Commentary, links, a picture, a photoshop, etc…

[This was one of my favorite pictures that I took at Capital Punishment back in August;
James Harden drawing a late-game shooting foul against DeMarcus Cousins.]

> Of course…

Andray Blatche has a coloring and activity book, of course, images of which via Bullets Forever‘s Mike Prada — It’s for the kids and all. At the DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg has noticed that Blatche is très muscular in the renderings. Here’s an example:

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On several planes, Gilbert Arenas and Dan Snyder are totally alike. On about a million they are not.

One commonality I can easily think of is that they both appear to be utterly oblivious to the general sensibilities of those who live in reality. Now, it’s not completely the fault of these men that they live in a fantasy world – NFL owner, a $100 million contract NBA man — but the ridiculous ways they can act is on their own accord.

Another similar trait of the two maligned D.C. sports figures? (One of whom the city no longer has to deal with.) Both are championing legal maneuvers against free speech.

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NOTE: The ESPN TrueHoop Network 2011 NBA Mock Draft starts today. Truth About It will be posting our consensus mocked pick of the sixth position around 1 pm, so check back for an update. Until then, a D.C. pic, commentary, and links…

[HD Cooke Elementary - NW Washington DC - Euclid St. & Mozart Pl. - photo: K. Weidie]

>With the caveat that cats seemingly wear random hats — for the style — and are not always interested in the teams on them, I bring you the video below of noteworthy fun images and interaction. Oh, and John Wall is wearing a Philadelphia Flyers cap, old style (Wall also has been seen wearing a retro Oakland Raiders hat, very hipsterish-lite of him/trendy)… good thing this wasn’t around when the Caps were losing to the Flyers in the first round of the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs. The video below is from a local South Carolina television station and is regarding the tournament that Josh Howard and Trevor Booker hosted over the June 11 weekend in Mauldin, which Wall attended. Things to look out for: a Wall interview in Ray-Bans (again, trendy, he is); John Wall judging a “Dougie” dance contest amongst kids and then handing out $20 bills to the winners; and finally, taking the cake, goober newscasters discussing the “Dougie” — one anchorman chap saying that as a University of Kentucky grad, he thought it was called the “John Wall Dance.” Then, sports guy Todd Summers chirps in with “We don’t even know where the ‘Dougie’ came from, but certainly kids know what it is.” Finally, the initial guy, named Gordon Dill, finishes the stereotypical ideal of a non-white comedian doing an impression of a “white guy” by saying, “Named after ‘Doug’, probably.”

That it is Gordon and Todd, that it is.

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Some sort of D.C. pick, a couple words, and several links…

[12th Street ramp, Francis Case Memorial Bridge, SW Washington, D.C.]

The big scuttlebutt today comes from the Twitter account @DraftExpress. Jonathan Givony reports:

Sources say Washington & Phoenix have been the most active teams trying to trade up for Derrick Williams. T’Wolves want a “veteran big man.”

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Pictures, commentary and links…

Sometimes I feel like on offense, when he gets the ball, JaVale McGee is like that guy who receives a particularly funny chain email (well, at least it’s funny to him), and then gets so overwhelmed with excitement that he forwards it to everyone he knows when it’s probably not appropriate to do so. Or maybe when he gets the ball he’s more like a little kid who sees a dancing puppy holding an ice cream cone and a PS3 outside, whereas the kid goes running through a clear glass door to get to the puppy (or to the rim) in a fit of enthusiasm.

Whatever the case may be, dude needs to chill. No one wants to seem him get hooked for the same stupid mistake he keeps making over and over again … dribbling around like he’s a 6’2″ guard.

“We explained to him, at the end of the game when he started going on his dribbling exhibition, that’s one of the reasons that we lose on the road, because we get in close games and we do those things,” said Flip Saunders after Wednesday’s match versus the Bucks.  “You can’t do that, and then players lose trust, as far as throwing him the ball in a late-game situation. It becomes easier for teams to defend against you, and puts more pressure on you, especially if you’re up a couple [points],” Saunders finished, explaining his teaching moment of quickly taking McGee out of the game when he performs such acts, as he’s done countless times before.

