The Wizards take on the Raptors in Toronto tonight, still aiming to win their first road game of the year … and they’ll be doing it without Hilton Armstrong.

In a November 24 poll, when the Wizards were 0-6 on the road instead of the current 0-8, 33-percent of voters said the Wizards would notch their first road win tonight against the Raps. My dad recently told me that he thought the Wiz would get their first roadie in Sacramento — in that case, you’ll have to wait until December 8, when the Wizards would face the Kings with an 0-11 record on the road. The NBA: Where Amazing Happens.

Anyway…

Let’s look back and break down the play of the night from Monday’s game versus the Miami Heat. This one involves none other than Gilbert Arenas and Andray Blatche running a pick-and-roll, one where Blatche actually rolls to the basket. Imagine that.

Also imagine something else for a second … the Orlando Magic discussing a Vince Carter for Arenas swap with the Wizards, at least this is what’s being reported by the Orlando Pinstripped Post (h/t: Bullets Forever), also indicating that the trade could involve Blatche, Rashard Lewis and Daniel Orton as well. Read more »

OVER THE PAST SEVEN YEARS, you’ve accomplished some incredible feats.

You are a two-time league MVP; you won NBA Rookie of the Year; you’re a six-time NBA All-Star; a NBA Scoring Champion; one of five players in NBA history to average over 25 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists in a season – which you have done four times; one of just three players in NBA history to average at least 40 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists in a postseason series; and you hold the record for the most consecutive points scored for a team in a playoff game with 25 straight hero-points against the Detroit Pistons in 2007, just to name a few.

(For additional ego-stroking, click here)

If you would allow me to speak freely, you should stay far, far away from Miami.

For starters, oil from the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe (surely, you’ve heard of this) is likely to keep moving east because of the so-called “loop current,” according to NOAA officials.  To make matters worse than they already are, the likelihood of the Gulf oil spill hitting the Keys and the southeastern coast of Florida is greater than the likelihood of you making a free throw (80 percent)!  I know.

And then, there is Bosh.  John Krolic of CAVS: the blog reminded us that he has fewer player of the month awards than you have MVPs.  You’re not even in the same league as Bosh. In fact, he has become part of the “LeBron-Wade-Bosh” trinity, triumvirate, chimera, in large part because he doesn’t have Amar’e Stoudemire’s baggage.  Bosh has also been adamant about his desire to play power forward, but on this Heat team, he is the default center.  Oh, and Brendan Haywood has been locked up by Dallas for years.

Read more »

[Editor's note: This is the second piece on TAI by John Townsend, check out his first one here.]

“Just because you have money doesn’t mean you should overspend on someone that won’t be a part of your long-term future.  If the right opportunity comes along, I think you want to look at it, but I’ve said all along that we might save our powder for down the road, to see what the new CBA brings, to see if there’s a hard cap or a soft cap.  We don’t really know all the rules going forward, so just because you have the cap room doesn’t mean you should go out and spend it if it’s not for the right player.”[1]

These were wise words spoken by Wizards GM Ernie, a new herald for operational procedure and organizational preparedness, at a press conference on June 10.  As a long-time Green Bay Packer fan (my first memories of football were watching Packers games at 4am in New Delhi, India with my Wisconsin-born dad), I understand and fully endorse building a team through the draft.  There seem to be philosophical parallels between Grunfeld and Packers GM Ted Thompson, who firmly believes that the most effective way to build a winning football team is through the draft.  Thompson sees free agency as a complementary tool which can be used to add the types of players to a roster that may otherwise be difficult to find. In practice, this means that the Packers re-sign as many of their own players possible.  Rebuilding post-Mike Sherman, the Packers made 14 draft-day trades, all but one of them down, turning 31 picks into 44.  The Packers’ picks filled the roster with solid “glue guys” and have been able to add impact players including QB Aaron Rodgers, FS Nick Collins, OLB Clay Matthews, TE Jermichael Finley, WR Greg Jennings, and NT BJ Raji.  The result? The Packers are a team poised to make deep playoff runs every winter and are near the top of the NFL in just about every statistical category.[2]

Ted Leonsis, the Wizards new majority owner, made public his commitment to building a “generationally great team” that will ultimately win a championship.  Under new management, the Wizards will aim to hit their targets in the draft, spend prudently, create a competitive, cohesive team on the court that plays with an identity and within a system, and (most importantly) win games.[3] In an open note to Wizards fans, Leonsis also dismissed the generalized notion that the franchise was unwilling and averse to bringing in free agents.  Leonsis noted that that teams must consider using all of the tools at their disposal: the draft, free agency (small, medium, and large), rookie free agency, waiver wire pickups, developmental league players, and finding players in Europe.

All fans want to see that max contract free agent wear their team’s colors.  The addition of a superstar means that the team feels it is close to a winning a title and are prepared to kick down the doors of the championship fraternity. Read more »

As you can imagine, it’s not fun to be in the locker room after a losing effort, especially after the poor showing the Wizards gave to their home crowd on Friday night. But if you like watching people and their mannerisms as I do, being in a room full of divided millionaires is great fodder for the brain, but not so much for Wizards fans.

