Big Sports Night for the District of Columbia: Wizards and Nationals

Unfortunately, I probably won't be able to witness the Wizards handle the Lakers in La-La land tonight. Bummer. Combine my distaste for the Lake-show (mainly as a result of Kobe) along with bragging rights over an LA-bred co-worker, and I hate having to neglect my Wiz this evening.

Remember when the Lakers came to DC? It was the game where Caron Butler probably re-injured himself and ended his consecutive FTs made mark at 73. A truly tragic loss, 103-91, for which I stayed the entire time, and then was forced to watch a SuperBowl between two teams I genuinely dislike. Not the best DC sports Sunday.

Today, I believe, will provide some reconciliation for that February 3rd. And I have a higher mission than the Wizards-Lakers game at 9:30 tonight. I'll be taking the trusty green line down several metro stops to check out the debut of the Washington Nationals new ball park, Nationals Park and the domestic debut of the 2008 Major League Baseball season on ESPN (8:05 pm).

I'm really looking forward to it. I'm not a sentimentalist, nor some type of baseball purist (basketball is obviously my main squeeze), but there is something about the crack of the bat and a sporting environment which is most conducive to a day of social interaction with family and friends.....awww, screw all that, I'm just ready for the cold weather to be put out to pasture.

And who knows, if the DC metro system doesn't betray me, I just might be able to catch the end of a game where the Wizards will hopefully have the upper-hand over the Los Angeles Lakers.

I'll have my own review of the Nats stadium (along with photos, etc.), but here are some good Nats-related posts you should check out if you so desire:

• Nationals Park: Tighter Rules, Friendlier Staff? [Raw Fisher] - interesting tactics by the Kasten and the Lerner family; I give it to them, RFK really improved last season after the Lerners took over.
• Capitol Punishment will be in attendance - check there for some good Nats info.
• Poe's Epic Journey From Griffith to RFK to Nats Park [another Raw Fisher post] - great story about an old usher who has authoritatively seen and heard all there is about DC baseball.
• Last night's cherry-breaking exhibition game against the Orioles seemed to go well. [Nationals Insider]
• Get out the way when the Meat Hooks are around. [great photos from Mr. Irrelevant]
  

Wizards Stuff

• Do you like long walks on the beach? So do Eddie Jordan and the Wizards.
• For awhile now, I've been saying good riddance to the basket-completion-challenged Jared Jeffries. Now, it looks like his defense is on the decline. [Epic Carnival]
• Is the beard lying? Looks like some people think that Drew Gooden has a better beard than DeShawn Stevenson.
  
• The Pradamaster covers Eddie Jordan's constriction of his game rotation. - Me? I'd love to get Nick Young more time, but yea, it's just not realistic at this point heading into the playoffs. Not too mention that he could be hitting a rookie slump soon. In any case, Nick needs to learn to be ready to produce off the bench at any time, in any situation. Somehow knocking on wood as I type this, but the next injury could be just around the corner.
  
• A case for D-Song to make the All-Fundamental team, if there were one. [Washington Post]
  

React Quotes from SacTown

Caron Butler is not dirty, he's downright nasty.

• Yet another Jekyll and Hyde performance. Yet another instance where smallball succeeds in spite of itself. Yet another game in which Darius Songaila saves the day. [Bullets Forever]
  
  
• If interior defense were bread, Sacramento would starve. [SacTown Royalty]
  
  
• My favorite Caron Butler dunk is still the one he threw down over Yao Ming last season because well, the guy is 7-7. Another was the one he pounded on Alonzo Mourning's head in Miami last year and of course, who can forget the one he hammered on Andris Biedrins in a game against GS at the VC last season? But tonight, Butler literally changed a game with the dunk he jammed on Kevin "I look like a late 80's hip-hop video extra" Martin in the third quarter with the Wiz trailing 75-71 with 2:58 to play. [Wizards Insider]
  
  
• "Caron did a great job finding me and all I had to do was to lay it in and then make free throws,” Songaila said. “The biggest thing for us was getting stops at the other end. Roger came in and we were down and made a couple of shots and from there, we stayed with it, got some stops on the other end and in the end we got the W." [Washington Times]
  
  
• "We need Mikki in the game to win," Artest said. "We're not beating nobody without him, and he knows that." [SacBee.com] - Mikki Moore letting Ron Artest down, what a world.

