[Yao Ming & Shane Battier - K. Weidie]

Sometime during the second half of the Wizards’ 98-91 victory over the Houston Rockets last night, Ishmael Smith drove hard to the basket and scored on a layup. Shortly thereafter, one of the Wizards fans I follow on Twitter, tweeted the following:

“I have never heard of Ish Smith before this game. Now I have. I don’t like him.”

The reality is that before starting point guard Aaron Brooks went down with a sprained ankle earlier in the week, not many Wizards fan had any reason to know about rookie Ishmael Smith.  In fact, before I started doing research for last night’s game, I had no idea who he was either. But I should have.

Back in March of this year, Smith and his Wake Forest Demon Deacons, took on John Wall and the Kentucky Wildcats in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky ran roughshod over Wake Forest, 90-60.  Wall had 14 points and seven assists, while Smith struggled with just two points and four assists.

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[Intersecting paths, Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C. - taken by Kyle Weidie]

I recently wrote a piece for SB Nation DC about a Twitter interaction — a musical enlightenment — between the WizzNutzz and Mike James, while the former was in glorious Wheaton, Maryland and the latter was in Kenya, Africa. So go read that now … but there’s also more to the story (after you read) …

@WZZTNZZ further Tweets:

@Truth_About_It u like benga jams we gav @mikejames7? then u LUV @AlexMinoff Extra Golden, strait outta Nairobi NW, near Adams Morgan

Alex Minoff is local to the D.C. area, is most certainly a huge Wizards fan (actually, “rabid,” he tells me), and a member of the music group Extra Golden. You can learn more about Extra Golden in various locales on the web, such as their website or Wikipedia, but basically it’s a band formed by two Kenyans and two Americans — a hybrid of benga and rock.

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A lot of people were disappointed when the Wizards traded for Kirk Hinrich.  Mike Prada of SB Nation alone gave the move a “Nay”, a “Feh”, and a “D-”.

There is no question that “Kurt” is overpaid, but salary cap space only gets you so far.  Even if the Wizards had upwards of $25 million to spend, it wouldn’t get them any closer to signing a “max” contract player.  Let’s be serious.  None of the league’s top players ever really considered coming to D.C., even with John Wall.  The Wizards will be a work in progress for a couple of years, and when we are honestly competitive, Hinrich will no longer be under contract.

So is he worth it for this Wizards team?  I turned to Synergy Sports Technology to find out.

OFFENSE

Where is Hinrich most effective (at least 60 attempts)?

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In Sunday’s edition of the Washington Post, Eric Prisbell wrote what likely is the most comprehensive profile on John Wall to date.

One part of the piece, where Prisbell revealed to an unaware Wall that his father served time in prison for murder before he was born, has struck a chord with many.

Mike Prada covers this aspect in an interview with Prisbell on Bullets Forever. I also touch on the subject in my weekly media column for SB Nation DC, “Media Sensitivities in a Sports Celebrity World: The Handling of John Wall’s Story.” Check it out.

John Wall can cut as fast as a cheetah’s single top-speed stride.

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What’s in nickname? Some are given by teammates or coaches. Some are given by friends and family. Some are given by fans. Some give themselves nicknames, although that method is certainly not very valid/credible.

Prior to a couple games before the season ended, I asked several Wizards about their nicknames, past and present. Not all players had fun with the question – i.e., JaVale McGee, who I’m sure, if members of the media were polled, would win the ‘Most Boring Interviewee’ award — but most willingly answered.

Watch the video below to find out who was called “Bucky” as a kid because of his buck teeth, who was given a certain nickname because he evidently walks like O.J. Simpson (whatever that means), and who isn’t willing to laugh at himself.

Who will get to the 2010 NBA Finals and who will win?
That’s the question I posed to several Wizards on the last day of the season. One player wants to see Antawn Jamison get a ring. Another surprisingly chose the Orlando Magic to win it all because, he says, “Vince [Carter], he picks and chooses when he wants to play, but I think in the Finals he’s going to be up for it. I think he’s going to be the difference maker.” Interesting.

Out of 10 players polled, four ultimately picked the Cavaliers, three the Lakers, and as mentioned, one went with the Magic. Two players declined to make a choice. Time to watch…

Closing a chapter with his last post-game press conference of the year, Flip Saunders was asked if there was any question in his mind about if he wanted to come back next season.

“No,” he straightly shot back. “I mean, this is maybe not what I signed up for originally when I came. But as all coaches, you love challenges. Through every adversity, through every challenge, there’s opportunity.”

Saunders and most of his coaching staff weren’t the only ones who didn’t sign up for such a disappointing season. There was one summertime free-agent acquisition who thought he was signing up for something completely different … Fabricio Oberto.

The former NBA champion and Olympic gold medal winner figured to be the role-playing big man for a playoff team, a key passer among a plethora of offensive weapons. Not exactly.

Despite having surgery to correct the electrical system of his heart last summer, despite only being able to work out about 10-days before training camp as a result, despite dealing with hamstring and conditioning issues from being out of shape, despite often playing while wearing a heart monitor … Despite it all, Oberto was a good sport. He never complained. He always came ready to play. He always worked hard.

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Ok, so the Wizards blew a game against the Knicks tonight. Maybe Earl Boykins and Fabricio Oberto have played their last road game in the NBA … come bid them farewell at home on Wednesday. But really, what’s fun about writing about a game in which I couldn’t quite force myself to root for the Knicks (or against the Wizards), but don’t mind that they won, keeping Washington’s futile draft lottery hopes drinking from a glass slightly more than half full?

