With the Washington Wizards, I could point to a ton of self-induced actions that don’t go right during the course of a game. It boils down to a team that’s lacking focus, fundamentals, and a commitment to each other.

One specific time period that highlights much of the Wizards’ woes came over a three-minute span in the fourth quarter against Oklahoma City on Tuesday. From the start of the quarter, when the game was tied at 76, to around the 7:30 mark, the Wizards and Thunder traded baskets. A Gilbert Arenas three-pointer put the Wizards up 90-89 at the 7:43 mark.

Over the next 180 seconds or so, with breaks for two Flip Saunders timeouts, the Thunder went on an 11-2 run, effectively ending the game. Here’s how it happened.

{7:34 – 4th Q}

Eric Maynor splits Andray Blatche and Earl Boykins. Andray, you’re reaching instead of moving your feet to close the gap. Your feet were growing roots. Your argument is invalid. Read more »

The Milwaukee Bucks game seems like it was ages ago. And when deciding which aspect of the game to break down, I was conflicted at first. Should it be what happened after Gilbert Arenas went down at the 7:12 mark in the fourth quarter, specifically, the 9-0 run that occurred in the two minutes after that?

Naw, why focus on the positive? This team will only improve if they continue to recognize and remember what went wrong. And with the Wizards, there’s usually a lot to choose from. What obviously came to mind was the 32 points scored by Michael Redd, his first 30+ point effort since January 16, 2009.

If I posed to question to you, ‘Who was responsible for letting Redd have his way on the offensive end, including him getting to the free-throw line so much, where he went 15-15?,’ you would probably say, ‘Randy Foye.’ And I would say, ‘You are a correct, astute observer of the Wizards, sir.’

Everyone is certainly happy that Foye has recently arisen from the depths or irrelevancy … probably not enough for Ernie Grunfeld to retain him after the season … but there’s a lot of season left and victories in the small battles are worth feeling good about. Still, Foye is a poor perimeter defender, and the Wizards have a plethora of inefficient perimeter defenders.

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Flip Saunders and I may have different perceptions of the Wizards. And for good reason, we are different people. He’s a professional, experienced coach. He sees countless things  I don’t see when observing his team. But I’m stubborn in my opinion that derives from the things I see. Agree to disagree if you will. For instance, let’s look at the quote below from Michael Lee’s story in Monday’s Washington Post:

Despite their 1-3 record, the Wizards (8-17) still believe they made progress on the trip, with Coach Flip Saunders and several of his players commenting on how the team could’ve easily won two more games if a few more breaks had gone their way.

The Wizards have recently patted themselves on the back for not quitting and being in close contests. “Breaks” … sure, Michael Lee’s words, but the franchise has conveyed the ‘if only a couple of plays’ argument, as if some fate has intervened.

I’m under the impression that if the Wizards wanted it a little bit more, especially on defense, if they had just a bit more focus, determination, hustle, you know, all of those intangible sports clichés, then they could have notched a couple more wins.

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Why is Gilbert Arenas always so ready to give up a foul after he or his team commits a turnover?

Why is Caron Butler always shuffling/switching his pivot foot when he catches the ball, leading to a travel?

Why are the Wizards entrenched in bad communication, often running into each other on pick and roll defense?

This team is surrounded by a lot of questions, these are just some examples. The quandary of this bad Washington Wizards team won’t simply be resolved by ‘when Mike Miller becomes healthy’, ‘when Gilbert Arenas gets his mentality back’ or ‘when Flip Saunders is able to reign in his players to properly run his offense’.

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{flickr/Keith Allison}

The Wizards aren’t particularly bad at defense, but are much further from being particularly good. They rank 20th in the league at Defensive Efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions). At least they don’t seem as bad at defending as in the past, but clearly there’s room for improvement.

What makes this 20th ranking “not as bad” (I suppose) is that defense is not something you can’t definitively point to and say, “That’s why the Wizards are bad.” Yep, our ol’ friend defense can rest a little now that he’s out of the limelight. For a change, he can do some finger-pointing … because there are several reasons why the Wizards are 5-10.

