Washington Wizards React Quotes & Other Tid-Bits

Headed down to the Verizon Center in Chinatown last Saturday night to see my Washington Wizards look uninterested in a loss to the Charlotte Bobcats. It wasn't the end of the world, but I was disappointed nonetheless.

Attending the game in person, I had my ears listening for react quotes (Wire reference alert):

"The only bad thing about St. Patrick's Day is that one year I took river-dance lessons....." The quote by a mid-twenties girl, who surprisingly spent more time paying attention to the game than talking, then blurred into something about being drunk and dancing in bars. My head was buried into my hands upon hearing 'river' and 'dance' in the same sentence. I should've tried to set her up with my friend Chris.

"Awww he shook him...ohhh he shook him." Middle-aged white man in his middle-aged white man voice in reference to Raymond Felton toying with Antonio Daniels.

"That brotha is in the zone." This was repeated about nine times in 30 seconds as some guy expressed his expert analysis of Jason Richardson's 34 point game.

"It'd be a lot funner if we could cheer for the other team." River dance girl as the Bobcats took a 38-23 lead.

"Well, I'm not sending my kids to Duke." A foreign girl from Argentina after receiving an explanation as to why they show the Duke logo at the Verizon Center, and thus eliciting boos from the home crowd.

"C'mon, let's play like were losing." A pessimistic guy as Antawn Jamison hit a deuce to cut the Bobcat lead to 5, 89-84, with 1:40 left. All the Wizards would do from there is extend the game, causing the minute forty to take about 15 minutes of real time, as they lost 100-97.

And that's how it went....the already sparse and unenergetic crowd headed to the exits in droves.

Into the night....

"Science club, you heard of that place?" Bearded Blond Guy #1 to a friend standing in line. He then turns to the side hand whisper, "The line (at 18th Street Lounge) is long and I don't do the cold."

Bearded Blue Track Jacket Guy #2, "I only wait in line for roller coasters." The two beards then frolic off into the night.

Moving on....

Slam had some good coverage of the Wizards win in Toronto. My favorite parts:

Antonio Daniels does not like Deion Sanders and Nick Young is a school-girl.

Antonio Daniels cares about baseball. Intensely. When Nick Young reveals that his favorite player of all time is Deion Sanders, which for whatever reason greatly upsets Daniels, the veteran guard hurls a water bottle at him and it misses the rook’s head by mere inches. Startled, Young runs out of the room giggling.

Why did I include this quote?

Maceo Baston, despite the high probability that he will not see the floor tonight, is nonetheless taping his own feet. Baston explains that he doesn't have access to any of the modern medical technology that pro athletes make use of on a daily basis, to which Calderon replies, "Why, do you play in Eastern Europe or something?"

Because I'm currently reading, "Can I Keep My Jersey?" by Paul Shirley. A quote from page 68 as Paul is considering signing with a professional team in Spain:

The team's situation was an odd one. Their American player, Maceo Baston, had left Spain under the pretense that his father was sick. I was shocked at what I was hearing - Maceo Baston is not spelled Macy O'Baston. All this time I'd thought he was an Irishman. My whole worldview was shaken.

First of all, it looks like Maceo Baston skipped out on the whole being a pro basketball player in Western Europe thing.....so yea, I can't imagine him lasting in Eastern Europe. Seems like Baston just likes to bitch and moan. Or, Maceo is just mad that his name is affiliated with a song by Jane's Addiction. Lastly, I think my worldview was shaken after discovering that Paul Shirley actually thought an Irish-American basketball player existed. I think there's a better chance of seeing a Somalian body-builder.

In other news:

• Michael Lee says that Andray Blatche is building his career with blocks. I'd rather blocks from Andray be a side-dish.....or a dessert.....or even a digestif.
  
  
• I wish Wizards Nation was more easy like Jake the Snake on a Sunday (or Monday) morning.
  
  
• Dan Steinberg reports on Gilbert Arenas going Bone Crusher on us.
  
  
• Nutty Wizz
  
  
• The DC Sports Bog also dubs John Feinstein as a "Short White Homeless-Looking White Dude."
  
  
• The History of the Mutombo Finger Wag. [via True Hoop]
  
  
• How do you want Nick Johnson of the Washington Nationals to do his hair? I mean, how do you want him to get his hair did?
  
  

Wizards-Bucks...TONIGHT!

Game 55 Blog: Washington Wizards vs Charlotte Bobcats

Ok…..coming at you after a disappointing loss to the Cavs d league team the other night. It has been a tough run for the Wizards as of late. Let’s see if they can bounce back against the Bobcats.