• "It's lack of leadership on the floor, that's what it is," Theus said. "When things start going south, you have to have someone on the team that steps up and grabs hold of the team and says, 'Hey guys, this is what we're going to do and this is how we're going to get it done,' outside of what we're talking about as coaches." Kevin Martin said he agreed "100 percent" that the team lacked leadership. [SacBee.com]

photo from flickr/kla4067

Off into the LA Sunset and on to the NCAA Tournament games.

Live Game 23 Blog: Washington Wizards vs. Sacramento Kings

By now, everyone knows that Antonio Daniels will be out with a sprained knee for 2-4 weeks. Initially, I figured that Roger Mason would start. Wizards Insider has just reported that Nick Young will get the nod.

"...but I'm hearing that Nick Young will start along with DeShawn Stevenson tonight against Sacramento. Not Mason. The reason, according to the person I spoke with, is that Eddie doesn't want to put Nick Young, Dominic McGuire and Andray Blatche on the court at the same time. He'd rather have a vet like Mason out there with the young guys."

Reconsidered, I think this is a great move by Eddie Jordan. Not only is it good to balance out an inexperienced rotation, but I also like how he is putting Bean Burrito aka Nick Young on the spot to perform.

Eddie Jordan: "It could change, game by game."

Hey, you gotta remain flexible. Now let's start the show...

1st Quarter

Absolutely frustrating start to the game...Possessions: Wiz lose it out of bounds to Kings, foul on DeShawn, foul on Nick Young, traveling on the Kings. Wiz Ball.

11:15 - Nick nails a 3.....but he picks up his 2nd foul on the other end....barely a minute into the game. Bean is having trouble checking Beno Udrih.

10:32 - Nice take by Burrito...he really used his stride on a long-driving layup. He's been active one way or the other. 7-2 Wiz.

9:33 - Caron Butler wakes up from 3.....along with Ronnie Artest at the other end.

8:07 - Damn...back to back jumpers by the Kings big men, Mikki More and Brad Miller - 7-0 run by them, 10-9 Wizards. Timeout DC.

The Wizards are having matchup trouble in 3 ways: Miller is bringing Haywood away from the basket, I'm not sure if AJ knows how to handle Mikki Moore, and as tuff as Tuff Juice is, Ron Artest is a tank.

7:20 - O-bound and basket by Butler, around 3 Kings with their feet stuck in quicksand. 12-9 Wiz.

Haywood is matching up with Moore and AJ with Miller now.....then again, it was back to vice versa the next time down the court.

6:02 - Roger Mason is back in the game for Nick Young....and he came in ready by hitting a deuce.

5:21 - Mason just had two nice drives to get into the paint and dish the ball to BTH - The 1st time resulted in a deflection out of bounds by the Kings; the 2nd, two made FTs by BTH - 21-13 Wizards.

4:20 - Boy, the Wizards are really active on the offensive boards, and in trying to get the ball into the lane. If Gilbert had to have a sub for him in the Big 3, who would it be? I might have to nominate Brendan Todd Haywood.

3:17 - Brad Miller lob to Ron Artest for a 2...Caron made the mistake of letting Artest get behind him. Ronnie got free with a slight, but not worth a call, shove in Butler's back.

2:53 - Another bucket by Mason - Wiz 25-17. That's 6 for him, all shots made.

2:39 - Haywood block, push it up the court, Butler with the ball on the left wing, jumps into his shot....nope, he zip pass in the lane to a cutting BTH. Basket, And1, 11 point lead for the Wizards. Wait, was that Brendan Haywood who got the block at one end and the hustle basket at the other end? 27-17 DC.

