Rundown on the Washington Wizards

Well, the Wizards are in the midst of a brutal February where they've lost their first 5 games of the month, 6 losses in a row overall, as well as in 8 of the last 10 games. And while their early season play without Gilbert Arenas has surprised everyone, for some to the point of questioning the value of Arenas, this latest futility is no surprise. What has become evident is that no squad can overcome the level of injuries felt by the Wizards, and that dangerous NBA teams need a guy who is able to command points in the hoop.

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About That Nuggets Game [live blog]

With 5:41 left in the 4th quarter, as Linas Kleiza was hitting two FTs to push the Denver lead to 12 at 96-84, Carmelo Anthony, who at the time had 40 points, checked back into the game.

Normally, I would not blame a team for bringing their superstar back to the court with a 12 point lead. Five minutes and forty-one seconds is a lot of time....we know this is the NBA. But, it's the manner in which the Nuggets carried out the remainder of the game that makes me object. Denver's intent was not so much to put away the game as a team, rather so 'Melo My Man could put on an individual show and go for an individual achievement.

Eddie Jordan has his opinion on the subject: "The end part of that game I felt was a little bit on the classless side," Coach Eddie Jordan said after his team's sixth straight defeat. "But we all have our ways and when you get your butt kicked, the other team can do whatever it wants to do. But I thought it was very classless to close a game out like that. I have my opinion; I can say what I want to say. That's what I thought it was."

I understand Eddie's frustration. No one likes to be embarrassingly kicked while they're down. But my thoughts are close to those of Jake on Bullets Forever.

1. Did the Nuggets have the right to put Carmelo on the court? Yes, just as the Wizards had the right to double Melo off the ball so he would not achieve fiddy.
   
2. Do I blame Denver for doing so? No, with that much time, no lead is safe.
   
3. Does Eddie Jordan have a beef? It's certainly his right to complain as well. But I think he's making his comments more for his own team. The Wizards effort against the Nuggets was not bad, but the team needs to play with more pride to succeed.

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On To Rise In Phoenix (hopefully)

Remember when the Wizards were last in the desert? I do. I watched the game at Buffalo Billiards in Dupont Circle with a group of friends. Gilbert dropped 54 points in a dramatic 144-139 overtime win. That night was my first public witnessing of Gilbert's "arrival" in DC, outside of the phone booth. Buffalo Billiards, or most any bar in the District, is not known for becoming captivated by an NBA game, much less one involving the hometown Wizards. But that evening, people who otherwise could not name more than two Wizards were incapable of averting their eyes.

Tonight is a Mentally Tough Game. It's unlikely that Caron Butler or Antonio Daniels will play. They probably shouldn't. Phoenix is a very smart basketball team led by a top 5 NBA point guard. We're all weary of their incendiary offense. I'm not sure I've ever hoped for a morale victory before, I suppose tonight will be the first. Essentially, the young Wizards must learn and show growth in a game like this. Because of the aforementioned reasons, they cannot afford to relax for one second. They can't incur cerebral breakdowns. They must be mentally tough.

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In Other News

• Why is Andray Blatche sad these days? Mac G's Word has the answer.
  
  
• Gilbert Arenas has created a new beverage called an Agent Zero. It's half Corona, half Shirley Temple, and 100% fruity.
  
  
• Also from that DC Bog post about Gil's drink concoction, we learn that Arenas once had keloids in the crotch region. That doesn't sound very Agent Zero-like.
  
  
• Gilbert the Prankster will always have the last laugh. I think Nick Young got off easy.
  
  
• Gilbert Arenas in a Q&A with Slam's Michael Tillery:
  

  "Watching the game like a coach. It’s easy to watch it as a player. You see things and you try to figure out what coach is talking about. As you sit there, you begin to think like a coach instead of a player."

  I look forward to seeing the results of his mentally maturing basketball IQ. After all, gathering intelligence is what agents do.

Game 5: Well, Maybe It's a Rebuilding Year.....Wizards vs. Nuggets

Just kidding, kinda.

1st Quarter

The game started off well enough. DeShawn didn't take and miss the first two shots of the night as he did against the Nets; and he seemed primed to guard Allen Iverson while Gilbert Arenas started off on Yakhouba Diawara (who wasn't exactly a driver, but was sure content with hitting a couple early 3s). The faulty scoreboard was also resolved, and Gil came out with the black compression sock, rather than white.

Well, with about 9 minutes left in the 1st quarter, there was a clock malfunction and a considerable delay. Arenas proceeded to jog up and down the court to keep warm, at the end of which, Kenyon Martin had some words for Gil, probably more knee advice (maybe someone could just give Arenas a list of those who have, or are trying to overcome knee injuries and this season can just be one big nationwide consultation tour). When play resumed, Gilbert got immediately pick-pocketed by Marcus Camby. These weren't good signs of things to come.