Ill confess that the beginning of this game is not getting my undivided attention. The Caps are locked up with the Carolina Hurricanes right now in what goaltender Olie Kolzig described this morning as “the most important game of the year.” Right now it’s the 3^rd period and we are down 5-3.

Damn….make that 6-3. Looks like Ill be going to a pretty important game tomorrow against the Flyers, the Caps need a win.

1^st Quarter 7:23

Cha 13 Wiz 15

Blatche looks like he came to play today, which is a good sign for this team. He needs to get tough quick if he wants to get real minutes down the stretch.

6:09

Big offensive foul on Daniels…not a bad call. Former UNC baller Raymond Felton hits a nice jumper just inside the line. Wiz up 2

Apparently Gerald Wallace has suffered a grade 3 concussion and has mild amnesia….he’s out of the action tonight. I’d love to throw in a good amnesia joke here but….

2:48 Cha 21 Wiz 23

TO Washington…..pretty good pace to the game so far. My brother and I are trying to figure out who DeShawn Stevenson looks like with his new beard. I say Said from HBO’s Oz while my brother is going with Lawrence Fishburn.

2:02 Cha 24 Wiz 27

Boykins with a big 3….love watching this guy play.

1:17 Cha 27 Wiz 27

wow…Boykins is taking over a bit. This guy somehow can get inside and hit floaters. Looks like Mugsy Bogues is there too as the Bobcats radio guy….I’d love to see those two drop the gloves.

35.6 Blown ally-oop (ive never actually written that before….my attempt doesn’t look right) and the Bobcats are gonna get the last shot.

2^nd Quarter Cha 27 Wiz 28

Wizards have come out with great energy and Roger Mason Jr. just extended the lead to 8 with a nice layup.

CB was just shown on the bench smiling…which is a good sign. Adam was right on the money the other night saying that he looked miserable during the games.

6:42 Chi 34 Wiz 42

Got caught up watching some Caps postgame.

Big rebound by Haywood but he throws it out of bounds. That’s a bad turnover b/c it kills the momentum we had going.

Bobcats at the line…..Hits them both and the lead is only 4.

Wizards turn it over again and Richardson hits a three….just like that it’s a one point game.

5:34 Cha 41 Wiz 42

Daniels gets fouled and the Wizards get a much needed break in the action.

Charlotte takes the lead out of the timeout.

4:15 Chi 45 Wiz 44

Stevenson is playing real tough – grabs a rebound, goes up strong and brings the Wiz to within 1

17-6 run by the Bobcats in the last 5 minutes…still the Wizards don’t exactly look bad. I get the feeling they are primed to go on a run of their own anytime.

A lot of UNC grads in this game….Haywood, Jamison and Felton are a solid corps but don’t sleep on Hubert Davis.

1:58 Cha 52 Wiz 48

Richardson throws one down over Blatche and gets called on the tech. I’d talk too if I had done that.

Under a minute left…Jamison with a big shot and the foul isn’t called. Wiz within one and Charlotte will take the last shot. Boykins is fouled (Wiz have one to give) and Charlotte has to force up a long three on the inbounds which gets nothing but air.

Pretty good first half. The Wizards are playing with a much better tempt that the other night against the Knicks. Im gonna hand the reigns over to Adam for the second half. See you all soon.

So if Chris hasn’t told you, we are going to try something different for tonight’s blog. Chris gave his analysis for the 1^st half and I’ll take over the reigns in the second.

Let’s start the show…

As I was watching the first half I noticed that there are a lot of UNC players on the floor here tonight. As it turns out, UNC is tied for second with 12 active NBA players. The top school is…Tuff Juice’s UCONN Huskies.

Speaking of UCONN alum, I bet Charlotte is wishing that Orlando had taken the “sure thing” in Okafor as opposed to “gambling” on Dwight “Superman” Howard. D. Howard is an absolute B.E.A.S.T.

Nearly 4 minutes gone in the 3^rd and we’ve seen 15 points scored. We sure aren’t looking at playing much defense tonight. Hell, The Bobcats shot 50% from the floor in the 1^st half.

With 8:06 left in the qtr Charlotte is up 62-59. Bob Johnson’s team is shooting almost 54% for the game. We’ve really gotten away from our defensive fundamentals w/o Tuff Juice.

Antonio Daniels just completed a 3-point play to put the Wizards up 62-62. Antonio is getting more & more of my respect. After that hard fall at the end of the 1^st half in Cleveland and then to come out and perform tonight, shows his toughness.

