On the surface, tonight’s game between the Toronto Raptors and the Washington Wizards just looks like a battle of two struggling teams.  The Raptors are 2-8 and in last place of the Atlantic Division, while the Washington Wizards are 2-6 and in last place in the Southeast.  Both teams have gone through major personnel changes since the ’09-10 season, and both were expected to have uphill climbs this season.

Of course, the major difference is that the Raptors lost the face of their franchise in Chris Bosh over the summer, while the Wizards welcomed their new future when they drafted John Wall.  The loss of Bosh without a significant player in return has basically ensured that the Raptors will struggle this season, and likely longer.  The addition of a young player in Wall means that the Wizards may struggle this year, but their future certainly seems to be in great and capable hands.

It is quite easy for me to make grandiose, sweeping generalizations about the Toronto Raptors, because I observe the team from afar (afar, meaning I have not watched them play an entire game all season).  So to get a better idea of what’s truly going with Raptors, I decided to reach out to my old editor, Mr. Ryan McNeill.

Ryan is the editor and founder of the site, HoopsAddict.com, and he has covered the Raptors with credentials for four years.  He has appeared on NBA XL, ESPN Radio, The Fan 590, The Chris Townsend Show and WSRQ 1220, and he is also contributor to SLAM ONLINE.

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If I were doing things in a better manner (blog-wise), I’d make a separate post for each and every little bit of John Wall-related news emerging on the world-wide-web … there’d be a thousand of them. Instead, I’m throwing the best of the recent best in this post … with commentary. Enjoy.

Michael Lee of the Washington Post discusses the possibility of an Arenas-Wall backcourt. Lee touches on the idea that Arenas might actually relish not having to lead the offense under Flip Saunders. Remember, much of his struggles in ’09-10 weren’t necessarily due to having to overcome physical obstacles, but rather how to get the ball to others within the offense while balancing the idea that he needs to attack himself in order to create for others. Now, perhaps simplifying the necessity of Arenas’ talent could create a better team-wide dynamic. Lee writes:

My point is, Arenas could easily switch to shooting guard and be effective playing with Wall. He was a shooting guard in his two seasons at Arizona. And, when he shared the backcourt with Larry Hughes in his first two seasons in Washington, Hughes led the team in assists both seasons. Arenas actually enjoyed not being the lone playmaker on the team. At times, the responsibility frustrated him last season under Saunders’s system.

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Matching up post-game locker room quotes with corresponding facial expressions.

Caron Butler

When asked about the shot Hedo Turkoglu hit with 8.1 second left in overtime, putting Toronto up for good at 109-107 …

“Turkish Jordan.

You know, it’s tough. It was a tough shot. Tried to make him take a difficult shot, and that’s exactly what happened.”

Brendan Haywood

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{keys to win vs. raptors}

Active Hands

… especially from Jamison and Butler, the latter racked up three steals. As a team, the Wizards had 10 steals (their second highest total of the season), and held the Raptors to only two. Against the Suns, the Wiz had 12 steals, but they also had 17 turnovers. The team only turned the ball over 10 times last night.

Pushing Tempo

… even after the Raptors made shots, the Wizards pushed the ball up the court without deliberation, giving the recently stagnant offense more time to get something done.

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I was on a break outside the other day, catching some fresh Penn Quarter air, taking a stroll around Freedom Plaza, when this little kid came up to me, and said, “Hey Mister … don’t you know that the Wizards need another big man? Haywood, Jamison, Blatche, McGee, and McGuire aren’t going to cut it.”

“Easy lil’ fella,” I told him. “We’ll keep looking around to see if we can add someone else, but we feel comfortable about what we have currently and the depth of our ballclub.”

The kid then kicked me in the shin and ran away.

I suddenly woke up from my slumber and realized those weren’t my words, those were Ernie Grunfeld’s words. I had a mission …

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Amare Stoudemire, Vince Carter, Chris Bosh, Manu Ginobili, Michael Redd, Josh Smith, Josh Howard, Kirk Hinrich and Andrei Kirilenko are just of the few of the tiny players jumping over a fence in the mind of the restless Ernie Grunfeld as he tries to fall into a slumber every night leading up to the draft on June 25.