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A D.C. pic, links, commentary, and whatever you want to call the other stuff…

TAI Recap: John Townsend implores Wizards fans to be more patient because a drastic turnaround next season is not out of the question; if Gilbert Arenas were rebuilding a team, he wouldn’t do it though the draft; Adam McGinnis has one of the rare photos captured from the baseline of Al Thornton’s massive dunk; pictures of Gilbert Arenas and Nick Young in a reunion among friends; Rashad Mobley relays that some young Wizards still don’t understand their role (after several seasons); and when it’s okay for JaVale McGee to dribble full court.

Here’s to NBA draft lottery luck in May for what’s been an excruciating winter for pro basketball fans in Washington. Below the jump, more must-read links…

[Hardy Playground, Washington, D.C. - Yearning For A Sunny Day]

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[Brentwood Park - NW Washington, D.C. - photo: K. Weidie]

My column last week in the DCist incited some reaction from ’round the web. It wasn’t my intention to incite, rather to simply convey thought-out passion through words, so I cannot find any fault in any passionate responses. Furthermore, I’d like to provide some bullet point thoughts below (and then some links).

• “Bold moves” was in reference to the on-court product and those who have a direct influence (players, coaches, basketball operations personnel, team doctors).
• “Bold moves” was not in reference to the surrounding bells and whistles and other shots of energy regarding the franchise, which are more than welcome — Midnight Madness, an alumni association, more attentiveness to stadium needs — but overall, those are mere distractions from the win-loss column.
• Trading Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas is not classified under “bold moves” … they were necessary moves.
• Other moves have been noted and appreciated for their forward-thinking manner — getting Yi Jianlian for essentially nothing, the 17th pick and Hinrich from the Bulls for minimal returns. But also, what would the rebuilding product look without the luck of the draft and John Wall? I shudder to imagine.
• However, this team, even in rebuilding mode, had some glaring inefficiencies that were easily observed long ago. And now, they clearly have had a detrimental effect upon the on-court product — most notably, a lacking inside presence (demonstrated by both offensive and defensive numbers) and lack of adequate outside shooting (the Wizards are in the bottom third of the NBA in both 3p%, .338, and 3pM/G, 5.4). Solutions to these areas are not found overnight, but more creativity could have been used in seeking stop-gaps for this season.
• Many people, such as myself, are not GMs … but it’s evident that these player personnel issues could have been better addressed while continuing to assume minimal financial risk for the future (if not less – see: OKC trade for Daequan Cook/18th pick from Miami in return for the 32nd pick).
• A post by Washington Post editors on Wizards Insider came close to insinuating that my DCist piece was calling for Flip Saunders’ job … not necessarily the case.
• Flip Saunders is a good coach. He hasn’t been provided with the best roster — or even a balanced roster (as Saunders has made subtle complaints to this point, before and after the Gilbert Arenas trade) — so much of the blame for current and past woes lies on the basketball operations side. But the jobs of both Saunders and Ernie Grunfeld are connected, as in Grunfeld hired Saunders. On June 19, 2003, the Wizards hired Eddie Jordan before bringing Grunfeld on board on June 30 (Grunfeld was released from his contract with the Milwaukee Bucks on June 29; on June 27, he traded Sam Cassell and Ervin Johnson to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Joe Smith and Anthony Peeler) … So there are some sensitivities in which position begets the other. I’m not saying that a GM/team president ‘must’ make coaching calls, but it would help if he was in on the process, in the least.
• These are not easy decisions to make, they are “bold” decisions … but also ones which require due diligence and should not be a salve to a frustrated fan base.
• Then again, the fans have seen enough … Perhaps Grunfeld’s past record, before the Leonsis regime, is simply not as much of a factor when it should be.
• To put it another way, Flip Saunders is doing a decent job of developing some of his young players who are coach-able. Those who are not coach-able should be shown the door. But by whom? Should the responsibility of purging the team of unintelligent and unwilling players be tasked to the person who put them there in the first place? Maybe an individual is the best person to correct his own mistakes … I don’t know … but in this instance, that doesn’t seem to be the idea frame for a true rebuilding project.
• It’s not an outlandish opinion or reaction to say that certain aspects of the Wizards’ basketball operations team have gotten stale over the past seven years … but can you get rid of a GM/team president while keeping the coach? What will that do to the coach? Or the GM’s replacement?
• Again, these are not easy decisions to make, but at this point, speaking of Saunders specifically, there’s not a compelling reason to fire him in the middle of this season. As much conviction that Saunders might lack with a young team, it could be more detrimental to their development to have a shocking change of scenery as their effort in games, albeit losses, seems to be mounting … for most players at least.
• I have no problem with Groupon or with the fact that the team is using Groupon to get butts in seats — I actually think it’s a great idea — but sometimes “new age” sales tactics can be poked fun at. Oh well. Roll with the jabs.
• And yes, you do occasionally see ads for Groupon on this very site. Most of them are actually driven by Google AdSense (at least those you might see on the top-level banner or the long side banners). There are small Groupon “banners” to the right under the site’s top image and one at the very bottom of the right-hand side bar. These are simply generic Groupon place-holders which don’t necessarily display product-specific ads. Essentially, I would like to further “monetize” this site with Groupon offerings, but have personally fallen short on taking that next step. Content, not ads, is the goal. We are a small operation with day jobs. It happens.
• Ted Leonsis doing a great job and I applaud his efforts … but just as hard as rebuilding is on fans and those who cover the team, it will be just as hard on a very present owner who is trying in earnest to counteract negativity — “Pixels of Despair” — with uber-positivity.
• The bumps and bruises and tough times don’t just happen on the court … painful work now will hopefully pay off with an even better feeling about accomplishment in the future.
• But until then, we can beg to differ on certain aspects of the “process.”
• Read this, I wasn’t trying to confuse the author.