Enough of the train-wreck analogies and how their imagery seems too painful on the eyes, yet unavoidable to watch. No, these 2009-10 Washington Wizards are like a ship going down in deep waters. The vessel is sinking fast and everyone wants to bail.

I’m not going to claim the post-game emotion was more distraught after the 112-88 loss to Miami than it has been for any of the other 28 losses this season, but it certainly was one of the most interesting, at least in terms of home games since I’m not a traveling blogger.

The post-game scene made it clear that Caron Butler going rogue on Flip Saunders was just a microcosm of an entire team trying to read the same old, tattered book, but with everyone turned to different pages.

I don’t want to portray that players are at odds with each other or that others have stopped listening to Coach Saunders. That is not what I witnessed, although I can’t speak for what goes on behind closed doors and in the minds of individuals.

Read more »

[Editor's Note: Rashad Mobley has reported on the Wizards with media credentials since the 2008-09 season for Hoops Addict. He occasionally contributes to Truth About It.net, providing excellent analysis and a different perspective from his up-close coverage of the team.]

---

- When I initially read that the Wizards would unify and rally around the recent passing of owner Abe Pollin, I must admit I had a certain degree of cynicism.  I wasn’t doubting the sincerity of their feelings around Abe’s death, because I have no doubt that he touched each and every one of those players in some way.  Being touched is one thing–translating that into a team that plays well together in every facet of the game is another.  But on a night where Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler combined for 18 points, the Wizards were still able to win by 10, despite losing double digit leads one more than one occasion.  I don’t know whether Coach Saunders has found his rhythm substitution-wise, or if Abe is inspiring this team from above, but it was nice to see the Wizards put two strong efforts together.

-JaVale McGee checked into the game unusually early (with 3.27 left in the 1st quarter), and Coach Saunders clearly must have known that was the right move, because his impact was immediate.  Within 15 seconds of entering the game, McGee had a first block on Jermaine O’Neal.  Two minutes later he scored on a pretty finger roll around O’Neal.  A few seconds later he blocked a Joel Anthony shot, and then he stole the ball from Udonis Haslem with 15 seconds left in the quarter.  McGee only played 15 minutes total, and he didn’t have much of an effect on the game after the first quarter, but it was nice to see McGee do the little things and be seemingly content.

-Just last week I wrote an article about Nick Young‘s inconsistency, and I questioned whether he was truly ready to step in and be an effective contributor to this Wizards’ team.  On Wednesday, lost in the shuffle between Eddie Jordan’s return and Abe Pollin’s untimely death, was the start and solid play of Nick Young.  In that game, Young scored  20 points on 50% shooting, and he seemed to develop some confidence.  Against the Heat, Young’s confidence only increased with a 22 point, five assist performance.  But more importantly, Young played solid defense on Dwyane Wade who had burned the Wizards for over 40 points in their prior meetings.  Wade was held to 18 points on 6-of-19 shooting, and much of that was Young’s defense.  He consistently had a hand in Wade’s face, and he forced him to take some uncharacteristically bad shots.  More importantly, he played well with the starting lineup of Jamison, Haywood, Arenas and Butler.

-When the Wizards defeated the Cavaliers last week, both Arenas and Jamison sat out much of the fourth quarter, and the second unit was able to both maintain and extend the lead against Cleveland’s starters.  Against the Heat, Arenas shot 4-for-7 with nine points and five assists through three quarters, and  with 1:57 left in the third quarter, he left the game and Earl Boykins took his place.  Arenas never entered the game again.  In that 14 minute span, Boykins tallied six points, seven assists and two rebounds, and controlled the tempo completely, giving Mario Chalmers fits on the defensive end.  Boykins’ performance kept Arenas to just 27 minutes, which is key considering the Wizards play the Bobcats this evening.  But Boykins also demonstrated, yet again, that he can do more than just provide instant scoring.

Read more »

Seven third quarter Gilbert Arenas turnovers led to eight Dwyane Wade points on five total shots … evidently Arenas said wasn’t getting calls from the refs, or something like that.

Arenas also said:

“I’m always upset when I have turnovers. I’d rather just shoot the ball and get the attempts than get the turnovers.”

Arenas’ 12 total turnovers for the game broke a franchise record that has stood for over 20 years (regular season or playoffs, on either participating team).

Bob Dandridge committed 11 turnovers against the Golden State Warriors (Arenas’ first team) on February 7, 1978 … which also happens to be Juwan Howard’s birthday.

The most turnovers Howard ever had in a Washington Bullets uniform occurred on December 19, 1995 against the Los Angeles Clippers. December 19th is also Tom Gugliotta’s birthday.

Read more »

The Wizards are in Miami tonight for a rematch with Dwyane Wade and the rest of whomever he plays with.

The sense of urgency is elevated. Yea, yea … it’s early. But considering where things stand, tonight’s game and how the Wizards respond to their self-induced and injury-induced adversity is much more important at a record of 2-5 than if the Wizards were, say, 4-3 and still learning how to play with each other.