But he can’t sleep. He sits up in bed, drenched in sweat. It’s 3:30 in the morning and he’s trying to plod through the day’s ninth showing of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. But the show doesn’t help take his thoughts away from the matter at hand. His mind is racing through Wizards trade scenarios instead. And if you don’t pay attention to those damned Law & Orders, especially the crime at the beginning, the show just becomes a scrambled mess.

The mess, parallel to the team Grunfeld commands, spills into the night and into the next day, all of which are becoming the same. The Wizards GM is on the verge of making the most important move during his tenure with the team.

[continue reading on NBC Washington.com]

I’m a huge Antawn Jamison fan. He’s a classy dude, I’ve nicknamed him ‘The Gentlemen’ (hasn’t caught on), and the women folk say he’s got eyebrows for days.

Jamison is the current patriarchal cornerstone of the franchise. This year’s team MVP? Unquestionably. He possesses the never-quit attitude that should be infecting the locker room via leadership by example … Jamison is quite the opposite of past clubhouse cancers, like Christian Laettner.

But sometimes, everyone needs to be questioned, Jamison being no exception.

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The 2009 NBA Draft is on June 25th, an important day in so many ways. For one, it’s my birthday….the onset of my last year in my 20s…..but it’s also the day that the Wizards will be selecting Blake Griffin with the #1 overall draft pick (hopefully).

And while Griffin might not be a franchise changer like Tim Duncan, Yao Ming, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Shaq O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, he certainly isn’t a Kwame Brown or Michael Olowokandi.

Griffin won’t magically propel the Wizards to the cream of the crop, but he can certainly be a key cog on a potential contender while keeping the ‘Zards poised for the future.

June 25th is a pretty big date…potentially (Dikembe Mutombo will also turn 43 in beyond-human years on 6/25)….but May 19th is much more important. That’s when the order of the NBA is decided via a lottery.

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In anticipation of tonight’s rematch between the Wizards and the Heat, I decided to get in touch with Greg from the Peninsula is Mightier (a Miami Heat blog of course) to see if he could answer a couple questions I had about his team. Read on…….

1) The Heat are making due at the 5 spot with Joel Anthony, Udonis Haslem, and Mark Blount. How much help do you think Jamaal Magloire can really provide? Do you think the Canadian is motivated enough to shed the “washed-up” stigma? What did you think of his signing in the first place…..low risk or act of desperation?

I don’t expect much of anything from Magloire. He certainly won’t supplant Haslem, and I don’t know that he offers an upgrade over Anthony or Blount either. I was among the few who thought he could help when Miami signed him, but after a glimpse of him in preseason, I think he’s finished. The signing was low risk, but it also took a roster spot away from a prospect like David Padgett, an undrafted rookie out of Louisville who gave Miami some decent minutes in preseason and obviously has a much higher ceiling than Magloire. Unless a legit center becomes available in trade, I’ll stick with Anthony spelling Haslem and Blount getting spot minutes.

2) Some will still attest that Chris Quinn should not be receiving significant time on the court for an NBA team. Do you think his play will change opinions? The guy rarely commits a turnover and knocks down open threes…..what more could one expect? What should his role be for the Heat going forward?

Quinn’s a good player, and I think he’s right when he says that perception becomes reality when people evaluate him. He was one of two or three bright spots last year, but spent the summer in restricted free-agent purgatory, came back on a low-end contract and opened the season third on the depth chart, so there’s something Miami doesn’t like. And I don’t think Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra are hung up on appearances if the guy could help them win, so I’m left to assume that Quinn has a fatal flaw I’m overlooking. My guesses are defense (unremarkable), shot selection (he likes the early 3) or just general upside (Mario Chalmers was drafted as a long-term starter). Still, I think Miami is a better team when he gets regular minutes, and I predict he’ll craft a long career out of defying expectations. Hope that happens in Miami.

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Yes, it was not pretty the last time DC took a visit to Toronto. Game 44 against the Raptors was the worst loss of the season for the Wizards….to date. 122-83 was the final. The Raps were up 10-0 in the game before I knew it; from there, they didn’t look back, aided by a 21-5 2nd quarter run.

In the previous Wizards game (#43) against the Raptors, which happened to be at home in DC the night before the above game, we were treated to this quote by Steve Buckhantz, except much louder: “Noooo!!!! It’s not possible!!!!!”

Why? Well, just watch below:

Hey, at least the Wiz won that one, thus, preventing horrible, horrible nightmares about the Raptors for the rest of my life. This clip expands on the reasoning.

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