So, in lieu of writing about Andray Blatche putting up good numbers while kinda, sorta trying, I present a photo-blog from last Saturday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks. For that game, I changed places with Adam Douglas, the TAI site photographer since the last time the Wizards faced the Hawks in D.C., and sat baseline to capture the game from up close. Here that goes…

JaVale McGee no hands ball kiss.

Mike Miller grabbed and coughed, but forgot to turn his head.

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Quotes, notes, observations and pictures from the Wizards’ 121-94 loss to Orlando.

Seconds away from tip-off, there looked to be a surprisingly crappy crowd in Orlando … oh wait, they’re playing the Wizards on a Wednesday night. Also, Stan Van Gundy got a pre-game ‘t-shirt nap’ in front of reporters.

{1st Quarter}

From the start, Andray Blatche looked lethargic, just jogged to spots on offense and defense. Oh, wait, maybe I should be more optimistic. Okay, we’ll say he was “pacing himself.”

9:50 >> Fabricio Oberto and Dwight Howard get a little testy when jostling for position in transition … Oberto was called for a foul, but you can tell Howard was babyishly making extra curricular contact. Steve Buckhantz pointed out the “testy” nature of Orlando. Fabrico proceeded to bait Howard into an offensive foul on the very next play.

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[Editor's Note: Wizards games aren't just about basketball, they're about the whole fan experience. And Truth About It.nets bring you that experience from up close. Here's the debut edition of 'Under The Hoop' -- pictures and commentary by TAI photographer Adam Douglas from last Tuesday's match-up against the Charlotte Bobcats.]

7-Day Dray decided to play only seven minutes because he did not hustle back on defense after this shot.

“Who You Got?”

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After Tuesday’s game against the Rockets, James Singleton said, “After every game I go home and watch film. I look at more of the negatives than the positives because the positives are going to happen. But the negatives you want to keep to a small minimum.”

And while there isn’t any adjusting I can personally do for this Washington Wizards basketball team, these screen-shot posts tend to focus on the negatives for the same reason outlined by Singleton. The positives are going to happen because that’s what the Wizards are trying to do. I want to know when they weren’t trying. And away we go…

“This” guy.

THIS guy.

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Actually, Fabricio Oberto wants to get you between some “SHEEX,” which are really sheets … and you already have no clue what I’m talking about.

I usually don’t pay much attention to Oberto’s Twitter account, @obricio7. Most all of his Tweets are in Spanish. He often shares links to songs on YouTube, or links to professional photography, or throws out a “hehehe” (which is probably the Argentine version of “LOL”), or occasionally links to his U-Stream account where he’s doing God knows what — Don’t worry, he’s not on some Stephon Marbury-type stuff. Fab mostly just listens to music, as he is a huge music nut. At least that’s what he appears to be doing.

Like I said, I don’t pay much attention to Oberto’s Twitter. My efforts to learn Spanish got tossed out the door almost two years ago when I broke up with a girl I was dating from Argentina. But I do follow and I am aware. And that brings us back to the sheets Oberto wants to get you in between.

Oberto recently Tweeted: “great sheex!! 10% off, use= foberto21″ and included a link to Sheex.com.

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Ok, so Washington, D.C. isn’t “hell”. I love this city. It is nice … but it’s also been really, really cold lately. Sports hell? Well, now you’re talking. The only saving grace these days comes in the form of some Russian dude leading a ‘Rock the Red’ revolution.

The Washington Bullets used to wear red. But now some are saying that that damn Gilbert Arenas fellow has ruined any chances of the franchise ever returning to the team name (and colors) of yore that so many true, dedicated fans are fond of. Bullets Forever y’all.

Back to this hell concept. Fabricio Oberto isn’t in the depths of Hades, but he can’t be in a good place. You gotta feel for Fab. He’s such a nice guy. Plus, he must deal with the current situation while his family is back home in Argentina. Then again, getting paid just under two million dollars for six months of basketball can’t be all that bad.

The 2009-10 Washington Wizards just might be the worst team Oberto has ever been on. I can’t confirm this 100%, but I did peruse his resume and the history of the teams he’s played for on usbasket.com, and it looks to be a valid claim.

I first introduced myself to Fabricio at media day, informing him that I used to date a girl from Argentina and had been down there twice. By the way, Argentina comes highly recommended as a travel destination. Beautiful people, awesome sights, diverse geography, great food (especially meat and Merlot wine), and Argentina is very, very affordable. For example, we had a dinner for four, including wine and dessert, at a very nice restaurant in Buenos Aires, one which was recommended in the fancy airplane magazine, and it only came to about $100 US dollars. The meal easily could have been in upwards of $500 stateside.

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{Scenes from last night in Cleveland}

I couldn’t exactly get inside the brains of the Washington Wizards, but my imagination did.

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I’ve been kinda kicking myself for not attending the ‘Gilbert Gun-Gate’ practice at the Verizon Center yesterday. Seems that I missed out on a bit of ambush journalism. It will likely be an even crazier circus tonight as I go cover the Wizards-Spurs game … much like what my man Rashad Mobley describes on his blog:

“Instead of 10-15 media members fighting for quotes and interviews, there will now be at least 50 people who know NOTHING about the Spurs or the Wizards, they just want to sensationalize an issue that we STILL don’t know the truth about. They will clog up the locker and media rooms with their clueless facial expressions.”

Michael Lee also has a good report from Friday’s circus on Wizards Insider.

Still, you have to make the best of a situation, right? Maybe I’ll cover the media that’s trying to cover Arenas. But I’m more interested in how this team is going to address Tim Duncan; can Haywood guard him straight up? Or if Flip Saunders thinks his zone will contain Tony Parker.

The video below is from the local D.C. CBS affiliate. Sara Walsh of WUSA9 leads into a report from someone else at the Verizon Center by saying, “The startling allegations drew plenty of media attention, but few responses from the guys on the team.”

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