must win, so what happens if we don’t?”

Three and a half hours after he made that statement, McMillan got his answer when his team lost to the Wizards, 83-79.  They scored 10 points in the third quarter,  23 in the fourth and they shot 33% for the entire game.  The Blazers looked lost on offense, lethargic on defense, and they allowed a struggling Wizards team to overcome a 12-point Portland lead and steal the game.

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You sit courtside at an NBA game and you must pay attention.

It’s somewhat similar to how there are certain seats in a baseball park where you must have a heightened sense of foul balls. But that’s a ball, not a person.

NBA basketball, unlike football and hockey as well, is the only pro sport where players can come in physical contact with fans. Sure, you’re thinking of Ron Artest now, but that’s not what I mean. Players from any sport are capable of going into the stands to fight fans. I mean contact during the course of play. Maybe the Lambeau Leap could classify as a unique fan-player interaction, but if you’re sitting in those seats, you have a crappy view of the field.

NBA courtside seats provide a unique sporting experience that can’t be topped.

Sitting courtside also comes with a cost, in the wallet of course (unless you’re a blogger with a photo credential), but also in the risk of receiving the errant limbs of sweaty occupants from the tall gene pool into unknown areas of your body spilling beer and lord knows what, where. And that’s part of the fun.

Photo of the Night.

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{Pascal’s Manale, New Orleans — home of some of the best Louisiana oysters I’ve had}

Still on vacation and not due back in D.C. until late Monday, I don’t even think I’ve seen as much as a highlight from the Wizards’ past three games in Denver, Utah and Portland. The losing streak has now entered double-digits and is counting.

Part of me feels bad for not making more of an effort to watch the games. I mean, these are ‘my’ Wizards, the team I spend countless hours of my life keeping up with. I feel a bit lacking for not keeping up with what’s going on with the team, even in inevitable losses.

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Well, who was I kidding with this? Watched the game this morning despite my protests….newsflash: we’re terrible. Keep reading.

Q1

Caron starts by shooting a three….miss…no surprise.

McGuire is all over on D…..deflections, etc.

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Went out last night, of course, instead of watching the Wizards-Blazers game. What? Am I supposed to sacrifice my social life for this team? Naw.

But my intentions are good…..DVR the game, stay away from scores (which I did) and watch it the next day.

Getting up in the morning, the first thought is, “Do I really want to watch this team?” I mean, what are their chances of beating the Blazers in Portland? 10%…..at best?…..maybe 7%?

I have no hope.

It’s easy for a fan to lose hope. I still root for the team. I still want them to win. I still get wrapped up in the emotion of games…whether the Wiz are getting blown out or blowing up.

But for some dude like me, losing hope seems natural.

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Bust A Bucket is a Portland Trail Blazers blog (seems like the Blaze have a ton of blogs – guess that’s what you get when you combine more passionate fans, a better history in the past 2+ decades, and no other major professional sports teams)….oh well. Check ‘em out, pretty cool looking site.

Matt of BaB and I exchanged a Q&A session in anticipation of tonight’s game between our two teams. Check out his answers to my questions below. Head over to Bust a Bucket for my return answers.

Portland Skyline [flickr/Jeff.Jones]

1) The Blazers currently sit right in the midst of the Western Conference playoff fray. Do you see how the current team plays out the year and perhaps make a move in the summer?……..Or try to find a taker for someone now? (I’m assuming that Frye, Outlaw and Rodriguez are the most expendable, correct?)
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