Tonight’s Goals:

#1: Activate the offense.

Read more »

Lackluster Wizards, lackluster Verizon Center … I’m not sure which bred which, but the result was an absolutely ugly opening for the Washington basketball squad. Down 31-17 after a first quarter where the Wizards shot 29.2% and committed seven turnovers (five personal and two shot clock violations), three courtesy of Caron Butler, Flip Saunders’ team found themselves trying to claw their way back into the game. And they eventually did.

With the ball, game tied at 89, and under a minute left, the Wizards offensively followed with: Caron Butler getting his show blocked by Wade, a steal with Stevenson getting fouled while out of control on a fast break, but missing both free-throws, and three missed Gilbert Arenas interior shots … once down 91-89, once down 92-89, and finally down 93-89, which was the final score. On the first occasion Arenas probably got fouled, on the second, one of his charted “shots” was really a lob to Haywood that hit rim not hands, and on the final occasion, Arenas simply missed a layup.

Anyway you slice it, the Wizards finished the final minute of the game in a sloppy manner like a team fractured on offense. But Flip Saunders remembers it differently. “I remember the first minute, falling behind by 19, not coming out with the energy that we have played previously in all the games,” said Saunders. “The basketball gods will get you and you can’t cheat the game in a lot of situations.”

But what did the Wizards do to wrong the basketball gods in the first place?

Read more »

1. What is Gilbert Arenas’ target minutes per game?

One of the biggest (yet most entertaining) mistakes the Wizards made after acquiring Arenas was his back to back 40+ minutes per game seasons of 80 starts each. In Jason Kidd’s 19 14 years, he’s only eclipsed 40 mpg in a season once (John Stockton never did). This is the equivalent of when an NFL team gives their running back 400+ carries (think 1998 Jamal Anderson or 2006 Larry Johnson). Naturally Gil’s future looked bleaker than Jay-Z’s sidekick.

If I am Flip Saunders, I target Gilbert to a conservative 30 mpg. I take him out in blowouts. I don’t let him go for 50. I give him the occasional back-to-back off. I massage his feet during timeouts. I massage his feet at his house. I become a certified acupuncturist. I sacrifice woodland creatures to my altar of Nepthys (the Egyptian god of knee ligaments). Lastly, I call in a bomb threat to Barry Farm.

2. Is this the year Andray Blatche makes the leap?

You don’t need a Magic 8-Ball to know this is “very doubtful.”

Andray is now entering his 5th season in the NBA. We are well beyond the typical make or break point for a player (even one taken right out of high school). Since 2005, he has transitioned from Center, to Power Forward, to occasional Small Forward. He’s one more position fail away from becoming a 6’11″ shooting guard (Jared Jeffries, anyone?). As a result of these position changes, we’ve seen his rebounds per 36 minutes drop each of the past 3 seasons. We could give Blatche another five years and he’ll still be committing stupid fouls and hovering around a 15 PER. The good news is that he hasn’t been arrested in 14 months. Read more »

There was a mini-spike in Randy Foye news last week. On Monday, after watching a video about Foye on NBA.com, I wondered if he could be ‘the’ difference maker.

On Wednesday, the WaPost’s Michael Lee put together a nice piece on Foye off his notes from a previous meeting. Here, we learned of a potential style conflict between Foye and former T-Wolves head coach, current Wizards assistant, Randy Wittman. Lee also related something Kevin McHale once told Foye before a matchup against Dwyane Wade, “Anything he can do, you can do.” Foye battled and finished with 29 points to Wade’s 31. The game came down to a last second foul call that Foye did not get … Wade probably would have.

Predating Wade-Foye comparisons, looking back into John Hollinger’s vault, we find Foye associated with Vinny Del Negro. Before he was drafted in ’06, ESPN compared Foye to Ben Gordon, while NBADraft.net to Chauncey Billups. But it was DraftExpress FTL … in their ‘best’ case, Randy Foye is Mike James; worst case, Juan Dixon. Yuck.

Clearly it’s time to use historical record to compare Foye. Here are the requirements that I plugged into Basketball-Reference.com:

Looking for a season in which a player was: Read more »

Went to the Wizards-Heat game on Saturday night…..it might have been the most boring game I’ve ever attended in life. But I can’t exactly put my finger on why (sans Agent Zero notwithstanding)…..rather, why the team decided to give such a lackluster effort.

The crowd was unsurprisingly quiet….the absence of Gilbert Arenas, even from the bench, did it’s job to suck the wind out of the phone booth. Word from Nick Young, via Wizards Insider, was that Saturday was the two-year anny of Gil’s knee injury, and that Arenas was talking about it all day. So, naturally, he didn’t play. That’s Gil and oh well, can’t blame him.

Brendan Haywood looked good, dunking several times with that wrist. Finger pointing and communication in the lane is up 30%, if I had to guess.

Nick Young got hurt……looked pretty crazy when it happened. And not to accuse Jamaal Magloire of anything, but the GF said it looked like he went all WWE with a scissor leg-lock on Young. Glad he seems to be okay and that Arenas’ 4.04 didn’t jinx him.

Read more »