Good Day.

#1) Throw out this ‘Jan Vesely was the 6th pick, he wouldn’t be picked there in a re-draft’ stuff. You know what? He’s on the team now, and he’s displayed more than enough signs that he will be A-OK one day, capable of diminishing your concerns about mere draft position over time.

#2) Yea, he can’t shoot. And he’ll never be able to unless he doesn’t develop some confidence, which is why Wizards coach Randy Wittman wants him to shoot, and which is why Coach Witt will yell at young Janny when he passes up an open shot… to keep him in Czech. (See what I did there?) Let’s just watch…

Moving on…

Read more »

NBA All-Star Weekend is here, but what about the Wizards? “The team needs a break,” writes owner Ted Leonsis on his blog. Nowhere does he mention the media (professional or those with day jobs) needing a break. Nor, more importantly, does he mention fans needing a break. So, the players may be getting much needed (but not much deserved) rest, but Wizards fans… they really just get a reprieve from bad basketball. “With the season over in two months..the rest of this season really has nothing to do with this season,” writes @WorldWiEdWard on Twitter. Exactly… so you gotta wonder if this Wizards franchise will have the balls to start making significant adjustments in the second half of the season, predicated on the disastrous first half, to better set themselves up for the future. Who knows. But let’s not take all the fun out of NBA All-Star Weekend 2012, one in which a single Wizard is participating — John Wall in the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge as well as in the Taco Bell Skills Challenge. To discuss this weekend’s festivities in 3-on-3 fashion, including the Rising Stars Challenge which is tonight at 9 pm, we have TAI’s Adam McGinnis (@AdamMcGinnis), Rashad Mobley (@rashad20) and Kyle Weidie (@truth_about_it). Three questions, three answers starts now…

#1) John Wall (Team Chuck) is at 9-1 odds to win the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge MVP, behind Jeremy Lin (Team Shaq, 5-1), Blake Griffin (Team Shaq, 7-1), and Kyrie Irving (Team Chuck, 17-2). [Full odds listing below.] What are Wall’s real chances (factoring in him becoming miffed at being taken 12th in the Barkley/Shaq draft, or Barkley’s hared of the Wizards)? If not him, who you got?

McGINNIS: Las Vegas bookmakers earned their nickname of “Wise Guys” by having the Wall ranked much higher than he was selected by Barkley or Shaq. Wall was the best player in his 2010 draft class during his rookie season, has a national Reebok shoe campaign featured in Foot Lockers across America, and he is reigning MVP of this Rookie-Sophomore game, but TNT’s lack of coverage around Wall has declared him an afterthought. Wall will play extremely well as his pass-first and fast break game is suited for exhibitions like this one, and he will be fired up more than normal. However, I expect Jeremy Lin or Kyrie Irving to win the MVP. This is what NBA wants and TNT employees will be sure to deliver it for them.

MOBLEY: John Wall didn’t need to be miffed with his snub in the “draft” or motivated by Barkley’s distaste for his team to do well in this game. We know from his record 22 assists in last year’s game, and his dazzling summer exhibition performances from 2011, that he can easily stand head and shoulders above his peers. That being said, my vote is for Ricky Rubio. The Maravich in him will be unleashed.

Read more »

Commentary, links, John Wall, a poll, (not that kind of poll), etc., …

BaSkEtBaLl NeVeR sToPs

Dude, bro, chum, mate, chap, bloke, scallywag… Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, Chris Paul (probably as a New York Knick), Deron Williams … John Wall will never be an All-Star in the East.

I wouldn’t be so sure of that. Guys change conferences, there always seems to be someone who can’t play for one reason or another, and if Wall continues to show his talent, the coaches got to vote him in a couple times, right? But he must/should win first, which will be a tougher task to do consistently than make the All-Star team.

I took part in ESPN.com’s 5-on-5 Friday. We had to take the over, under, or a push on a variety of NBA Southeast Division potential occurrences. Regarding the Wizards, the over/under was six All-Star games for John Wall. I took the push. You can read it here, but what do you think?