The Washington Wizards are really playing well now. Believe it or not, zero turnovers and 4 assists for the Wizards. Who has 3 of those assists? Caron Butler.

Gotta love another move by Eddie Jordan, he's putting a backcourt little pressure on the Kings - get them on their heels.

2:00 - Amazing pass by Caron to Roger Mason cutting for a layup. Caron is playing like a young Grant Hill with the ball distribution tonight. The Princeton Offense is a well oiled machine.

1:00 - DeShawn 3 - I think I'm glad that I picked him up in a fantasy league last night....before I even heard AD was going to be out. 33-22 Wizards.

0:33.5 - Unbelievable! A Brad Miller pump fake at the 3 point line (I saw him pulling the okie doke on Andray Blatche from a mile away)....Miller then took 2 dribbles right down the middle for a dunk.

A couple missed opportunities for the Wiz at the end. The 1st quarter ends with the Wizards up 33-24 on the Kings.

Both teams are shooting over 50%, still 0 turnovers for the Wizards, Sac Town with 4. 11-8 rebounds in favor of DC.

2nd Quarter

Spencer Hawes in the game for Sacramento. I've read somewhere that this guy is a stiff. Then again, his name is " Spencer" -- might as well be "Lance" or "Carlton"

Caron doing the damn thang from all aspects, knocking down more jumpers, getting steals....in addition to his 4 assists of course.

11:00 - Nick Young is not around long as he picks up his 3rd foul. Burritos....they'll get'cha - they make it a little hard to move quickly on D, know what I mean?

Wow, Sacramento has many more problems than the Wizards do...Mike Bibby's out, Kevin Martin's out, Abdur-Rahim's career is done, they can't take care of the ball, they can't block out on D

9:25 - Vicious dunk by Dahntay Jones. Well Andray, might as well get used to that, it's going to happen from time to time if you want to be a shot blocker - just ask Zo Mourning and Deke Mutombo. 37-29 Wizards.

8:13 - Beno 3 - as soon as I start trashing the kings, they cut the lead to 4. 39-35 Wizards.

Eddie Jordan gets frustrated with the offense on the other end, you can hear him yell on TV, "Cut Hard!" - Roger Mason subsequently cuts for a bucket.

BTW - How did Brad Miller go from cornrows to middle-part 80s dork hair-doo?


6:30 - Beno Udrih looks like a skinny Euro-style Mark (or Brent) Price.


5:56 - AJ 3, bout time he got going....8 points for him. 46-39 'Zards.

5:12 - Man, a straight smack down from BTH delivered upon Mikki Moore while going for a bucket inside the paint, they haven't showed the replay, but I'm not so sure that Haywood was going for the ball. 1 made FT - 46-42 Wizards.

3:56 - The Wizards have a couple cold possessions, then dime dropper Butler whips it to a cutting AJ for a dunk. 48-44 Wiz.

Caron Butler is really trying to institute ball movement, 6 assists for him so far, but the Wizards have gotten a little sloppy -- Now, they are only up 1, 48-47, shooting below 45% (while the Kings are just under 55%), and have 3 turnovers.

Steve Buckhantz saying that Ernie Grunfeld seems pretty confident that the Wizards will sign someone. Eddie Gill...Mike Wilks....

Also reported on Wizards Insider after the game....I remember liking Brian Chase from the summer league a lot.

1:50 - Miller J from the top of the key. I'm not sure how the Wizards keep losing track of him. 12 points for white cornrows.

The half ends with the Wizards up 52-51. Well...they have held together nicely, but the defense has been horrendus. They are allowing the Kings to get too many open shots, especially in transition which led to the Wiz squandering an 11 point lead and allowed Sacramento to shoot 52.5% from the field.

Why the Wiz are up 1 in spite of poor Defense:

• 9 turnovers from the Kings
• 8-8 on FTs, Haywood is 5-5
• Balanced Scoring: 8 the 9 players available are in the books (all have played, just Songaila has yet to score), 6 of those with 5 or more points

3rd Quarter

Haywood on Moore now. BTH just got his 10th rebound, got his double-double early in the 3rd.

