Posts for category ‘roger mason jr’

“I’m a better player than the last time I was here, that’s for sure,” proclaimed Roger Mason Jr. on Monday night, after the fourth day of Washington Wizards training camp. Furthermore, he said, “I’m a better player than I was in San Antonio.”

At least this is what the Wizards are hoping for, but to what degree remains to be seen. Regardless of his chances to show himself as a player, Mason knows the role he signed up for in his return stint with Washington.

“My role is just to share some of the knowledge that I’ve learned,” said Mason. ”Learning from guys like Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, you know, pros… being with Amar’e Stoudemire. Those are things that I can bring to Andray Blatche, to let him know how Tim Duncan prepares for games. To let John Wall know how Tony Parker prepares for games. They won championships. So my role now is to come here and teach these guys what champions do.”

But a role as the veteran who comes off the bench in spot minutes, maybe sinks a three-pointer or two? The guy who gives an “atta-boy” as JaVale McGee comes out the game with a sour look? No. Roger Mason doesn’t want to just be that, and from what I’ve seen, he hasn’t been playing like that either.

Read more »

[Roger Mason Jr. - via Flickr/Keith Allison]

It’s now being widely reported that Roger Mason Jr. — native son of D.C., attendee of Sidwell Friends/Good Counsel, UVA Cavalier — will soon sign with the Washington Wizards, making it his second stint with the team. Teams can officially sign players at 2 pm on Friday, just before training camp is scheduled to commence. The Post’s Michael Lee reports that Mason will be in Washington, ready to join the team.

How do I feel about this? Iffy, yet content. For one, the signing fits the Ernie Grunfeld mold. The Wizards team president values the presence of veterans, and even though the Wizards hopefully aren’t promising Mason too much court action, nor are overpaying him (the veteran’s minimum, they say, which is just fine), Washington likely offers Mason the most comfort and opportunity over other potential suitors. The Boston Celtics were also said to be interested in Mason; in that situation, Roger might’ve easily found himself relegated to those spillover seats behind the bench, following the inactive dress code, and wondering how and why.

Washington it will be, in an existence of factual acceptance. Speaking of facts, below are some stats regarding the player. While I’m less than enthused about a Roger Mason Jr. signing, in the end I can’t help but welcome back the hometown guy in hopes that he will revitalize the sun-setting of his career, as he turned 31 in September, and I am about 10 weeks older. Read more »

Last year, the Hawks, in Atlanta, were the source for the first win of the season after an 0-5 Washington start. Tonight, both of these teams meet, desperate for a win and riddled with injuries. The Hawks have lost four games in a row since starting 6-0. The stat stuffing Josh Smith has been out with a sprained ankle and Al Horford went down last night with an ankle injury. He is questionable to play against the Wizards tonight.

Ivan Carter has a good run-down of the ATL on Wizards Insider.

Back to last year’s history, the Wizards finished 2-2 against the Hawks. Here’s how it went down:

Game 6: Wizards @ Atlanta – Nov. 11, 2007
This game was played at the same time as a Redskins-Eagles matchup….so I made my friends put two TVs in their living room. The Wiz played a good game all around, moving the ball well and netting 26 assists, with 8 coming from Butler. They also worked inside-out, establishing Haywood in the paint early. BTH finished with 13 points and 12 boards. The Wiz had the game relatively in command but Atlanta made a late run and cut the lead to five with 3:40 left. However, Antawn Jamison sealed a big win with some clutch baskets. He finished with 23 points and 15 rebounds.
Wizards 101 – Hawks 90