One reason that’s been often talked about is the offensive discord of the two main stars, Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler. Mike Prada has a piece about the statistical ills of Arenas and Butler posted on Bullets Forever. He writes:

The problem is that the two most important parts are underperforming, significantly.  Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler have each been a shell of themselves all month, and that’s all you need to know about the Wizards this season.  It’s like saying all parts of your car are working fine … except the engine and the brakes.  If your engine and your brakes aren’t working, chances are your car is screwed.  If your two best players aren’t performing, then you’re toast as a basketball team.

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His teammates might not understand what he’s saying, even when he speaks English. Nick Young doesn’t even use the guy’s proper name, electing to call him “Roberto” instead because according to Nick, it sounds better.

But none of this matters. Fabricio Oberto lets his play do the talking. And that type of visual, interactive comprehension goes above and beyond anything words could express. From experienced vet to unbeknownst youth, every Wizard respects the contributions of the long haired Argentinian rock-and-roll aficionado. When asked about integrating Oberto into the team’s dynamic, Caron Butler said, “Definitely, he’s family now.”

“He sets great picks … just a great teammate to have,” said Butler. “You know if you pass him the ball, the only thing you gotta do is cut because you’re getting the ball (back). I love having him out there. I love playing with him.”

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Overall, I was impressed by the Wizards’ performance in Philadelphia on Tuesday night (aside from the ending), especially in response to Flip Saunders openly calling the team out on a disappointing performance in Atlanta on Monday. But …

The Wizards need to improve on defense, right? From watching Tuesday’s game, I was able to make some observations on focus and technique in areas where some individuals can stand to improve. I’ve illustrated these observation in screen shots below.

Caron Butler’s on Defensive Focus

Caron wants to be a better defender? Well, there are some simple things he could be doing that he’s not doing. Let’s illustrate … Read more »

[via Richmond, VA]

Everyone’s heard past talk from Andray Blatche about improving with results showing very little. Last Wednesday on Bullets Forever, Mike Prada reported that the 2009 development of Blatche was “so far so good.” Through training camp this weekend, Blatche has continued to display glimmers of hope that this season will finally be his.

In Sunday’s Washington Post, Michael Lee related a story about a Saturday scrimmage battle between Antawn Jamison and a defending Andray Blatche:

Coach Flip Saunders hopped up, chased down Andray Blatche and gave him a high-five. DeShawn Stevenson patted Blatche on the back, and several of the Washington Wizards’ players and coaches hooted and applauded. Blatche hadn’t completed a nifty fast-break dunk or finger roll; he simply wouldn’t give Antawn Jamison any room to get off a shot in the low block. The swarming help defense behind Blatche wouldn’t give Jamison a passing lane, which allowed Blatche to later slap away the ball.

During that scrimmage, it appeared Blatche wanted to prove himself a little bit more in going against Jamison, who, as a veteran locker room leader, has probably come down the hardest on Andray in the past. Blatche was almost muscling up on Jamison, fighting him for post position, like he stole something from him.

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Last Monday’s Washington Wizards media day seems like such a long time ago.

In addition to me being there, blogging about DeShawn Stevenson’s new tats, the musings of Gilbert Arenas, and the ‘consistent’ goals of Andray Blatche, there was a ton of great coverage from Hoops Addict, Wizards Insider, Wizards Outlet, and Bullets Forever.

Now, after transcribing all of my interview recordings, I wanted to share some of the quotes/pictures that have been relatively unheard/unseen.

{Note: I will be in Richmond for training camp on Saturday and Sunday. There’s limited media access, but I’ll be updating some of the goings-ons via Twitter}

Did the Caps depress you this weekend? Did you spend time drinking on it?
Sorry.
The series isn’t over,
but you’re always welcome to pull up next to a Wizards fan at the bar.

First a couple Wizards-related pieces I wrote for NBC Washington (shameless self promotion):

“[Ernie Grunfeld is] panicking and that whole franchise is panicking, they are a dumb blockbuster trade waiting to happen,” said ESPN columnist Bill Simmons.
ESPN Columnist Wants To Fleece Wizards [NBC Washington]

From Miami, to throwing the opening pitch at a Nationals game, to La-La Land, Caron Butler is on a tour, going each and every place with a mic in his hand .
Caron Butler’s Championship Campaign [NBC Washington]

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