Seen here: Ernie Grunfeld debriefing with the Monumental Media & PR Network after putting the squeeze on Jordan Crawford.

Who knew Jordan Crawford would be such a polarizing character amongst Wizards Nation?

…In a nation where it’s made easy to concentrate on just about anything aside from winning.

We all should just move on. And, guess what? Jason Collins!!! I’ll let the Theodore Unit take over via his blog: Read more »

It’s as if everything was set up just so that Steve Buckhantz could “Amen” Jordan Crawford… bless him. And that’s exactly what happened in the post-game after Steezus dropped the gift (and GIFs) of a buzzer-beating road win against Portland.

First, you had Crawford scoring 10 points over the first five and a half minutes of the fourth quarter (he had zero in 10 minutes of run entering the period). Then he missed a layup… and then a 3-pointer. Mike Prada of Bullets Forever tweeted: “There’s no rule that says you have to keep in the guy who scored 10 points earlier in the quarter. I would take Crawford out.”

And surely not many could argue. Especially after Crawford was the one responsible for giving Wes Matthews a good look from deep to tie the game at 95 with eight seconds left. And with a chance to win, the Wizards originally looked to get the ball to Nene in the post, it seemed, but the Blazers clogged up the play, had a foul to give and used it.

With just over three seconds left after the stoppage, there was no time to chuck the ball to Brazil in the post. Instead, this happened from Detroit:

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The best 0-10 team in NBA history? Pretty much.

Kevin Seraphin hit what was thought to be a game-winner with over seven seconds left in overtime. Kyle Korver hit the go-ahead 3-pointer (thanks to Trevor Ariza) with over one second left. Earlier, Atlanta’s Al Horford missed four straight free throws, and the Hawks got the ball afterward — both times. And of course, we have the young Wizards running off the court, thinking/hoping/wishing that they got their first win, thanks to a last-second Martell Webster tip attempt after a Seraphin miss. But their celebration was moot. The shot came finger tips after the buzzer.

Wow. I can’t even bring myself to type Flip Saunders’ infamous quote at this point. But we will, in honor of the saddest of the sad, show a GIF of the celebration that didn’t count. One day, Wizards, one day.

But hey, at least some kid left the gym happy.

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You know the scene in heist movies where the culprit-to-be is waiting for just the right moment to sneak past the rotating video surveillance cameras, or for the right time to dart past high-powered lasers as they focus their energies to burn/singe/kill intruders in another area of the fortress? Well, all that was kind of like what Jordan Crawford had to deal with as he attempted to go to the free throw line for Jan Vesely last night. Except instead of cameras or lasers, it was three NBA referees.

Let’s first take a look at the action in GIF form… Notice Crawford’s calculated, measured steps, which operate contrary to Crawford’s normal basketball modus operandi. Vesely doesn’t know exactly what to do, he just knows to accept as doctrine whatever the kid from Detroit says in this strange land called America.

The maneuver was actually successful, initially. Crawford even went so far as to make an actual free throw before parties responsible for keeping track of such things noticed. If it weren’t for the sideline referee and/or scorekeeper and/or those darn meddlin’ kids, Crawford might have gotten away with it, too. Instead, the violation was caught and corrected. Vesely, who had been fouled by Tyrus Thomas, went to the line and missed both. Actually, Vesely went on to miss four straight free throws. Actually, Vesely is 1-for-9 from the charity stripe on the season. Let’s check the extended video…

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UPDATE on John Wall…

He still has two legs. Here, on Monday afternoon, he performs a dribbling drill with assistant coach Ryan Saunders. This is a John Wall update, in GIF form.

UPDATE on Kevin Seraphin…

He didn’t practice on Monday with that strained right calf muscle of his. A return is indeterminate according to head coach Randy Wittman.

“That’s one of those things that can continue to make great strides in a day or two, but then it could be a week, it could be two,” said the coach. “It’s one of those things — calf, hamstring, any kind of muscle injury — you just don’t know until it runs it course.”

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SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays,
late-night on March 13, 2012:

#10… a guy on Iowa’s basketball team hitting a no-look, granny-style shot in practice from the opposite free-throw line…

#9… a hockey goal…

#8… a halfcourt alley-oop, Iowa basketball…

#7… DeMarcus Cousins spinning by David Lee and dunking…

#6… Russell Westbrook vicious dunk on the Rockets…

#5… bro in a backwards hat flicks a frisbee as someone pole-vaulting catches it… Read more »

In the midst of training camp, just three days since it commenced, four days until the first preseason game, and exactly two weeks until the beginning of the regular season, the Washington Wizards are running toward the beginning.

Rashad Mobley, John C. Townsend and I represented Truth About It.net in an ESPN 5-on-5 regarding the Wizards today. Along with Brett Koremenos of HoopSpeak.com and Mike Wallace of ESPN.com, we attempted to answer five questions:

1. For which Wizards player is the 2011-12 season most important?
2. Who is the most intriguing player on the Wizards’ roster?
3. What’s the most surprising take in John Hollinger’s Wizards profiles?
4. Based on Hollinger’s profiles, what do the Wizards need most?
5. Will a shortened season help or hurt the Wizards?

Click here to read the ESPN.com 5-on-5 about the Wizards, and then vote in the poll below for which player has the most important upcoming season.

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Media Day had your easy preconceived story lines with the NBA’s top draft pick, John Wall, the return of Gilbert Arenas from suspension, the new veteran acquisitions and the youth movement of draft picks. Then a bearded, visibly disinterested Arenas entered the Wizards practice court and proceeded to act like getting his picture taken was like being subjected to a Twilight movie marathon. After his photo session concluded, Arenas politely declined to answer standard profile questions from a team official and huddled with Wizards public relations staff before mumbling stoic answers in a pretty pointless three minute media interview session.

Suddenly, a new media day theme had emerged: “Why is Gil so serious?”

The Sports Bog’s Dan Steinberg coined Arenas’s media day persona as “Emo Gilbert,” and I piggybacked that with “Sullen Emo Gil” on my video recap.

Here is the definition of “Emo Girl” via Urban Dictionary: Read more »

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Ted Leonsis is pleased as punch with the Yi Jianlian acquisition (or a juice box — the above picture evidently advertises juice, and not milk). Can’t blame him too much … although, there is certainly reason to be skeptical of Yi. I do think he will be a pleasant surprise. It just all depends on your baseline standards for being surprised.

In linking Michael Lee’s Sunday story about Yi in the Washington Post on his blog, Ted’s Take, Leonsis writes:

He is 7 feet tall. He is fast. He is talented. He is still developing.

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Don’t blame Randy Foye.

He already made it, so he doesn’t have to worry about you, or me, thinking he’s not good enough to cut it. Randy Foye is an NBA player and the league is his oyster … sort of.

Right now, he doesn’t have discretion to go where he pleases … a situation which would probably suit him best. His fate is in the hands of the Wizards. They can elect not to extend Foye, who is at the end of his rookie contract, a qualifying offer ($4.8 million for ’10-11), thus making him an unrestricted free-agent.

Or, they can extend the offer, whereas Foye becomes a restricted free-agent of the Wizards. If he doesn’t receive a longer-term offer from another team, which the Wizards could match, or an offer from the Wizards themselves, he’d end up in D.C. for one season at that $4.8 price and would be an unrestricted free-agent in the Summer of 2011.

I’ve mostly assumed that Ernie Grunfeld will not extend a qualifying offer to Foye. Randy thinks he’s a point guard. Flip Saunders would probably tell you otherwise. Him taking up salary and a roster spot might not be necessary. Simple as that.

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