Game 25: Wizards vs. Hawks – Dec. 21, 2007
After starting the previous loss against the Bulls and going 1-10 from the field, Nick Young was sent back to the bench in favor of Roger Mason, Jr.. The Hawks got off to a very fast start and the Wiz were lucky to be down four after one quarter. Remember Mike Wilks? He made his Wizards debut this game, his first shot was an airball. The Wiz were up two at the half, 47-45. Both teams made some runs in the 3rd, which ended with Atlanta up one, 68-67. The fourth quarter was intense and exciting as the teams went back and forth. With a minute left, Josh Smith hit a trey to put Atlanta up three. Nick Young made a drive to earn two FTs. Josh Childress got a lucky tip after good Wizards defense. Nick Young answered with a Kobe-like double-clutch hanging shot. The Hawks made two FTs, and with 16 seconds left and down three, Nick “The City” Young could not nail a trey to tie the game. Atlanta hit a couple FTs to seal the game and win in DC for the first time since December 2003.
Hawks 97 – Wizards 92

Game 34: Wizards @ Atlanta – Jan. 11, 2008
Let’s see…Big Oily Pecherov made his NBA debut (2 points, a rebound, a foul and a turnover), but this game was the Andray Blatche show….one of the few instances he has displayed real hustle. AB finished with 13 points, 8 rebounds (6 offensive) and 5 blocks off the bench. Antawn Jamison’s 17 total rebounds weren’t too shabby either. But Atlanta hung around, scoring 35 points in the 3rd after only 33 in the first half. Atlanta was up 68-62 heading into the final period. The game would head into OT as the Big Three of Butler, Jamison and Stevenson led the way. At the very end, the Wizards had trouble getting the ball inbounds with 5.4 seconds left. After an almost steal by Atlanta, Daniels was able to receive the inbounds pass from Stevenson and make both FTs to eek out the win.
Wizards 102 – Hawks 98

Read more »

The Wizards only played the Knicks three times during the 07-08 season, and lost twice to a New York team that only finished with 23 wins on the year. Here’s what happened (after the pic):

[source: flickr/cougar-studio]

• Game 37: Wizards @ New York Knicks – Jan. 15, 2008
  Antonio Daniels had a sore knee so Roger Mason Jr. got the starting nod, and he did not disappoint, knocking down 8 of 14 shots for 20 points. But as they have the propensity to do, the Wizards got off to a bad start, down 30-14 after one quarter…..perhaps it was the empty airplane hanger-like atmosphere in the Garden. Behind a strong 2nd quarter where “I Get Buckets Son” hit three 3s, the Wiz were down 51-41 at the half. After three, the Knick lead was cut to 5. But in the end, the Wizards were out rebounded, out assisted, out shot, and looked worn down after coming off amazing back-to-back wins against the Celtics. Jamal Crawford torched the Wiz for 29 points en route to a 105-93 New York win over Washington.

• Game 38: Washington Wizards vs. Knicks – Jan. 18, 2008
  So, three days later, the Wiz got their shot at redemption in the confines of the Verizon Center. The first quarter ended with both teams scoring in bunches, and shooting over 63%; the Knicks held the lead 32-28. In the 2nd quarter, Caron Butler showed some hustle swag to put the Wiz up 61-57 at the half. Washington built their lead to 12 at the end of 3 with solid defense by DeShawn Stevenson on Jamal Crawford, and some strong contributions from Big Oily, Oleksiy Pecherov, off the bench. The Knicks cut the Wizards lead to 4 early in the 4th, but Caron Butler (22 points), Antawn Jamison (32 points), and the bench (30 points) ensured the win for the Wizards, 111-98 over the Knicks.

• Game 53: Washington Wizards vs. Knicks – Feb. 19, 2008
  I missed this game because of a trip to Argentina (thanks for my friend Chris for picking up the slack on the game blog)….evidently Art Monk was in attendance, as was Alexander Ovechkin, who at one point was shown on TV slipping the tongue to a blond chick (I’m assuming his now wife?). Antawn Jamison tried his best (20 points, 13 rebounds, 3 steals), but the Wizards could not overcome the absence of Caron Butler, who was out due to injury. Jamal Crawford missed a chance to put the Knicks up one with 19 seconds left in regulation when he only made 1 of 2 free-throws. With the score tied at 90, the ball was in the hands of Antonio Daniels….not good and you can guess the result. The Knicks would outscore the Wizards 23-10 in OT for the 113-100 win.

