Slow steps and seconds guesses were the main themes from Saturday’s night home loss to an Antwan Jamison-less Cleveland Cavaliers. The Wizards let a very winnable game slip away as Anthony Parker, Daniel Gibson and Mo Williams all burried late key three pointers and Washington fell to 1-4 on the young season.
Coach Saunders regretted sitting a hot Al Thornton (23 points on 10-16 field-goals) for the final nine minutes of the game.
“I said to Al that I made a mistake….I question myself the last three minutes about not having Al in there.”
Flip went to the long anticipated three-guard lineup of John Wall, Kirk Hinrich and Gilbert Arenas for the fourth quarter. The trio led the Wizards to a 90-85 lead with five minutes to go in the game after Arenas fueled a 3-on-1 fast break that ended with a flush by Andray Blatche.
On the following Cavs possession, where Cleveland seemed to get away with a three-second call and a travel, JaVale McGee fouled J.J. Hickson on a shot attempt. Hickson made the first and missed the second. The very grabbable rebound caromed over McGee’s head into hands of Anderson Varejo, who then found Parker for a corner three ball. The four-point play kind of summed up the night.
Not too long ago we took a look at some of the worst shooters in Bullets/Wizards franchise history. Now, especially since shooting is such a concern, we’ll take a look at some the best shooters in team history, specifically from the three-point distance.
[Basketball Court - Georgia Avenue/Howard University - photo: K. Weidie]
Last season was the 31th anniversary of the three-point shot in the NBA. Well, sorta. The three-point line was implemented on a trial basis for the 1979-80 season and set into permanent rule for the 1980-81 season. So, perhaps technically this season is the 31th anniversary of the three-point shot in the NBA. Nonetheless, stats on the shot have been kept for the previous 31 seasons and are available thanks to Basketball-Reference.com.
Kevin Grevey of the Washington Bullets hit the first three-point bucket in franchise history, on opening night against the Philadelphia 76ers at home on October 12, 1979. Evidently there is some dispute as to whether Grevey hit the first three in NBA history; Chris Ford of the Boston Celtics is usually credited with accomplishing this feat, which occurred on the same night.
[Meridian Hill Park - NW Washington, D.C. - K. Weidie]
Opening night is just about here, I’m pretty much at a loss for words. I’m just ready to sit back and watch basketball. Who knows what path this year’s team will take, we’ll find out soon enough that it might not matter … as long as they prove their hustle and growth.
LINKS!
I recently took part in a Wizards round-table, go check it out.
[DC Pro Sports Report]
The answer is simple: the Wizards are John Wall’s team.
[Bullets Forever]
[Gilbert Arenas gets some gum/candy for Lester Hudson. Watch out Lester! Tony Kornheiser says that candy could be POISON!]
Bullet Point Thoughts on Gilly …
So that Gilbert guy … you know what he did and you know he has been punished for it in the form of a fine (and likely old man giddiness via Tony Kornheiser … I bet old Tony popped a Viagra and everything when he heard Arenas lied to his coach).
In fact, there are a lot of blowhards diddling themselves over Gilbert today. They were just waiting for him to slip up and now they’ve got coitus interruptus all over their keyboards and microphones. Steinberg over at the DC Sports Bog aptly addresses the rhetoric of John Feinstein, Kornheiser and Skip Bayless.
[Ed. Note: I'm going to warn you. Rashad is about to divulge himself as a Philadelphia Eagles fan. Please, do not be outraged. I already knew this and it is okay. He's a fine young man (who's older than me) and you should not hold his fandom of a certain team about 140 miles north against him. Now Mr. Mobley is going to explain why the Bobcats are worth checking out, aside from wondering if Gerald Wallace is going to injure yet another Wizard. -Kyle W.]
I have been a Philadelphia Eagles fan since 1985 when I saw Randall Cunningham running and passing his way to superstardom. And although they have just one Super Bowl appearance and no titles during my 25 years of loyalty, my allegiance remains strong.
Unfortunately, since sports is mostly about business and not fan loyalty, some of my favorite players have left the Eagles via trade, free agency or waivers. Randall Cunningham retired as an Eagle and then unretired and played for Minnesota; Reggie White left for Green Bay via free agency; Terrell Owens was released and then he signed with Dallas; and just this past summer, Donovan McNabb was traded to the Washington Redskins.
ESPN’s John Hollinger and Chad Ford recently completed the latest edition of their ‘Future Power Rankings.’ (Found here, requires ESPN Insider). Like previous versions, they begin their rankings with the following introduction:
The Future Power Rankings are ESPN Insider’s projection of the on-court success expected for each team during the 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.
Each of the NBA’s 30 teams received an overall Future Power Rating of 0 to 1,000, based on how well we expect each team to perform in the three seasons following this season.
