Here are some pictures I took during the Wizards’ summer league debut against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday … my favs (that I’ve yet to already post).

To start, John Wall.

This is how you avoid having the ball hit you in the face after a pre-game dunk.

Corsley Edwards gets up.

Read more »

[Editor's note: I would like to welcome Rashad Mobley to the staff of TAI. Rashad has covered the Wizards with media credentials over the past two seasons for HoopsAddict.com. He's also written several guest posts on this site. Now, I'm excited to announce that Rashad will be bringing his writing skills to TAI full-time. And for his debut as 'officially' official, he dives further into Nick Young's one game in Vegas. Enjoy. -Kyle]

[Nick Young gains separation from Trey Johnson
heading toward a screen from Corsley Edwards.]

Last Thursday when the Washington Wizards PR staff allowed bloggers and writers to watch mini-camp practice, I had some things I expected to see.  I expected to see up and down play from John Wall;  I expected to see JaVale McGee and Hamady N’Diaye doing friendly battle in the post;  and I definitely expected to see Sam Cassell barking instructions out  because, well..that’s what’s Cassell does.

But I can honestly say that I did not expect to see Nick Young on that practice court.  Yet there he was, taking passes from Wall in stride and launching jumpers, playing pressure defense, and matching the intensity of players not guaranteed a roster spot like he seemingly is.

Young did not talk to the media after that particular practice, so it was up to Flip Saunders to shed light as to why Young was there, and whether he’d play in the summer league.

Read more »

You know Clipper Darrell, right? He’s the famed fan of the Los Angeles Clippers who, according to his website, has attended 385 straight Clipper home games. He was even once recruited by Mark Cuban to come to Dallas and become Maverick Darrell. Unfortunately for Cuban, Clipper Darrell is faithful to his team, which means, of course, he and his multi-colored suit made the short trek to Las Vegas to support the Clip Show in the 2010 NBA Summer League.

If Andray Blatche didn’t break his foot, his summer league reign might have continued. Instead, he handed the crown to Nick Young, who on Monday evening in Las Vegas, Nevada announced that he is retiring his summer league jersey after just one appearance in 2010.

One day Young will in turn bestow the same honor to someone else (JaVale McGee, perhaps?) … the use of “Summer League” as a moniker, or crown, or title — as in, “Hey Summer League, pass me the ball,” or “Man, Summer League let Marc Gasol score 10 points on him in the first 6:12 of the game.”

In the Wizards’ 84-69 win over the Los Angeles Clippers, Young carried the torch and he went out on top. He scored 18 points on 6-11 from the field and 4-7 from long distance. Young only committed two turnovers in his 28 minutes of play, also notching a block, two steals and a whole rebound, but nary an assist.

Last summer Young averaged 23.8 points, third most in the league, on 50% from the field and 0.8 assists in four games. In 2008, he averaged 11 points on 35.2% shooting over five games. In 2007, Young averaged 14.8 points, second on the Wizards to Oleksiy Pecherov’s 15.2 points, on 38.8% from the field with 0.6 assists per game.

Young strove for accomplishment in his lone 2010 appearance, and succeeded at that. From his post game interview, you can deduce three things: 1) he understands John Wall can be a blessing to his game; 2) the corner three can become his niche … and it’s the closest three point shot in the league, so keep getting at it Nick; and 3) the gravity of a contract year is realized and if Young changes his defensive mindset, making more consistent the glimpses of hustle we saw last year, he could at least warrant an extension of the $3.7 million qualifying offer next summer. Read more »

Hamady N’diaye only played eight minutes, 37 seconds in his Summer League debut with the Washington Wizards. He barely made an impression on the box score. He took one shot, missed it, had one rebound and one turnover. “H” almost had a sweet dunk, but got excited and traveled. He also got a 3-second defensive lane violation called on him.

Most would look at the box and think “Yuck, but that’s a late second round pick (No. 56 to be exact) for ya.” So why do I like Hamady so much? Let me explain.

No, N’diaye didn’t ‘wow’ me yesterday. And it’s just one Summer League game on his long journey to become a contributor on the court. But if my observations are true, Hamady has a solid foundation constructed in just over six short years of playing competitive basketball.

First, as much as I bragged about John Wall’s communication, I should do the same with N’diaye. I’m willing to bet that four years spent at Rutgers, where he acquired a degree in communications, helped him hone his verbal skills. He knows that it’s the center’s job to be that defensive anchor, to see what his teammates might not see and to let them know.

“That’s natural to me. I want to talk and make sure everyone follows the example,” said N’diaye after Sunday’s game. “That’s the one thing I can do is really play defense and one thing defense is you gotta talk. If I start talking I know the rest of my teammates are going to follow and I want to make sure I’m the loudest on the court.”

Read more »

Sneaker heads, this post is for you … what the Wizards Vegas Summer League players wore for their debut.

JaVale McGee

John Wall

Sun Yue

Read more »

John Wall had the jitters before the game.  I had goosebumps, but only because I had just settled down to watch Wall’s debut in the 63-degree chill of my basement.  I grabbed a blanket; it was showtime.

The Wizards put on a pretty good show en route to an 84-79 win over the Golden State Warriors. Wall and JaVale McGee made their presence felt in the first quarter, which could be viewed as a microcosm of the game as a whole.  Highlights below:

John Wall ended up with 24 points (7/15 FG), 8 assists, 8 turnovers, and 2 steals.  Six of those assists were alley-oops to McGee, who finished with 21 points (8/12 FG), 12 rebounds, and 2 blocks.

Ten things you should know: Read more »

Made it to Vegas safe and sound and just got finished watching the Lakers and Nuggets square off. I said it on draft night and now I’ll say it again, the Lakers did very well to pick up Devin Ebanks and Derrick Caracter. Ebanks has a lot more smoothness on offense than you’d anticipate and Caracter’s body can’t be handled. On Friday Caracter had 20 points, 10 rebounds and today he put up 17 and 12 to go with four assists.  Ebanks notched 21 points on 9-16 from the field on Friday and 24 points on 8-16 shooting on Saturday. But it’s also summer league, folks.

Okay …. John Wall time. He and the Wizards are set to face the Golden State Warriors (who are playing the Detroit Pistons as I type) at 5 pm Vegas time tomorrow (8 pm on the East Coast). Set your dials and DVRs. But until then, here’s something to tide you over … a compilation of clips from scrimmaging at the end of the first day of Wizards mini-camp last Thursday evening. While you’re waiting for John Wall, a little John Wall. Enjoy.