Read more »

photo from washingtonwizards.com

Ok, so Jamison isn’t exactly chewing on a straw a la Tuff Juice in the photo above….it appears to be a mouth piece. But it’s safe to say, the team better be following the actions and listening to the words of the guy with a teeth-marked plastic straw in his mouth.

The Pradamaster already did a Wizards link dump over at Bullets Forever. Now, I’d like to get in on the action with some linkage diarrhea…..gotta give good content across the world wide web its proper due…..not that the below links are bad like the collywobbles, but they sure are juicy.

————————–

Speaking of Tuff Juice, Tom Knott has a column about the guy, “Wizards getting more than they bargained,” at The Washington Times.

Jordan took an immediate liking to Butler because of his fearlessness and combativeness, two qualities found lacking in the Wizards in the 2005-06 season. Jordan nicknamed Butler “Tough Juice,” and it stuck.

Read more »

photobucket – TheCoolest404

I’m not sure if Ernie Grunfeld is good at chess, but when it comes to generally managing an NBA franchise, he has a knack for moving around pawns for the benefit of the program (not to trivialize the fill-in pieces which are crucial to a team’s end of the bench by calling them ‘pawns’).

A Michael Ruffin here (yea, he was the definition of a role player, but always did what was expected of him….well, except for this of course – Best game ever as a Wizard? Game 1 of the 04-05 season when Ruffin pulled down 11 boards, scored 6 points, and blocked 7 shots in a win at Memphis….to say the Wizards were short-handed that night would be an understatement: Kwame Brown, Etan Thomas, and Steve Blake were on the injured list; Gilbert Arenas, Larry Hughes, Brendan Haywood an Anthony Peeler were all suspended from a pre-season fight with the Chicago Bulls)….Note: The Memphis game was also Antawn Jamison’s first game as a Wizard – 45 minutes, 34 points, 8 rebounds.

A Brevin Knight there (more about getting rid of Jahidi White’s bloated body and contract)…..Knight averaged 4.3 points, 3.2 assists, and 1.6 steals filling in here and there, appearing in 32 games, starting 12, before being released and later picked up by the Milwaukee Bucks.

Read more »

I’ve been working on a piece about Eddie Jordan and his rotation size, specifically in comparison to the rest of the league and how it may or may not relate to team success in the NBA. The research is taking longer than I thought, so….spawned by a Slam Online blog entry today, I wanted to assess the Wizards role players for the upcoming season first.

In “Know Your Role,” John Krolik highlights five types of role players (plus Robert Horry) that every team wants. How do the Wizards stack up? Well, let’s see.

1. The Mistake-Free Backup Point
This one is easy….Antonio Daniels is even cited as an ideal example. AD is a leader who is willing to put his body on the line and the team first. In my player evaluation of Daniels, I cited negatives such as inability to shoot and defend. However, with Arenas back and Antonio going back to the bench, those inefficiencies will be somewhat masked in the bigger picture. The key theme is the steadying veteran presence Antonio provides as the point guard leader of a young second unit.

2. The Bona Fide Sniper
This is an big area of concern for me. Gilbert Arenas is the team sniper, but he’s no role player. Gone is last year’s sniper in Roger Mason, who will fill the role for the San Antonio Spurs. Sure, Nick Young will be expected to provide an offensive spark off the bench, but I’ve never been confident in his ability as a long distance threat. Are you telling me that the Wizards will look to Oleksiy Pecherov to be the unconscious jacker from deep? I sure hope not, and that’s assuming he’s not reporting for D-League duty during the upcoming season.

3. A “Three-and-D” Shooting Guard
Krolik cites DeShawn Stevenson as fitting this bill and I couldn’t agree more. This is where I really respect Stevenson for his personal player development in adding the three-point shot to his repetoire. It’s funny that at times, DeShawn seems to have a penchant to taking ill-advised shots (and perhaps this was accentuated last year with Gilbert’s offense absent), but at the same time, most of my observations tell me that DeShawn is a relatively selfless player on the offensive end and is well aware of his role on the team. Dominic McGuire, altough more of a SF and lacking trey-ball range, strikes me as a role-player-in-training in this area. Off the bench, I think McGuire will be able to defend multiple positions, and judging from his summer league progression, could bring a threatening mid-range offensive game.