Read more »

Commentary, links, randomness…

Unfortunately, good people, John Wall tragically lost his right arm in Tuesday’s earthquake. (#Moment of Silence)

Seems like the Jerry Stackhouse owned by @n1coolguy didn’t fare so well either.

 But hey, Stackhouse has long been a fixer-upper … See? Good as new.

Read more »

Manute Bol, as we further came to realize with his passing in June 2010, was a vastly unique and complex character. The posthumous coverage, as it often does in these instances, helped us peel back the layers of his multifaceted life in order to gain closure with understanding and appreciation.

Most records indicate that Bol was drafted by Bob Ferry, then GM of the Washington Bullets, with the 31st overall pick (seventh in the second round) of the 1985 NBA Draft. Lesser noticed records indicate that Bol was first drafted 97th overall in the 1983 draft (fifth round) by the San Diego Clippers. The selection was sparked by ex-Bullets coach (from 1994-97) Jim Lynam no less, who at the time was head coach of the Clippers. But Bol was not afforded the opportunity to play for Lynam in his first season at the helm of an NBA team, along with the oft-injured Bill Walton in the franchise’s last go-round in San Diego before moving to Los Angeles. The pick was subsequently voided because Bol hadn’t officially declared for the draft.*

Lynam’s intrigue with seven feet and seven inches would later be Ferry’s gain, after Bol spent time at the University of Bridgeport followed by a small appearance with the Rhode Island Gulls of the USBL.* As a blogger, I’m also obliged to mention that the ’85 Bol draft was the same year the Bullets took Kenny Green with their top pick at No. 13; Karl Malone went to the Utah Jazz at 14.

Read more »

A moving picture GIF for fake 3-D effect (don’t get dizzy), with links and commentary…

[Lafayette Elementary School, NW Washington, D.C. - photos: K. Weidie]

Links.

I recently took part in a ‘Word on the Street’ sports roundtable put together by Ben Standig of CSNWashington. My pick for the Preakness didn’t come through, but I still stand by the rest.
[CSNWashington]

Read more »

Note: Rashad Mobley is in Los Angeles for the 2011 NBA All-Star Weekend festivities following the entertaining activities of John Wall and JaVale McGee as they put their great individual talent on display to the world.  He covered the Rookie-Sophomore Game, the All-Star practice, and last night, the Skills Competition and the Dunk Contest…

When John Wall set the NBA Rookie-Sophomore game record with 22 assists on Friday night, he gave NBA viewers all over the world a glimpse of his limitless potential. JaVale McGee had that same opportunity on Saturday night and he showed NBA fans some creative dunks that had not been seen in quite some time, and in a couple cases, ever.

First up was Wall and his brief Skills competition appearance.  Earlier in the weekend, Wall informed Washington Post writer Michael Lee that he expected the passes to be a problem for him, and that turned out to be a prophetic statement.  His initial chest pass rattled in and then back out, and Wall had to run back and try again.  After hitting the jumper on his second attempt (where I fully expected him to struggle), Wall then took two attempts to complete the outlet pass.  His time of 39.3 seconds in the first round was not good enough to advance — however, it was good enough to beat last place Chris Paul, who finger-rolled and missed a point blank layup. Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors ended up defeating Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the final with a time of 28.2 seconds.

Next it was JaVale’s turn to shine, and he seized his moment and then some.  For his first round dunk, he aligned two baskets right next to each other, and dunked on them both in with two separate balls.  It took him several tries to get it right, but once he did, he was awarded with a perfect score of 50.

Read more »

Barkley works the Shake Weight, a Wizards ticket giveaway, commentary and links …

First, TAI is giving away two tickets to Wednesday’s game versus the Pacers (courtesy of StubHub). The seats are good (Section 101, Row L … behind the Wizards’ bench) and John Wall is good (as in he’s back and should be playing). You can win these two free tickets by being the first to email the correct answer to the trivia question I will post from the @Truth_About_It Twitter account at 11 am EST on Wednesday, December 29. The answer must be emailed to truthaboutit@gmail.com.