The first quarter ended close with the Nuggets up 28-26. Lucky for Wizards because they did not know what to do with A.I., he was able to penetrate at will. DeShawn had no chance of staying in front of him, really wasn't even making A.I. work. Antonio Daniels seemed to do a better job when he got in at the end. But we definitely aren't seeing the AD of last year's playoffs or season. He really should start being the first player off the bench, coming in for Gil from now on...probably 7 minutes into the game.

Side Note: Not that shot form predicates shooting ability, well it kinda does...but Reggie Miller would be the king of all exceptions [one of my favorite basketball sequences ever]. The point, Nick Young's shooting form: not sure I like it. His trigger seems a little slow, deliberate. But if he can consistently hit them, that's cool. I'm just afraid his offensive game will be defined as "streaky" as he develops.

2nd Quarter

The one positive thing we can take from the whole game is the play of Andray Blatche. He showed some hustle swag on D and more decisiveness on offense. I still would like to seem him more confident handling the basketball in the open court. Either push it, or better yet, get it to a guard and haul-ass to the basket.

From about 1:30 left in the 1st through the first several minutes of the 2nd, it really became an up and down game. The Wizards were moving the ball well. Choo-Choo, errr...Clinton Portis was in the house. And most importantly, no Wizards had been hurt by Eduardo Najera, un Mexicano grande (add him after Nocioni and Bowen...and Steve Nash, ha!...to the NBA All Durty-Durty team).

The Nuggets got a little hot and went into the locker room with a 9 point lead, 60-51.

2nd Half

And that's about all I got. Maybe it was the numerous vodka-tonics, maybe it was my subconscious frustration, but I accidentally erased the rest of my blackberry notes at the end of the night. Good for me. Man, you sure know it's hard times in DC for Wiz fans; the Bacardi cocktail booth near my section was about fiddy deep at halftime. I'd never seen it like that before.

Carmelo Anthony owned the 3rd quarter, scoring 16 points.....all wet jumpers. You can't even blame Blatche's defense. When 'Melo throws that quick jab, all he needs is a millisecond of hesitation from his opponent. He gets elevation and that shot off so fast that no earthly soul in the NBA can hang with him. You can only hope to keep the ball from ever getting into his hands. I can't believe so many people were leaving in the 3rd. If anything, The Carmelo Show was worth the price of admission You'd think people would want to salvage/recover some of the value.

The boo-birds came out in the 4th. And according to a Mike Wise column in today's Washington Post, an "Eddie Must Go!" chant. I didn't hear it. Great column by Wise BTW. He, like myself, does not think that the coach is the problem with this season.

But what's a Wizards fan to do? Many are angry. And I know, at this point, we were all expecting a steak from Buck's Fishing & Camping (some say home of the best steak in DC), but are now stuck with 3-day old reheated tater-tots. I'm not angry, I'm more distraught. But I still find myself asking Eddie Jordan questions. First of all, is Eddie Jordan a "Gilbert Arenas coach?" I hate to think about, or even consider, the fact that star players may have the ability to dictate the coaching position. But the Wizards are in the unique situation where Gilbert is going to opt-out of his contract, so there is an element which is influenced by him.....granted, not Kobe Bryant, no-trade clause, influence. Just something to consider, what does Gil want?

My boy sent me a text message rumor yesterday afternoon before the game (and please, this is just a rumor) that Jeff Van Gundy was shopping for houses in Potomac, Maryland. Who knows? The team probably could use his defensive philosophy, but in terms of offense? To take a quote from Forest Gump, "Seat's taken, can't sit here." Am I kidding? Maybe.

See you tomorrow when the Wiz travel to Hot-lanta to take on Joe Johnson and Josh Smith. Thanks to the miracle invention of three TVs in my living room, I'll be able to peep both the Wiz (2 pm start) and the Skins (1 pm start) games at the same time. Really, will anyone else in DC be watching the Wizards game?

A big congrats to Sylvester Croom and the Mississippi State Bulldogs, who became bowl eligible for the first time since 2000 with a win over Alabama this afternoon. Hopefully, a potential trip to glorious Shreveport, Louisiana will get some of the Bulldog fans off of Croom's back.

Wizards vs. Nuggets - Keys to the Game

No keys to the game. No window love. Just go.....go win Wizards.

Gilbert Arenas has a new blog post and yes, he knows that it was a bad shot last night against the New Jersey Nets. All is forgiven.

Plus, he covers it all in this entry [his knee, his talk with Kidd after the Nets game, the celebrity blogger award, and A.I. being back in the phone booth]....thanks to Gil for being more the informer and less the entertainer for a change.

I'll be at the game tonight, but will take notes. Go Wizards.

Oh yea...actually, there is one key to the game: The Verizon Center Crowd.