The first time I ever heard DeMar DeRozan was in May of 2009, when he was interviewed by Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld and others at the Chicago Pre-Draft Camp. He had just averaged 14 points and 5.7 rebounds as a freshman at USC and decided to declare for the NBA Draft.  During this pre-draft camp, he bragged that he could jump higher than Vince Carter, he said his game compared to no one in the NBA, and he mentioned that he followed the Wizards because of his friendship with Washington guard Nick Young–who also attended USC.

The Wizards ended up trading their lottery pick that year, and DeRozan was drafted ninth overall by the Toronto Raptors.

The first time I actually met DeRozan was during the 2010 All-Star weekend in Dallas. He had just won the “Dunk-In Contest”, which meant he could compete in the actual Dunk Contest (where he was the runner-up to Nate Robinson).  The then-rookie was excited to be getting the exposure that comes with participating in All-Star weekend, and he was looking forward to soaking in as much of it as possible.  I distinctly remember DeRozan saying, “USC baby!” as he walked away from the media, but I never thought to explore the relationship among the two Trojans, DeRozan and Young.

Shortly before the Raptors-Wizards game last night, I decided to do a bit of investigative journalism to find out more about this bond between the two players.  My timing could not have been better, because DeRozan was coming off an impressive two-game stretch that saw him score a career-high 26 points in the Raptors’ victory over the Orlando Magic, and 21 points in a close loss to the Miami Heat.

I asked DeRozan about how he met Nick Young, how their friendship has evolved, and about his raised level of play as of late:

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The Gilbert Arenas Hockey Assist: a screen-shot observation

Gilbert Arenas dribbles the ball up the court late in the third quarter with the game conveniently in hand, Kirk Hinrich prepares to set a ball screen for him.

Arenas comes off the screen and looks to make a move to the basket against Jose Calderon.

For whatever reason, it doesn’t really work and Arenas pulls it back — as you can see, the help defense is keyed in on Arenas and he likely knows this.

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On the surface, tonight’s game between the Toronto Raptors and the Washington Wizards just looks like a battle of two struggling teams.  The Raptors are 2-8 and in last place of the Atlantic Division, while the Washington Wizards are 2-6 and in last place in the Southeast.  Both teams have gone through major personnel changes since the ’09-10 season, and both were expected to have uphill climbs this season.

Of course, the major difference is that the Raptors lost the face of their franchise in Chris Bosh over the summer, while the Wizards welcomed their new future when they drafted John Wall.  The loss of Bosh without a significant player in return has basically ensured that the Raptors will struggle this season, and likely longer.  The addition of a young player in Wall means that the Wizards may struggle this year, but their future certainly seems to be in great and capable hands.

It is quite easy for me to make grandiose, sweeping generalizations about the Toronto Raptors, because I observe the team from afar (afar, meaning I have not watched them play an entire game all season).  So to get a better idea of what’s truly going with Raptors, I decided to reach out to my old editor, Mr. Ryan McNeill.

Ryan is the editor and founder of the site, HoopsAddict.com, and he has covered the Raptors with credentials for four years.  He has appeared on NBA XL, ESPN Radio, The Fan 590, The Chris Townsend Show and WSRQ 1220, and he is also contributor to SLAM ONLINE.

Rashad Mobley: The Wizards have some young players in Nick Young and JaVale McGee who have shown spurts of greatness, but have yet to put it together consistently.  The Raptors have young players in DeMar DeRozan and Sonny Weems, who have have been playing noticeably better this year.  Why do you think they are playing better this year?  And is there another young player I may have left out who is also playing well? Read more »

[Editor's Note: Rashad Mobley has reported on the Wizards with media credentials since the 2008-09 season for Hoops Addict. He occasionally contributes to Truth About It.net, providing excellent analysis and a different perspective from his up-close coverage of the team.]

Less than 24 hours after he arrived in Washington D.C., newly-acquired Washington Wizards forward Al Thornton held court in front of the locker previously occupied by DeShawn Stevenson.  He had just led his team in scoring with 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting, and the Wizards defeated the playoff-bound Denver Nuggets.  Under normal circumstances, the members of the media would be focusing on how he was able to score so easily, or how hectic things had been for him recently.

But that wasn’t completely the case.

In addition to the aforementioned 21 points, Thornton had four blocked shots, played tight defense on Carmelo Anthony, and it was seemingly contagious, as the Wizards held the Nuggets to just 15 fourth quarter points.

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Believe it or not, in the clip you are about to see, Charles Barkley doesn’t even talk about the trade that Mark Cuban just fleeced the Wizards for. Although, he surely will trash the move at some point.

In going down their All-Decade NBA lists and highlights, the TNT crew of Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley couldn’t resist mentioning a specific sensitive moment in the Wizards’ failed history … The Michael Ruffin Ball Toss.

Ruffin’s infamous gaffe, the one where he tossed the ball in the air with around three-seconds left only to see Mo Peterson of the Toronto Raptors catch, shoot, and make a crazy buzzer beater to tie the game (the Wizards would go on to lose in overtime), wasn’t officially apart of any All-Decade list, but the guys could help but mention it.