Read more »

Roger Mason Junior, part 6 of Washington Wizards Player Evaluations:
Etan Thomas | Oleksiy Pecherov | Dominic McGuire | Nick Young | Andray Blatche

Head over the Bullets Forever to see what the Pradamaster and JakeTheSnake have to say.

Roger Mason Junior…..DC’s own….the Potomac Rainmaker. Mason Junior was the recipient of this year’s Pleasant Surprise Award. Ok, I made that up…..but the fact is that Roger Mason had a career year, averaging 9.1 ppg and almost 40% (39.8) from 3-point land. Oh yea, his PER and Usage-Rate bested that of both DeShawn Stevenson and Antonio Daniels. Mase-ON was truly an invaluable offensive spark off the bench as the Wizards dealt with an array of injuries in 07-08. Not only that, but in the nine games he was asked to start (five of which came in late December), Mason averaged 17.4 ppg, 3.4 ast, 52.6% fg, and 43.1% 3p.

But alas, it’s the opinion of most that this four-year, three-team NBA journeyman (with stops in Greece and Israel in between NBA stints) will continue his travels elsewhere. Does it have to be this way for a hometown guy who seemingly wants to play in DC and for the Wizards…..especially considering that he turned down a 3-year $3 million contract from the world champion (soon to be former) San Antonio Spurs to sign with the Wizards for one year and $895,341 this past season? Or, did Roger have that much confidence in his game that he figured he would get more run with the Wiz, and thus be able to parlay that into a larger contract?

Whatever the case, people noticed and Roger will get paid. However, Mason’s NBA future (and he does have an NBA future) is in limbo until a couple of questions are answered:

1. What is the market for an NBA journeyman who can shoot? It seems that a team in rebuilding mode would rather opt to fill a roster spot with a draft pick, although Mason will just be 27 in September. But there is probably a contender out there who will throw at least half the MLE at Roger.

   Read more »

This is not so much a game 3 preview as it is a festival of related links and the best words from them. I’ve read them all and can vouch for each and every one. Enjoy.

flickr/wizardsdotcom

Good Words to Start
>> “We have to channel all of our aggressiveness, all of our excitement and all of our bravado into being organized within the team framework.” [Eddie Jordan via WashingtonWizardsBlog]

>> “Discipline first is self control. Discipline second is The Enforcer. If you can’t control yourself, The Enforcer must control it, and that’s me.” [Eddie Jordan via DC Sports Bog] – Oh yea, same link….Caron Butler shaved a message in the back of his head.Advocating to use Roger Mason Junior as the “enforcer” because of his “super human strength.” [Basketbawful]

>> Great piece on the upbringing of Roger Mason aka The Silent Assassin [Jon Siegel, Washington Times]

>> “Caron seems to be farely healthy, Gil’s far from behing Gil. And we know that. But look, they don’t have Sasha Pavlovic and they’ve got some guys banged up. LeBron’s got a bad back. So, you know, we can’t use that as an excuse but, Gil’s flat out not healthy. He’s not nearly the Gil we’re going to see in October.” [Eddie Jordan via Wizards Insider]

>> “The Cavaliers, meaning Mike Brown and James, have successfully created the perception that the Wizards are playing dirty basketball and are out to hurt one of the game’s biggest stars. The Wizards maintain that they simply want to play clean, hard basketball and not give James easy layups, dunks and three-point plays. [Ivan Carter, Wizards Insider]

Read more »

Ron Thompson on Comcast with his “Ronny’s” tonight…..some type of award with a creative nickname.

The Warrior Award: DeShawn Stevenson – agreed. My 2nd place would be Antawn Jamison
Most Improved: Roger Mason – agreed again. Just as Ron said, it was a difficult choice between Mase-ON and Brendan Haywood.
Mr. Dependable: Obviously Jamison.
Mr. Complete: Caron Butler
(I’m beginning to think that they selected players first, and then named awards according to their games.)
The Overachiever: Eddie Jordan – I’m caught on this award. I hate to call Eddie an “overachiever” for doing his job and being the good coach that I know he is, and whom I’ve supported, from Day 1.