I know the NBA season is long, but I feel like the Wizards are seeing MORE than out share of injuries.

Caron & Gilbert out for weeks

Eaton is out with his heart issues

DeShawn is pretty much playing on 1 knee

AD: wrist, knee, and various other bumps & bruises.

We’d best get healthy soon or we’ll have no chance of making a serious playoff run.

Nick just missed a fade away “Jordan style” jump shot. Many times I wonder why Nick doesn’t play more (Is he a defensive liability, turnovers a question, stamina) and then I see him have shooting nights like yesterday (he was only 1-4 but the shots looked bad) and take wild shots like that one and then it all makes sense to me.

So despite the Bobcats’ Jason Richardson having the hot hand, @ 2:53 the Wizards are ahead 72-69 and have possession of the ball.

So at the 1:10 mark the Wizards turn up the heat defensively and spark a mini run to put us up 78-71.

I like the aggressive play by Songaila and Pecherov. They are both hitting the boards hard AND getting to the bucket. Oleksiy has really been impressive this second half of the year. He’s been knocking down jumpers, taking guys off the dribble, albeit slowly (the guy looks like his feet are in quick sand.)

Darius Songaila has put together two solid nights in a row. Last night's season high of 19 coupled with tonight’s eight points has really helped keep the energy level high.

Start of the 4^th quarter and the Wizards are holding onto a 7 point lead. We are desperate need of this win.

And right on queue, Pecherov starts the quarter with a steal and a three pointer to put the Wizards up 81-71.

After Roger Mason’s 3 the Wizards are enjoying a 13 point cushion.

I thought I would put this out there. So, for those of you who don’t know, Roger Mason is from the D.C. area. He attended Good Counsel high school (BTW, GC is a rival high school of Kyle, Chris, and mine) while I was in high school and to say the least, he was pretty good.

Anyway, Roger’s girlfriend SUPPOSEDLY is a friend of Billy Bryant. Now, for those of you who are not down with the “Pecan Sandies” may not know of Billy’s numerous “friends,” but he either knows or knows some one who knows almost every girl in the Washington area! So I have yet to confirm that Billy actually knows Roger’s girlfriend – just as I have yet to confirm his alleged relation to Ice-T – but I am anxious to find out if the words he speaks are true.

Back to the action, with 8:54 left in the 4^th the Wizards are up nine and are playing quite well. As a matter of fact Pecherov is at the line now to shoot two – he clanks them both.

DeShawn drains a three to put us up 91-81. DeShawn has been the bright spot for the Wizards behind the arch the last two nights. I am impressed with how well he is playing with the swollen knee – despite his stupidity (Check the Kyle’s blog for numerous example of his antics,) he sure is tough.

So I am not too sure how I feel about this play sequence: Brendon goes up meekly for a slam and gets DEEEENIED by Okafor. In stead of coming down of the defensive end and showing his toughness by going toe-to-toe with Charlotte’s big man, he takes a charge.

Now I know a charge is great, we get the ball back and their guy gets a foul, but when your 7’ is taking charges as opposed to going body to body with other centers, that is reason for concern. Just my thoughts.

DeShawn is taking over this 4^th qtr. He just drained his 2^nd straight trey and 3^rd in the last four minutes to give the Wizards a 14 point lead with 3:30 to play!

I’m pretty sure this one is just about over. Raymond Felton just gathered a technical foul and the Wizards are now up 108-93 with 65 seconds to play.

This is a much needed win, especially since we have to travel down to New Orleans --much love to Tuff Juice and Antwan making it onto the All-Star team -- for a showdown with the Hornets.

Bullet Forever Recap

Game 27 Notes: Washington Wizards @ Charlotte Bobcats

Ok, I call these game "notes", and not a live blog, because they are. Last night was the annual get-together/secret-santa gift exchange with the close set of friends. The game was on....and on it was, my boy Billy has an insanely huge television screen....especially when you factor in how close you have to sit to it in the mid-sized apartment near the SE waterfront. I think it's like 60 inches....who knows. In any case, I did not pay attention to the Wizards-Bobcats as much as I would've like to -- but I noticed a lot. Blackberry technology allowed me to take some notes....like to hear 'em go....

Quarter No. 1

Roger Mason has been a straight silent assassin. I notice this when the Bobcats take a timeout with 3:42 left in the 1st and Mason is 3 for 3 on 3s with 11 pts and 2 assists.

Wow, the more he balls, the better Mason Jr. gets. Seems like he's been confident the whole time, just now, he's getting more chances.