“The second dumbest basketball play I’ve ever seen,” said Kenny Smith.

“Would we respect anything less out of the Wizards?,” said Charles Barkley, a perpetual hater of the franchise. Why does he seem to hate the Wizards much more than any other team in the history? I’m not sure, but I’d sure like to ask the Chuck Wagon some day. And yes, in the clip Barkley says “respect,” not “expect.” Classic Round Mound of Rebound.

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Flip Saunders was not happy after Friday night’s loss against Toronto. “I’m more disappointed in this game than any game we’ve had,” he said. Can’t blame him.

It must have pained Coach even more to say, “That was a typical regular season game of non-playoff teams … playing the way we played. We took 29-three point shots. You don’t take 29 … you know, we’re shooting 32% from three and we take that many threes?”

But the threes aren’t something I especially noticed, aside from Jamison’s off-night 1-7, and they’re not exactly what Flip wanted to concentrate on in his post-game press conference.

Was it Gilbert Arenas’ missed layup (or Andray Blatche’s missed tips) that would have tied the game, possibly sending it into a second overtime? Nope.

“You know what, it’s always what happens is you come in after losing a game like that … and what everyone focuses on is what happened at the end. We lost the game in the first quarter.” Six minutes into the game, the Raptors were up 20-5.

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Matching up post-game locker room quotes with corresponding facial expressions.

Caron Butler

When asked about the shot Hedo Turkoglu hit with 8.1 second left in overtime, putting Toronto up for good at 109-107 …

“Turkish Jordan.

You know, it’s tough. It was a tough shot. Tried to make him take a difficult shot, and that’s exactly what happened.”

Brendan Haywood

When asked about the rebounding of Chris Bosh, who had nine offensive boards, five in the fourth quarter alone, and 16 total for the game … Read more »

{keys to win vs. raptors}

Active Hands

… especially from Jamison and Butler, the latter racked up three steals. As a team, the Wizards had 10 steals (their second highest total of the season), and held the Raptors to only two. Against the Suns, the Wiz had 12 steals, but they also had 17 turnovers. The team only turned the ball over 10 times last night.

Pushing Tempo

… even after the Raptors made shots, the Wizards pushed the ball up the court without deliberation, giving the recently stagnant offense more time to get something done.

According to KnickerBlogger.net, the Wizards play at the 14th fastest Pace in the NBA (92.6). Against the Raptors, they played at a Pace of 94.1, which is the Pace of the ninth fastest team, the Houston Rockets. The Raptors rank 11th in Pace at 93.7. Read more »

Caught the second half of the Wizards game via the Internet after shrugging my shoulders at yet another Redskins loss. Looking for Jim Zorn’s missing timeouts? The DC Sports Bog’s Dan Steinberg has some theories.

But what did I learn about the Wizards? Well, I can’t wait until Gilbert Arenas gets 100% comfortable with his offensive balance and ability to distribute … and is able to display it for a full game. He looked great in the third quarter. Made my day.

The turnovers, however, are a slight concern. So far this preseason, Arenas is averaging 6.3 turnovers per 36 minutes, which shatters his 3.2 TO/36 in 05-06 when he led the NBA in total turnovers with 297.

Yes, yes … again, “it’s the preseason” … and with increased passing (Arenas is averaging 13.6 assists per 36 this preseason BTW), and trying to gain familiarity with a new offense, an increased amount of turnovers is to be expected. But one thing I did notice against Memphis and Dallas was the nature of Gil’s turnovers … some seemed to be a bit careless/unintelligent (wasn’t able to gather much from Arenas’ four turnovers against Toronto).

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Just over three minutes left in a close game, Wizards up by one point against an almost equally bad team, the thought crossed my mind….do I hope they lose?

I knew the Clippers and Kings, two of the other top three worst teams in the league, were playing each other last night. It would be “nice” to have better chances in the draft.

But just as quickly as the thought entered my mind, it left. All along, I’ve been against “tanking” or even hoping for more losses just for the possibility of maybe having a better shot at the top pick/Blake Griffin. It just doesn’t seem like good basketball karma, not like it matters with the Curse O’ Les Boulez anyway. But still, we’re talking principles…..principalities.

So eff the lottery it was, I was pulling for my Wizards to win, because that’s what fans do. And a win is what I thought we were getting when Juan Dixon squirmed for a layup with 47 seconds left, putting the Wiz up 96-90.

But nothing ever comes easy. Two straight Raptor threes later, the few of us on the Bullets Forever game thread were screaming for the ghosts of Anthony Parker, Michael Ruffin and Mo Peterson to be exercised.

So Juan Dixon, as the third option, hit an off-balanced fader in the lane with 19 seconds left….he probably traveled….Wiz up two. Game winner? Nope. Jose Calderon was allowed to saunter right down the lane for a lay-up…..splendid. At least the Wiz would get the last shot, one of the Dagger! variety.

