Posts tagged ‘antonio daniels’

I suppose I could go on some diatribe about the Washington Wizards and toughness, rebounding, offensive execution, and perhaps even coaching, but what’s the point? That’s not to say I’ve become languid about the team, or even the season. It’s just not always worth the effort to harp on the same ol’, same ol’.

I also don’t subscribe to Ivan Carter’s theory that everyone played out of their ass last year and are incapable of doing so again as individuals. Basically, his sub-prime loan comparison doesn’t hold water in my opinion.

The best way I could explain it was by comparing the team to a subprime loan. Follow me if you can. The Wizards lived above their means last season, meaning that they managed to make payments on a playoff house because they all played out of their minds. They got career years from just about every player on the roster — Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, Brendan Haywood, Roger Mason, Antonio Daniels, DeShawn Stevenson, and even Eddie Jordan coached his tail off — and they survived and thrived without all star Gilbert Arenas.

Uhh…ok, so is the comparison to sub-prime loans or to the people who are doing the borrowing? I’ll assume it’s the borrowers since that’s the path Carter continues to go down in his post. It’s a reasonable assumption that when someone lives above their means, they are being reckless and irresponsible. The marks of sub-prime loans, for the most part, have checkered financial pasts. Thus, they serve as victims of predatory lending because they can only borrow money if the loan is attached to a bunch of ill-advised catches, such as high interest rates.

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Well, well, well…..what do we have here? Are they about to go to church?

Oh….these two must be a couple candy salesmen….and I don’t know if they’re selling it or getting high off their own supply, but the garb of Gilbert Arenas and Antonio Daniels is sweet like bear meat.

Daniels with his pink on the inside, iridescent blue on the outside combo; and Arenas with the Burberry-Ascot get-up.

Well, at least somebody went to Miami prepared, because the Wizards sure weren’t ready to play against the Heat as they lost ugly by 20 points. Too bad their game wasn’t as pretty as those suits. Enjoy South Beach fellas. Read more »

Ok….I’m not one to throw in the towel, but I couldn’t help feeling as I watched the Wizards-Bucks game that a win would be a bonus, and not anything to expect. I don’t want to get into deep analysis on the game three loss, so here are some bulleted observations:

• Andray Blatche is getting his fair share of chances and is not taking advantage of them.

• He severely lacks blocking-out fundamentals — Somebody teach him….PLEASE!! Tony Massenburg? Wes Unseld?
• Blatche is trying to do too much — I’m not sure what needs to happen for Andray to let the game come to him.

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Bridge to Nowhere in Milwaukee? flickr/Zack K

NEW FEATURE: Andray Blatche Threat Level Color Coded Alert System.

Ok….I’m glad they’re starting Andray Blatche (Etan Thomas is out with an ankle….Michael Redd is also out for the Bucks with an ankle). I still got hope for the kid and this time, it’s hope that this elevated status, and past poor performance of course, drive him to succeed.

If I could think of the perfect two words to describe Scott Skiles, it would be ‘piss ant’

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Walter Herrmann on Fire – flickr/Vedia

Flickr tells me that the above picture is none other than Walter Herrmann….and I have to believe it. Something tells me that old school Walter Herrmann would totally have a hair-doo like Guile from Street Fighter only to go with the ‘Fabio’ look we’re graced with today.

So a guy with a pony-tail goes off on the Wizards and everyone becomes a drama queen. I mean just look at the picture….the guy is about to dunk with a ball on f-ing fire! It’s no wonder that Herrmann was hitting trey balls and finger rolls on the Wiz. For all we know, he could be the Argentinian Chuck Norris.

Plus, the dude has been through a TON in his life that not many can imagine. In July 2003, Herrmann lost his mother, younger sister, and girlfriend all in the same car crash. Exactly a year later, he had one of the best games of his career, 38 points and 11 rebounds, in leading Argentina in the South American Championships. After the game, he found out that his father had died of a heart-attack.

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As much progress the Wizards seemed to make in last Wednesday’s preseason win in San Antonio, on Friday in Cleveland it all came unraveled. I don’t take much stock in preseason results, losing by 28 points to the Cavaliers is nothing more than a meaningless number at this juncture. And as Caron Butler was quoted in the Washington Post, “It’s not necessarily about shots made and missed. It’s about energy and establishing some type of rhythm for the first group.”

