Posts tagged ‘danny granger’

{photo: A. McGinnis}

There are two prevalent visiting locker room atmospheres that I have encountered while covering Washington Wizards home games this season. The team is either distraught due to losing to the lowly Wizards, Charlotte is an example, or the opposing squad is in a professional, low-key mood after picking up a business like win. The Lakers and Knicks games come to mind.

After Indiana Pacers 113-96 shellacking of Wizards last Tuesday night, I witnessed a new hopeful and joyous environment. Pacers’ players were exchanging jovial banter, with Dahntay Jones leading most of the jester activity. After starting the season 17-27 under former coach Jim O’Brien, and then going 9-3 under new coach Frank Vogel (8-3 after beating the Wizards), you could sense the game was fun for them again. Contributing to the happiness was a completely balanced effort from their starters and bench (nicknamed the Goon Squad) in the blowout win with all 12 active players impressively scoring.

Vogel, who was an advanced scout with the Wizards in 2006-07, has changed their style of play, rotation and attitude. The players are buying into the belief that they are a good team and the fresh approach has produced success. Go listen to Vogel’s passionate talk after his team’s victory over Portland a few week backs to get a better sense of his philosophy.

The playoffs are now a legitimate goal as the Pacers sit in the eighth spot of the Eastern Conference. And the Wizards? Well, they’re still seeking that vast change in attitude as a team, and no one knows when that will happen.

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The odds were definitely stacked against the Indiana Pacers prior to last night’s game against the Washington Wizards.  The night before in Indiana, the Pacers led the Boston Celtics for three quarters before Ray Allen and Marquis Daniels stepped up in the fourth and led their team to victory.  On top of being demoralized by that late loss and having to deal with the fatigue that goes with playing the second game of a back-to-back on the road, the Pacers were also in the midst of a six-game road losing streak which spanned the entire month of December.

Despite the stacked deck, Indiana played well enough to stay in the game for three quarters once again. But in the end, the Wizards were deeper and more athletic.

After the game, the Pacers locker room looked completely dejected.  You’re probably saying to yourself, ‘Well damn, a post-loss locker room is always dejected, that’s how it should be,’ and you are right.  But the level of dejection and depression I saw in that Pacers locker room was enough to suck the Christmas/New Year’s spirit out of anyone.

Danny Granger (15 points, nine rebounds and two steals) sat in front of his locker with both of his legs in water, and he twice rebuffed the media’s request to talk to him (but finally agreed to talk 15 minutes later — after I left, of course), and barely paid attention when assistant coach Walter McCarty tried to offer words of encouragement.  Tyler Hansbrough sat at his locker room with the same dumbfounded look, and T.J. Ford (eight points and three assists) just kept looking at the final stat sheet and shaking his head.  But no player was more dejected than former Georgetown Hoyas center Roy Hibbert.

Hibbert has been having a solid season overall with per game averages of 13.5 points and 8.2 rebounds.  However, as  Jared Wade from the TrueHoop Network Pacers blog 8 points, 9 seconds pointed out, Hibbert came into the Wizards game shooting 32-percent over his last eight games. Last night, against a smaller, lighter center in JaVale McGee, Hibbert was limited to just 15 minutes with foul trouble and only scored five points.

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{Immediately after giving him pre-game a fist-bump, Flip Saunders gave his embattled 23-year old forward a pat on the backside.}

How about we talk about some basketball for a change? I mean, that is why we all are here, right? Seems like nothing but bad, non-basketball court related Wizards news to talk about lately. Well, aside from the impending Ted Leonsis takeover. But let’s get back on the court and talk some roundball!

Oh wait … the Wizards are in the midst of a 13-game losing streak, the worst in franchise history and the third time such a streak has occurred.

Dan Steinberg put out a great account of the previous 13-game losing streak on the DC Sports Bog, my favorite is loss number five,  which involved a personal 11-2 run by the Miami Heat’s Khalid Reeves. My favorite loss from this current 13-game losing streak would have to be loss number three against the Celtics in Boston … you know, the JaVale McGee ‘Fish Out of Water’ game.

I took some notes on Wizards lucky loss #13 against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, here they go …

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Caron will have his work cut out for him in trying to guard Danny Granger tonight. And the best way to combat a guy averaging 23 points per game (tied for 16th in the NBA)? Attack, attack, and attack him on offense.

Granger has been mad lately. He evidently stormed off without talking to the media after the Pacers lost to the Nuggets on Tuesday. The next night, he came back and scored 21 points on 7-18 from the field in win against the Knicks.

But things still aren’t all that great for last year’s Most Improved Player. He’s been struggling with an injury to his right heel (bone bruise), and some say he hasn’t been able to get good lift on his jumper … this is evident by his 40.3% from the field and a True Shooting Percentage (TS%) of .534 in four games this season.

Caron Butler, as we know, isn’t faring much better on offense. He’s shooting 39.6% from the field (.473 TS%). He missed the Wizards’ home opener against the Nets (and most of the previous game in Atlanta) because of a bruised knee-cap, but his struggles aren’t believed to be of a physical derivation.

So what’s the deal with Tuff Juice? Why has he been getting caught “watching the show,” as he says?

It’s hard to put a finger on it. When Butler is trying to be aggressive on offense, he tends to pound the ball into the floor, stagnating ball movement and not creating for his teammates as they watch. Other times, Caron simply hasn’t inserted himself into the offensive rhythm, electing to observe while Gilbert Arenas tries to do his thing.

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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.

Jamison’s struggles on defense are no secret. He has aging lateral movement, and as discovered this year, he’s not an adequate substitute for Brendan Haywood‘s post defensive communication. Are we to just accept Jamison’s “unique” scoring ability, rebounding numbers, and minimal turnovers as big pluses? Or should Flip Saunders seek improved defense out of the starting lineup?

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