Anyway, the game…

This is the Pacers ‘De La Soul’ game….you know, the Stakes Is High. If they lose, they can pretty much count on watching the playoffs from home. And that’s fine with me, I’d rather see the Atlanta Hawks step up to bat. The task won’t be easy, Danny Granger has been killing lately (much less being an upcoming Wizards Killer, a la Mo Williams) and both Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler will be resting injuries tonight.

Quarter One

10:33: Dunleavy is Mr. Go-Hard at Antawn Jamison, getting a bucket and later, a two foul shots. Bout time, for a #3 overall pick. 4-4 game.

Read more »

Sometimes these game blogs get way too long. At times, it becomes difficult to temper my enthusiasm. When the Wizards do well, I’m just typing away as a result of the abundant offense (usually). If they are playing poorly, I got words too. Tonight, I’m really going to concentrate on selectivity. D’oh! Forgot this is a Triple Play…..Wizards on the main feed, Caps playoff game #1 on the left. The strugglin’ Nats on the right. Oh well, we will see.

I got a preview/run-down of all (some) things Wizards here. Laters.

Also, check out the Bullets Forever game thread for comments.

Previously on Ready to Die.

Wizards vs. Pistons Game 30: Stuck with the fat girl at the dance as DC got blown 106-93. Detroit had 33 bench points, was 11-22 from three and had 23 assists to 10 for Washington. Bad all around.

Wizards vs. Pistons Game 68: This will be known as the Gilbert Arenas hissy-fit game. The Wizards won 95-83 and made Detroit look very un-Detroit. This discovered picture of Rasheed Wallace was the most important piece of the night.

Read more »

Well, that answers Ivan Carter’s question, Gilbert Arenas will sit out and rest the knee tonight against the Chicago Bulls, opting out of the back-to-back. Who knows what that means….I thought it was normal rest earlier this season, then all of a sudden, he’s having another surgery. Antawn Jamison, as most know, will also be dress-code suited on the bench.

The update is that Gilbert is out as a precaution.

Quarter One

11:41: Can of Tuff Juice from long distance to start.

Even bigger sports night for DC (than on Nats opening night)….got the Caps season finale on the left feed (a win and they’re in the playoffs). The Wizards-Bulls front and center, for now UNC-Kansas on the far right.

Read more »

flickr photo from Simonds

The Wizards need to rebound in more ways than one: rebound from last night’s demoralizing game (for fans) and rebound the damn ball. 55-36. That’s the rebounding total from the Wizards’ time in Oregon. Joel Pryzbilla had 17 rebounds….8 of those offensive. Tonight, I’m going to pay special attention to any offensive rebound the Wizards give up and the responsible party.

The Wizards blew the Sonics out in game 32 of the season, DC side. In that game, Seattle provided us an example of their youthful sloppiness. Tonight in Seattle, the Wizards need to provide a consistent veteran effort.

Sixers and Raptors have both already won, so the pressure is on. I love these late-night West Coast games.

Let’s start the show….

Read more »

Well, Caron Butler is out with an ankle tonight. Darius Songaila will start in his place, along with Haywood, Jamison, Mason Jr. and Stevenson. A little bit bigger lineup, not a bad idea since Mike Dunleavy at the 2 and Danny Granger at the 3, both 6’9″, present a tall challenge. But the Wiz should still be able to get up and down the court at a decent pace with AJ at the 3. I just hope he can keep up with Granger trolling around the 3 point line. Gonna be tough, but let’s think that avoiding three losses in a row will provide some extra kick for this team.

For the record:
Season Opener Live Blog @ Indy [a 119-100 Wizards loss in OT]
Game 7 Live Blog – Indy in DC [a 103-90 Wizards win]

Start the show….

1st Quarter

Honestly, I’d be a complete defeatist about our chances if J.O. was playing like the Real J.O.

Read more »