In determining the Future Power Rating, Hollinger and Ford rated each team in five categories. The sum of those ratings = a team’s Future Power Rating. From the article, here is an explanation of each category:
PLAYERS (0 to 400 points): Current players and their potential for the future, factoring in expected departures.
Recently, the two first-named Michelle Marie of YoungHollywood.com caught up with Antawn Jamison at some location in the world … and it wasn’t in a dark room featuring an old wooden table, an uncomfortable stool, and a solo Jamison sitting and sipping on some Jameson.
Marie asked ‘Twan how the Cleveland Cavaliers were going to transition without LeBron. The gist of his answer: “It’s going to be interesting.”
Indeed it is, Antawn, indeed it is. He also spit out some generic clichés such as, “It’s a business,” and “It’s not going to be easy.” I don’t think the Gentleman will ever change, and he shouldn’t. In any case, you can watch the video yourself via Yahoo! Sports.
Antawn Jamison doesn’t get Twitter. Neither does my 70-year old dad (okay, he’s 69, will be 70 next June).
He, my dad, was recently in town and Twitter came up in the dinner conversation. I tried to justify its relevancy by citing how it provides those in the media, bloggers, such as myself, the ability to extend personal branding (as HRO would call it), and even more so, how it’s great for late-breaking news, especially in the sports world. I trailed off and cut the list of merits short after seeing the look on my dad’s face, not mentioning how I’ve actually made friends with people via Twitter.
My pops, mind you, is not completely tech oblivious. He does have a ‘net book’. And I suppose Antawn is in the same boat.
Tom Sorenson of the Charlotte Observer has the first Antawn Jamison, ‘Here I Am’ article of the summer. Sorenson recently caught up with the Gentleman Jamison at his basketball camp in North Carolina. You should read the whole piece, but here are a couple select quotes:
But the Cavaliers crashed and burned in the Eastern Conference semifinals against Boston and crashed and burned again two weeks ago when LeBron giddily announced he was leaving Cleveland for the Miami Heat.
It’s tough to truly remember Antawn Jamison’s time in D.C., yet hard to do it enough. Wish I were around to cover him when times were good, but this year had to happen. Still, Antawn did it with dignity. He did it with class, emulating the owner he looked up to so much. An owner whose family is making a classy move with a free “Living for the City” Stevie Wonder concert for some of the people touched by Abe Pollin’s spirit for his community. Antawn was the Gentleman Jamison. He deserves an Unsilent tribute. Hence, Jack Kogod (aka Unsilent Majority) of Kissing Suzy Kobler, and occasional Wizards correspondent for Mr. Irrelevant, (not to mention that he sits in some really good season tickets for a ton of Wizards games), agreed to share his thoughts. Here’s what @Unsilent had to say:
>>>>>>>>>
I miss Antawn Jamison more than I thought I would. When the house cleaning commenced I thought it would be Caron Butler I missed the most, but I was wrong. Of course I’m wrong a lot. I was wrong in my belief that the Wizards should have held on to the fifth pick in the ’04 draft to select Luol Deng (although I couldn’t be too upset with any trade that sent Jerry Stackhouse packing), and I was wrong to think that Jamison wasn’t the right guy at the right time. It only took one season for him to prove me wrong. Jamison made his All Star Game debut in that first season, and he helped lead the Wizards on a fantastic turnaround. The Wizards won their first playoff series of my lifetime that year, and that wouldn’t have happened without Jamison.
A lot changed in the years between the ’05 playoffs and the ’10 trade deadline, but Jamison never did. Throughout his time in Washington he was the most consistent player on the team, and one of the most reliable performers in the entire league (defensive shortcomings notwithstanding). There is a reason why Abe Pollin considered Jamison to be the Wes Unseld of the modern Wizards, because he have all of himself to the organization. I hope for nothing but the best from Jamison, just short of winning a ring of course. Afterall, he is a Cav now.
First, congrats goes to Thomas Pruitt and Wade Smith, the only two respondents to answer all nine trivia questions right. They both win a copy of the book. Also congrats to Marc Salmon, his email address was randomly selected from the entire pool of entries. Marc gets the lucky dice.
Now let’s go over the questions, answers and a bit of team history. In case you didn’t take part in the poll, I’m posting the answers at the bottom so you can take a guess at the questions if you feel so inclined.
#1 Which coach led the Washington Bullets in their ’97 1st round playoff matchup against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls?
Most Washington Nationals probably couldn’t name a current Washington Wizard, aside from Gilbert Arenas and Andray Blatche, both likely more known for infamous reasons. Well, there is that National who recently attended a Wizards game, Nyjer Morgan, but he rooted for the other team.
However, couple of the newer Wizards, transplants from Dallas on what could be just a temporary stop in their careers, have no problem representing the local baseball team.