10:25 - AJ 3 miss, but it wasn't a bad shot, they worked the ball around the horn well.

9:51 - Back to more of what the Wiz need - a BTH inside bucket, 13 points.

9:08 - Offensive foul on Ron Artest, really smart move by Butler, he was leanin on Ron pretty hard and basically goaded him into pushing Caron off.

I didn't know that Rod Strickland was the Director of Student Athlete Development at the University of Memphis. Sicknin', wondering what he's teaching those kids.


7:10 - So Butler is not infallible, he blows a 2 on 1 fast break with Nick Young. Wiz still holdng at 62-56.

6:30 - Stevenson 3, hasn't done much so far tonight, that's his 8th point, but it's good to know he's there.

5:52 - Butler J on 'Test puts the lead to 67-58 Wiz - A hard fought 11 points for Caron.

5:20 - DeeeShawn 3 - Momma, that can't feel my face man is back.

4:43 - Nick picks up his 4 personal - he's just not strong enough yet to be able to avoid fouls.

4:08 - Man, are you kidding me? 3 by DeShawn - 74-63 Wizards. That guy must be eating Smoot Bars. - snackonasmack.com

3:17 - Butler to Jamison, 8 assists. The lead has been pushed back to 14. They've done two things on this run: move the ball efficiently on offense, and the Wiz have stopped allowing the Kings wide open looks.

2:25 - Dahntay Jones with another Debo move down the lane for a layup -- he did not do any push-ups on the court after the shot.

1:39 - Tech on Brad Miller - he got frustrated by the collapsing Wiz D and gave AB a lil' shove going back down the court.

Great 3rd quarter, the Wiz outscored Sacramento 28-16. From years of reading about the NBA, I know that teams see the 3rd quarter as being perhaps the most crucial. Seems like Wizards teams of the past have come out of the locker room after intermission lacking energy, desire...at times. This year, things have been different. I need to find out 3rd quarter stats vs. the opponent for the season.

4th Quarter

Steve Buck just told us that the Wiz are 7-1 at home when leading after 3.

D-Mac, Mason, Stevenson, Songaila, and Blatche to start...interesting lineup.

10:25 - 5 threes, count 'em, for DeShawn Stevenson.

8:44 - 3 by Roger Mason...great decision by Stevenson, he got free on the left wing, had a small amount of room to pull up, considering how hot he's been...but it still would've been a tough shot. No, DS swinged the ball right to the left corner to Mason. Stevenson has 19 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds.

Timeout - Wizards up 20, 88-68. Defense is much better this half. Miller is not getting what he got in the 1st.

7:68 - Blatche draws a charge, nice work buddy.

I think I know who DeeShawn is -- he's Samson, not the one from Half Baked, but the one from the Bible. As his hair (beard) gets longer, he gets better....

6:21 - Sac Town is 0-8 on FGs in the 4th.

3:06 - The game continues to go back and forth. The Kings don't have enough energy to get back into the game...and the Wiz have just enough energy to keep them at bay. Wizards are up 92-77.

1:04 - Great D by Dominic McGuire -- Spencer Hawes was trying to back him down...got to the rim, but D-Mac blocked his shot when he tired to shoot it from the level of his face. The ball ended up going out of bounds off Hawes.

Game. Over. The Wizards win 92-79. Gotta be proud of this win:

• The Wiz led the Kings the whole game
• The played much better D in the 2nd half - The Kings shot 52.% at the end of the first half, ended up 43.4% for the game.
• The big difference, 7 steals for the Wiz, 18 turnovers for the Kings.

Enjoy the 3 days off Wizards - See you next Wednesday against the Bulls.


Photo Credits:
The Washington Post DC Sports Bog
Basket-Stats.info
CavsHistory.com
ESPN.com

Stephon Marbury a Celtic?

Ok, I made that up.