What a strong quarter, most this year says Steve Buckhantz - 41 points - 30 from Charlotte, 16 points by Mason Jr., 6/6 FG, 4/4 3 ptrs. Good ol' Steve Buck, he's always on point with the statisticals.

Adam and I get in a little convo about Roger Mason -- he'll be hot, but when he's cold, he takes what most consider are questionable shots as AJ tells it. Makes me think, are the questionable because who he is, an NBA journeyman? Hey, I give the guy props for trying to shoot his way out of a slump.

Quarter No. 2

The Wizards really need to learn how to stop the ball in transition. About 2 minutes into the quarter, Gerald Wallace got the rebound off a Caron Butler jumper miss and took it end to end for a layup. Touching, much less stopping him was an after-thought.

About 8:15 left, Adam takes issue with Roger Mason's decision to drive baseline after getting doubled. He then gets caught in the air and turns the ball over (travelling, his second TO of the game). I guess he's expected to contribute, and we are all thankful, but don't make a mistake son cause you're lucky to be playing.

I'm just sayin' - Roger Mason Jr. is shooting 44.2%, not bad...close to AD's 45% and much better than DEEshawn's 38.4%. Rog is also second to Caron "On Fiiya!" Butler in team 3pt %; Mason with 38% and Caron with 42%. Did I mention that Mason only has 16 turnovers in about 440 minutes played?

Seven minutes left, the refs are really letting them play. RMJ missed a jumper, but gets kicked afterwards, no foul. On the other end, Blatche gets a block on Matt Carroll...coulda been a call there.

The Wizards lagged big time in the first half of the 2nd. After 41 pts in the 1st, they didn't get their 3rd & 4th points of the quarter until there were 6 minutes left.

The half ends, uneventful as the Bobcats fought their way back in the game - the Wizards are up 3, 58-55.

Quarter No. 3

Haywood is learning to pick his spots - now that he's getting more run, he's plays less selfish than he has in the past. He shows this through his willingness to pass the ball out if he's not composed and balanced after offensive rebounds. Him doing this is new to me.

Too many points in the paint for Charlotte; comes from a lot of penetration by Raymond Felton and too many offensive rebounds.

Ohh....SportsCenter dunk by Caron Butler over Matt Carroll with about 4:14 left. Tied game at 70. And1 thanks to Matt puts Washington up 1.

Ok then, monster SportsCenter block by Gerald Wallace on Caron Butler with 3 minutes left.

Of course, Okafor has a stronger core and is able to get some post position on Haywood, who also has trouble keeping Emeka off the boards.

Nazr Mohammed is also banging - Eddie Jordan goes with a big lineup of Andray Blatche with Haywood, Roger Mason, Butler and Nick Young. 1:20 left in the 3rd, 78-72 Wizards.

Gotta remember that everything he does, good or bad, we are watching the learning process of Nick Young. He gets the ball in his hands to end the quarter, drives right quick, but the move/shot is slow and he allows the help come over as he faded for the baseline J. Nick proceeds to get blocked by the help, fellow LA boy and UCLA alum (not sure if he graduated), Ryan Hollins. He'll learn. Either get yourself the open jumper, or get to the basket and get fouled - but don't put yourself in position to get trapped.

81-74 Wizards.

Quarter No. 4

How does Gerald Wallace do it? 8 minutes left and another coast to coast drive to the basket. Jamison fouls him, not letting him make the shot, and Wallace only makes 1 of 2. Oh yea, I know how Gerald Wallace does it...no Wizard is alert enough to stop the ball. Ends an 8-1 Wizards run, Charlotte is down 10, 79-89 after the made FT.

Of course, after the 2nd missed FT by Wallace, the B-Cats get the offensive rebound...thankfully, Roger Mason gets a steal, but then makes a stupid turnover with a full-court pass attempt. I like you guy, but you're not Chris Paul or Steve Nash.

More post position for Okafor on Haywood, 6:30 left, he gets BTH on his outside hip and just muscles him up the lane easily. Lotta air for an easy post feed, 'Meka Okafor dunk. Timeout EJ, 91-85 Wizards, they're looking like they're losing control.

3:57 - Still holding strong, up 101-90, timeout

2:26 - Great makeup hustle by Brendan Todd. Roger Mason with a big block, gets the rebound and kicks it to DeShawn Stevenson for the open layup...he blows it....luckily, BTH runs the floor to follow the miss with a dunk. Up 10, 103-93.