Also note: The Wizards are pulling something out of the Miami Heat’s playbook to get fans to arrive to games early (not sure if the idea actually originated with the Heat, but they did do something similar earlier this year). Starting when the doors open at 6 pm for Wednesday’s game versus the Pacers until 6:30, the Verizon Center will be offering food and drink discounts outside of section 107. [via @WashWizards]

WIZARDS-ROCKETS.

Read more »

Dexter Pittman is a big body with soft hands. The Wizards could certainly use a post man who can take up space and Pittman, along with Derrick Caracter, might be options … perhaps not necessarily at 30 or 35, but a possibility should the Wizards acquire a late second round pick. Pittman worked out for the Wizards last Thursday, June 17th. Here’s a bullet point run-down on Dexter along with his post-workout media interview video:

• Pittman says he left high school for Texas weighing 388, dropped that to 366 before enrolling in June 2006, and got his weight down to a listed 290 by his senior year.
• Below I’ve embedded a video of a good ESPN feature that chronicles the transformation Pittman went through at UT, a school with a renowned strength and conditioning program.
• Pittman weighed in at 303 in Chicago, said he was “probably around 300″ on his day working out with the Wizards, and that his ideal playing weight is around 270-280.
• He had the highest percentage of body fat, 20.8%, of those measured in Chicago. DeMarcus Cousins was second at 16.4%.
• The website of Pittman’s foundation, DexterPittman.org, says that he once weight 402 pounds.
• His foundation sponsors the ‘Get Fit With Big Pitt Challenge‘ to help fight youth obesity.
• He had to unfortunately leave the Chicago pre-draft combine early because his younger brother was murdered.
• NBADraft.net compares him to Stanley Roberts.
• Pittman measures 6’9.5″ without shoes with a 7’6″ wingspan, almost six inches longer than Caracter’s wingspan.
• Pittman also had the biggest hands of the Chicago measurements with a length of 10.5 inches. Sure, these are just measurements, but I’m loving the new hand measurement stat. Some of the greatest players, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Rajon Rondo, and many that I’m surely missing, have had some of the biggest, strongest hands. Kwame Brown was said to have small hands. Enough said.
• Pittman made Academic All-Big 12 his sophomore and junior years.
• In an interview, he said one of his nicknames is “Sexy Dexy,” given to him by the Texas women’s basketball team his freshman year.
• He also said that he “loves phones like women love shoes” and that he’s a big fan of Wal-mart.
• His Twitter account is @Big_Pitt.
• Charles Barkley has noticed Pittman’s work ethic.
• He had an impressive workout with the Timberwolves, where he compared himself to DeJuan Blair and Big Baby Davis, but with 3 or 4 more inches in height, says T-Wolves GM David Khan.
• In the scouting report video embedded below, I was impressed by Pittman’s footwork/agility when guarding the pick-and-roll on the perimeter.
• Says he would’ve been disappointed if Texas went to the Pac-10 because the Big 12 stands for being “big and physical” while the Pac-10 is known for “premature point guards” who don’t want to get hit in the paint.

Post Wizards Workout Interview:

Read more »

The Wizards’ season is over. And while there will certainly be reflections on said season to come, sometimes you gotta look way back on the franchise’s history via the basketball cards I collected when my fandom was being cultivated by the early 90s Washington Bullets.

One Summer Don MacLean worked so hard that his game improved with increased confidence. Well, at least that’s what this fake headline Upper Deck card says after he won the NBA’s Most Improved Player award in 1993-94, his second season in the league.

After being drafted out of UCLA by the Detroit Pistons with the 19th overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft, MacLean was immediately traded to the Los Angeles Clippers with William Bedford for Olden Polynice and two second round picks. But MacLean didn’t stay in his Los Angeles hometown for long. In early October he was sent back East, again with Bedford, to the Washington Bullets for John “Hot Plate” Williams. Bedford was immediately waived by the Bullets while MacLean spent the first three years of his career in DC.

People used to call MacLean a gym rat. In November of 2000 as a member of the Miami Heat, MacLean became the first player to be suspended under the NBA’s steroid policy, which was in its second season of testing. As a result, Charles Barkley famously said, “I’ve seen Don MacLean naked, and he doesn’t use steroids.” The two never played together, but were both in the 1999 Houston Rockets training camp.

Read more »