But everyone is talking about how Stephon Marbury's days with the Knicks might be numbered. And yes, no team is going to take the 2 years, $42 million left on his contract in a trade. But even if he is bought out, I really can't think of an NBA team that would reasonably sign the team killer. That being said, somebody would have to, right?

BTW, the breaking news found via Slam Online is that Starbury has gone AWOL.

So, in the event that the Knicks do cut Marbury loose, I've scoured NBA rosters to see which teams may just give the guy a chance. Starting with the least likely victim and ending with the most likely.

7) The New York Knicks - Really...would this scenario be that far-fetched? Isiah would have the new contract sent before he realized that the New York-born, former All-Star guard, that he could get on the cheap, was the guy he just cut.

6) The Sacramento Kings - Mike Bibby is going to be out for at least 8 more weeks with a torn thumb ligament. Plus the Kings suck this year, I picked them to finish with the worst record in the league. On top of all that, they are no longer selling out Arco Arena. So what are the Maloof brothers to do? What any shady casino owner would do...something crazy to sell tickets. Could you imagine Marbury and Artest on the floor at the same time fighting over the ball? Or just fighting in general. Personally, I wouldn't pay to see it, but maybe there'd be a chance for some PPV duckets. Or....they could use Starbury to guarantee a sabotage of the team so they could move the Kings to Sin City, The Major League Theory. The owner of the Cleveland Indians in that movie was a former Las Vegas showgirl...coincidence?

5) The Atlanta Hawks - You just feel like some of the high flying Hawks are deprived without a good point guard. Then you realize that they drafted Marvin Williams over Chris Paul and Deron Williams, and you start to feel sick to your stomach. Could you imagine either of them with Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Al Horford and Josh Childress? Tyronn Lue and the perpetually injured Speedy Claxton just aren't cutting it, and Acie Law is just a rookie. Strike that...considering the latest with Josh Smith, not to mention terrible ownership, the Hawks don't need a potential triple dose of cancer.

4) The Indiana Pacers - Larry Bird has never liked Jamaal Tinsley. And I'm pretty sure that he hates Marbury. But think for a second, the Pacers are off to a halfway decent start. I certainly didn't expect them to be 3-3 at this point. So what if they are in contention for a playoff spot in the Leastern Conference? There couldn't be a better way for Larry Bird to stick it to that a-hole Isiah than by taking his cast-away on the cheap and flipping it into something.

3) The Miami Heat - Pat Riley is desperate. The Shaq window closing like a guillotine. Hell, I bet he even has the numbers of Jayson Williams and Keon Clark on speed-dial. Stephon would be a gift from heaven. Penny, Starbury, Smush and White Chocolate....if those names don't say 'And1 Championship', then I don't know what.....aw crap, let me just stop right there.

2) The Los Angeles Lakers - Mitch Kupchak to Kobe Bryant: "Hey, you said that you wanted some All-Star caliber help....now go f*ck yourself."

1) The Boston Celtics - This might make the most sense. Here's a hypothetical conversation between Kevin Garnett and Marbury:

KG: What up man? Can't believe the Knicks cut you kid.

SM: That's a'ight son, it's been a tough summer. Funny thing is, Isiah was in that car with me. We tag-teamed both that intern and Anucha. That's the last time I share anything with that dude.

KG: Uh....(pause)...well anyway, what about coming to play for the Celtics? We could use the depth...and Danny ain't gonna pay you much. But still, we could recreate the good ol' days with the T-Wolves, with some more sharing of course. And, you got that shot at a ring.

SM: Aww...really KG?!? (said with child-like enthusiasm) For really real? You think they got a spot for Coney Island's Finest?

KG: Yea homey...but here's the deal, you ever seen that movie Full Metal Jacket? No? Well, let me put it this way, if you go all Private Pyle on us, we gonna strap you to a bed and beat you with bars of soap in socks until you're peeing out yo ass. Or, if you like vague 1983, Sean Penn, BadBoys movie references, it'll be Coke cans instead of soap. Do you smell what I'm stepping in?

SM: (walks over and gives KG a big hug)

Hey, it could happen. I'm just sayin'