LINKS!

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I have no idea where this came from or what it means, but it’s time for some must-read links.

Tired of Caron Butler yet?

Washington Post: Michael Lee provides even more insight on the crazy year in Washington from Caron Butler’s perspective. Great read.

A couple interesting tid-bits & quotes: Read more »

Sure this is a Wizards blog, but as a DC sports fan, I can’t go without poking fun at the pathetic state of my Redskins.

Now that his play-calling duties have been taken away, I bet Jim Zorn feels just as bad as baby Falcon Heene. It’s probably only a matter of time until Zorny throws up on TV from all the nervousness caused by his pappy, Tiny Dan Snyder.

I bet if he could, Zorn would hop on a balloon and fly far into the sky, away from all his troubles.

{Jim Zorn, Balloon Boy}

And now, Wizards links …

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In the past, the Washington Redskins were ‘messing me up, my whole head….teasing me, just like Tisha, did Martin,’ but now those days are over, and the quest for something bigger seems attainable for the tribe called Redskins Nation.

How did this team go from finding a way to lose to finding a way to win? Could the simple difference be a rookie head coach who wasn’t hired to captain the ship in the first place? A Cowboys fan, having lost that smirking smile at the losing ways of the Skins, seemed to find solace in telling me that Joe Gibbs should have been let go three years ago. Not so fast my friend. Joe Gibbs laid the foundation, allowing the current players to become men. Jim Zorn came along and has let those men loose.

Zorn has left ‘job on the line’ decision making out of his coaching strategy. In doing so, he’s brought “guts” to his team, and gained the respect of the players, all while providing a calming presence which allows for the disregard of an early 14 point deficit in the hostile territory of a division rival.

Under Jim Zorn, ‘panic’ is not part of the job description of the Washington Redskins. He’ll leave the ‘finger on the red button’ mentality to the obsessive-compulsive fans of the DC area.

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