The Post’s Michael Lee reports that Josh Howard, who attended the Wizards-Knicks game Monday night in NYC, was sporting an over-sized all white Nationals cap afterward. And of course, there’s the picture of James Singleton above. He wore that red Nats cap after a loss to the Charlotte Bobcats, the infamous Blatche benching game.
But enough about that. Here’s some more Wizards and their hats from throughout the season:
Now that the franchise worst 16-game losing streak has departed, it’s time to remember the players who have departed the Wizards this season — via trade or release, not suspension or injury, and only those who actually received minutes.
Below you will find portraits of the departed along with their story from the night pictured and a video clip of a selected quote. Enjoy … I think.
{DeShawn Stevenson}
Depart Date: February 13, 2010
On Halloween Night after the Wizards defeated the New Jersey Nets 123-104 in their home opener, pushing their record to 2-1, (the only time it would be better than .500 this season), Stevenson spoke about how, unlike last season, everybody now wants tickets to Wizards games and that he wasn’t going to dress up for All Hallows Eve.
When both Brendan Haywood and Caron Butler were traded, you knew Antawn Jamison just had to be traded too, sent to greener pastures … via leaving the Verizon Center in a car worth over a quarter-million dollars. Which, by the way, I’m told is a Bentley Continental, most likely a GT, and not a Maybach as was originally reported (thanks to @CarbonPrimo and the car nuts at @UpshiftReviews).
Michael Lee reports that Jamison even requested a trade. But did he even have to? Well, let me put it this way, he shouldn’t have had to. But you can’t blame ‘Twan for wanting to make sure Ernie Grunfeld wasn’t going to hold him hostage on an un-seaworthy ship with a plank, a revolver and perhaps an eye-patch and a devious smile.
Antawn Jamison wasn’t perfect, but he was a a pro’s pro. A throwback player. I wish ‘Twan all the best, but not necessarily a championship with LeBron in Cleveland. I’m not sure, I’ll have to see how I feel when NBA playoff time comes around.
There will be plenty of tribute posts for all the departed Wizards in the future, but until then, a couple quick parting shots of Jameson for Jamison’s last night as a Wizard in bullet-point form: Read more »
The first practice for new Wizards Josh Howard, James Singleton and Quinton Ross had a media buzz in the air, yet a slightly somber tone on the court. Most of those already on the team ducked the awaiting press by exiting the practice court from a side door. Antawn Jamison, however, made his presence known by singing the Black Eyed Peas’ “I got a feeling,” down the hallway as he headed into the locker room. He later would make the media wait around 30 minutes for him to speak until a Wizards PR person finally declared that ‘Twan had left the building. For good? We don’t know.
It seemed like forever since I’d been in the Verizon Center. Sixteen days to be exact. With the Atlanta Hawks game originally scheduled for February 6th postponed because of snow, the last time I was around in the catacombs of the house that Abe built was on February 1st when the Wizards barely mustered 10 points in the fourth quarter and lost to the Boston Celtics 99-88.
Days like Tuesday afternoon’s practice are always interesting. I walked into the press lounge to see several faintly familiar faces; the television personalities who only show up on noteworthy days with their camera crews in tow. Some of the regulars wondered how many of them knew the difference between Ross and Singleton. Nonetheless, I don’t expect much coverage from the infrequent media masses once the trade deadline passes.
Of course, I type this as if I were some grizzled veteran when I just started covering the Wizards with media access last September. Then again, the circumstances surrounding the team this season is enough to give a blogger some gray hairs.
The Wizards headed into the All-Star break with a close loss in Charlotte on Tuesday, ultimately thanks to a tough game-winning shot by Raymond Felton that put the Bobcats up 94-92 with 1.6 seconds left. Losing should come as no surprise. After all, the Wizards are 17-33. But hey, commend the team for appearing to try and for playing a decent Charlotte team down to the wire on their home court, where they are now 19-6.
The Wizards did some good things in the game. But since it was a loss, it’s probably more telling to concentrate on the bad things they did, which, when added up, contributed more to them losing than any of the good things contributed to them coming close to winning … if any of that makes sense. Hence, let’s take a look as some stories and screen shots highlighting instances where things went wrong.
A Butler That Is A Matador
Whether you play in the NBA or just at your local court, when you get the ball stolen from you, your pride is hurt. And you want to redeem yourself. Some don’t even try and simply commit a frustration foul. Some gamble like a hero for an almost unattainable steal. Some just bite the bullet and play good defense, knowing their time for redemption will come with hard work.
Caron Butler, against the Bobcats, chose another route. After casually dangling the ball in front of Gerald Wallace on offense, with something in his usual repertoire of unproductive hesitation and fake moves, Caron got the ball ripped from him (first frame below). He then backpedaled in the opposite direction, readying himself to defend Wallace.