All true. Through the first half of the second quarter in Cleveland, the Wizards starters, along with the initial wave of second unit players, led the Cavs 35-33. But with an intriguing lineup of Dee Brown, Nick Young, Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, and JaVale McGee on the court, a Roots album title ensued (or Nine Inch Nails, or the literary inspiration, or the original poetic inspiration…depending on your flavor)……and things fell apart.

Cleveland closed out the first half on a 24-4 run, taking a 57-39 lead into the locker room, against a lineup that it’s reasonable to assume Eddie Jordan will be using this year, as opposed to him just tinkering.

The focus now shifts to the season opener against the New Jersey Nets on Tuesday. As with many NBA teams, there are still areas of concern. You can read the full preseason Wizards-Cavs game blog at Bullets Forever, but here are three observations which need to be addressed as the season grows:
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AP Photo via Yahoo!

Why am I pumped (or seised) about a preseason game tonight? Yea, well, got my DVR set up….and we’ve got the season’s starting lineup (Etan, DeShawn, Antonio, Caron and Antawn) ready to show….something.

What about Pop’s beard? Something he’s been needing to do for a while. The guy doesn’t exactly have the best…..complexion. And our buddy Haywoode Workman is refereeing again.

Q1

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The guys at LA Ball Talk are hosting a Top NBA Team Blog Contest, click to check out the nominees. The voting polls are open, so go select your favorite blog for each NBA team and you will get a nice imaginary sticker. Don’t do it for me, do it for Nacho.

Slam Online
….has a great interview with Antonio Daniels, which includes a YouTube of AD throwing a two-handed dunk in AK-47′s grill (when he was with the Blazers).

AD Quotable: “Until we’re healthy our job is to continue to win basketball games. I’m not a prediction guy. Even if we were healthy I wouldn’t give a prediction. I believe in everybody in that locker room and I feel like we can accomplish a lot.”
Staunch Supporter: Picking up the details on Antonio Daniels

Hardwood Paroxysm
….has posted their preview of the Washington Wizards. What are you waiting for? Get over there and read it.

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NBAE/Getty Images – from nba.com/wizards

Preseason statistics and results should never be a reason to punch the panic button. Coaches are just tinkering in the lab, trying different lineups, offensive sets, etc., in an effort towards establishing refinement once the real games begin.

On the other hand, one could reasonably expect to draw a realistic indication of the future by observing a team’s preseason defense. Granted, zone defense is difficult to master, even when playing Randy Ayers’ simplified match-up zone system. But a team should not have a “cold” night on defense as they might when it comes to shooting the rock. If the D is failing, then signs tend to point to lacking desire and mental game slippage.

So, after allowing 66 total points between the first quarters of the last two games, is it at least worth flipping open the plastic cover protecting the panic button? It is worth nothing that the Wizards have looked their absolute worst in two consecutive games against a very good New Orleans Hornets team, which features a young point guard like no other. However, I would prefer to use performance against the best as a barometer rather than gaining a false sense of hope from seeing the Wizards shut down a mediocre team.

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Who will be the main factor at point guard for the Washington Wizards?
While there are a number of candidates from various positions who can need to step up in the absence of Gilbert Arenas (Andray Blatche and Nick Young come to mind), the Wizards will need someone to be a factor at point guard and initiate Eddie Jordan’s offense.

photo from washingtonwizards.com

The Candidates: Antonio Daniels, Dee Brown, Juan Dixon, DeShawn Stevenson, Nick Young

Antonio Daniels: Hey, did you guys know that Antonio Daniels is getting older? Ok…so the fact that he turns 33 in March should go without saying. Last season, AD averaged the most minutes in his career, 30.4, because he had to step in as the starter for an absent Gilbert Arenas. This simply cannot continue. Not that Antonio isn’t up to the task. I’ll say it time and time again, the guy is a gamer. However, the fact that he puts his body on this line so much compounds the issue and highlights that he should receive less time on the court, if anything, to keep him healthy for the season. Antonio can’t help the way he plays. We know he’s not a shooter, he knows he’s not a shooter….but he’s got to make the defense aware of him offensively in some manner, and he does that with kamikaze drives to the hoop.

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