1:40 - Mason gets up the court well under pressure, but then he blew a bad shot....however, a huge block by Caron Butler on the other end....aaaand Mason misses a 3 back down the court.

The Wizards need to slow the game down, run that clock.

1:23 - Bobcats are down 103-95, Wizards ball....great, AJ turnover, Wallace steal, basket, And1, FT. B-Cats down 5 just like that.

1:08 - Another Wizards turnover, Derek Anderson misses a 3. Caron is saves the team with a monster rebound, gets fouled, and makes 1 of 2 FTs. Despite the miss, Tuff Juice can really do it on both ends.

Lotta laziness by the Wizards to end the game....and the Bobcats are scrapping.

0:38 - Andray Blatche rebound, losses it, deflection, Andray Blatche block, ball out of bounds to Bobcats. Then what do ya know...another dunk And1 by Gerald Wallace. Charlotte is only down THREE with 26 seconds left.

0:22 - Somehow Nick Young gets free as a result of Bobcats pressure, and an open layup dunk. Up 106-101.

With a 4 point lead and 6 seconds left, the Wizards do good to keep the ball away from Charlotte -- game over, 108-104.

Not pretty, but a win -- gotta check those stats.

• Four for the Wiz scored over 20: Mason (24), Jamison (26), Butler (25) and Haywood (20)
• But only 8 points off the bench
• Most of the other stats are relatively close - the Wiz just made a couple extra shots.
  
• Not a fan of 14 turnovers though - Butler and Mason had 3 each.
• The way the Wizards ended that game was U-G-L-Y.....and I know they have no alibi.
  

Steve Nash is a Hypocrite, and He Should Be Suspended

UPDATE: Found the clip of Nash tripping Felton.

Remember all that whining the Suns did last playoffs? Well, most of it revolved around Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw getting suspended. But....

*Side Rant* The rules for leaving the bench were implemented for a reason, a good reason. No exceptions should be made. Period.

And good for Commissioner Stern for not putting the rule up for discussion on the agenda for NBA owner meetings. For one, officials can't always determine intentions when a player leaves the bench. But more importantly, neither can other players already involved in a potential situation. Plain and simple, fisticuffs in NBA basketball games have the ability to be defused easier and more quickly when you limit the possible number of players involved. And if the boundaries are broken, punishment should be handed down, no question.

But back to the Canadian.

I really don't believe Bruce Bowen's step-in on Nash last year...where there was incidental contact between Bowen's left leg and Nash's crotch...was that bad. Used to be, if someone was up in your sh*t on defense, you took the ball through their nose. Bruce Bowen has displayed many dirty defensive "tricks" in the past....but his reputation doesn't always have to precede itself and translate to assumptions about every one of his questionable plays. So yea, call an offensive foul on Bruce in this instance...but otherwise, chill out.

And Robert Horry's hip check. Bad foul, shouldn't have happened. Call a technical, flagrant...whatever. But the reactions? Save that for TNT's non-NBA programming. They know it.

Well...I wasn't watching the Charlotte Bobcats - Phoenix Suns game last night when it happened, but I did catch the highlights and a brief discussion on ESPN's NBA Nation. Of course, the Suns were up 30+ when this happened...

....but Ray Felton drove the lane, easily getting past with a spin move Nash as most do; Steve Nash was knocked off balance, but clearly stuck out his leg tripping Felton, who went down very hard, in the process. Ray was able to shoot the FTs, but got taken to the training room after that. Thankfully today, MRI reports say that Felton's knee should be okay.

Unfortunately, I can't find a link to the clip yet....and I'd really like to see the play a couple more times for an in depth breakdown. But I know what I saw, and what I saw looked much more intentional that Bowen's knee to the crotch. (and I know that you're asking yourself, why were either of these guys in the game anyway?....irrelevant)

UPDATE: Found the clip of Nash tripping Felton, I think the evidence is conclusive.

Now, I really respect Steve Nash's ability. And I'm fairly confident that he deserved those MVP awards. But he's not the innocent white cream pie that people perceive him to be. He's a warrior, but that doesn't mean he can't be dirty too. He's just a little more deceptive and smart about it than others. Think John Stockton.

Verdict: 1 game suspension....and yes, "hypocrite" maaay be a little harsh, then again, maybe not.

If anyone disagrees, I'd like to know why his foot was that high in the air and reaching back.....and if I'm totally off-base and wrong on this one, I will apologize.


BTW...interesting discussion on Yahoo! Answers....someone posed the question on whether Nash's trip on Felton was intentional or not.