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This Wizards lost again and all that…..surprise, surprise. Your web hits are below.

“We met the opposition and it was us.”
-Ed Tapscott

[Wizards Game 34 Blog vs. Toronto Raptors: Groundhog Day Continues - Bullets Forever]

[Wizards Outlet]
Another game, another slow start, and more inability to climb out of it because you’re physically and mentally spent from just trying to get even again. That is the position the Washington Wizards again found themselves in tonight.

[Wizards Insider]
Toronto, one of the worst rebounding teams in the league, finished with a 39-28 edge on the boards, made three more three-pointers and seven more free throws.

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The Washington Wizards play the Toronto Raptors tonight….two franchises that have caused a great deal of disappointment for their fans this season. So, in anticipation of the game, I hooked up with Scott from RaptorBlog.com for a quick Q&A session. Read on….

1) The Raptors seem on the verge of making a run for the playoffs….what do they need to do for this to really happen?

I don’t know where you get the idea that the Raptors are “on the verge of making a run for the playoffs”. This team is seriously flawed. Their offense is average, their defense is subpar, their rebounding is atrocious and their bench is shallow. It’s possible that they could make a surge toward the seventh or eighth seed so that they can get stomped by the Celtics or Cavs like narcs at a biker rally, but I can’t fathom why that would be something to shoot for. This team needs to rebuild and get off the treadmill of .500 seasons and first round playoff losses.

2) The Jermaine O’Neal experiment…..verdict? The Basketball Jones podcast seems to think that J.O. is a hindrance to the Raptor offense. What say you?

Jermaine O’Neal has given the Raptors everything I expected he would in terms of post presence on defense, but it hasn’t translated into improved team defense or wins for some reason. If another team is interested in his defensive presence and would be willing to send players that would give the Raptors some 2009 cap space in return, I would like Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo to make that happen so that Andrea Bargnani can take over the starting center role full-time. Raptors management, coaching and fans need to really see what Bargnani brings to the table and I don’t think they can properly make that assessment with O’Neal still in the mix.

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Jeff from CelticsBlog.com is doing the grunt work to put together a comprehensive NBA preview from bloggers ’round the ‘sphere. The complete Atlantic Division Preview is out. Here are the highlights from the participating bloggers for each team:

Boston Celtics

[Celtics Blog]
The East is getting better, so I feel like the bad teams will lose less and the good teams will win less, but the Celtics should still be good for the best record in the East. Prediction: 59-23

[Green Bandwagon]
Last year I laughably predicted the Celtics would win 49 games. Translation: I’m not too good at this. Meanwhile, Chicago, Cleveland, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Toronto, and the Eastern Conference in general should be better. Factor in James Posey’s departure, the question marks on Boston’s bench, and concerns about whether or not the Celtics will have the same fire and drive, and it is reasonable to expect fewer wins. Prediction: 58 – 24

[Loy's Place]
The goal is obviously to repeat as champions. Nothing less will be considered a success. They may not be as dominant in the regular season this year because a lot of teams have improved with the goal of beating the Celtics. And everyone will be gunning for the champions and seeking to unseat them. But, I believe it will all come together in the playoffs and that they will meet their goal to repeat as champions.Prediction: 60-22

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Still wondering about the injuries of Gilbert or Caron? DC Pro Sports Report has your back.

Caron’s hip deal is a funny thing….even he doesn’t know when he’s better. The possibility of an aggravation, this being an odd injury; I can’t imagine what’s going through his mind. All I can say is that I feel for ya Tuff Juice. Take as much time as you want as I can only imagine what it’s like trying to gain confidence with hip issues.

Gilbert…..pretty much the same to you. Knee injuries are far more common than those of the hip. So, you can rest a little more assured knowing that you’re not alone. Hey, even I am with you. I had microfracture surgery in late December ’07, and blogged about my experience once, then twice….but never followed up (unfortunately, similar to my dedication to physical therapy). One day.

Point is, Arenas is going through the confidence thing just as Caron. Whatcha gonna do?

Back to the current Wizards: It’s snowing in Toronto. The Pradamaster is a busy guy. DC Pro Sports goes into enemy territory. And I had my preview, so you’re covered.

So let’s start the show….

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Yes, it was not pretty the last time DC took a visit to Toronto. Game 44 against the Raptors was the worst loss of the season for the Wizards….to date. 122-83 was the final. The Raps were up 10-0 in the game before I knew it; from there, they didn’t look back, aided by a 21-5 2nd quarter run.

In the previous Wizards game (#43) against the Raptors, which happened to be at home in DC the night before the above game, we were treated to this quote by Steve Buckhantz, except much louder: “Noooo!!!! It’s not possible!!!!!”

Why? Well, just watch below:

Hey, at least the Wiz won that one, thus, preventing horrible, horrible nightmares about the Raptors for the rest of my life. This clip expands on the reasoning.

Before that, the Wiz beat a Chris Bosh-less Raptors in game 17.

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