Boo this man?

As many (wicked) pixels about Andray Blatche that I have written and produced, I wasn’t exactly comfortable with hearing him booed Friday night as the Wizards handled the Brooklyn Nets in every way possible on the basketball court. And I was especially uneasy about the “An-dray Sucks!” chants at the end of the game. Just a little. It was all too evident from my position behind the television screen. Imagine if the Verizon Center were more fully attended. (If you can believe team-reported attendance figures—the biggest farce in professional sports—the VC was 96.6 percent full on Friday night.)

But of course, there I was. Happy to see “Baltche” miss dunks, even if the carnage did make me want to avert my eyes. Almost. There I was, content to see Blatche miss free throws (four in a row at one point late in the third quarter). There’s just something about Blatche being Blatche. Still, it’s hard to digest the comfort food via the guy who, almost purposely, never fulfilled his potential doing the same deeds as a Wizard.

The topic of booing Blatche became fodder for Saturday morning conversation with the future wifey. I suddenly found myself on the side of defending the boos.

“It’s sports.” “It comes with the territory of getting paid millions.” “Life—competition—needs villains.”

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Watching the Wizards is different now. OK, it’s only halftime, but they are up 20 on the Nets, 51-31. And per the previous post, the stats are different, better… with certain player combinations (but mostly thanks to John Wall). Several players need to step it up. Otherwise, watching the Wizards is like a Brazilian rug-pulling dance now. Or whatever it was that Nene did to Brook Lopez to make him travel. GIF away.

Yes, we are all too familiar with Blake Griffin flops (save for petulant Lakers-cum-Clippers fans and other offending defenders). He’s funny in commercials (I genuinely like his KIA spots), he dunks really well, he usually can’t hit a free throw, and Blake Griffin sometimes plays a style of basketball that you would rather referees dishonor than honor. But, stars get calls. Also all too familiar. In this instance, Nene was called for a foul. But will Blake get fined for a flop? Or will the league deem the faux motion acceptable under the threat of assault?

What do you think?

What did #WittmanFace and Nene think?

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[D.C. Council: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the subs, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is on the table. Game No. 37, Washington Wizards at Denver Nuggets; contributor: Kyle Weidie, Adam McGinnis and John Converse Townsend from behind the television screen.]

Jimmy Wall’s Game-Saving Block. Read more »

Ugly is an understatement. It borders on the surreal, whatever is going on with these 0-9 Washington Wizards. In the last five-plus seasons alone, we’re up to 131 wins, 272 losses, 73 players, four head coaches, two owners, and one team president of basketball operations, Ernie Grunfeld. All the problems seem different, but they add up to one big mess.

This play from Monday’s Pacers game, as described by the Washington Post’s Michael Lee, is quite unique in itself, and captures the essence of this year’s issues:

The struggles of the starters were summed up in one play in the third quarter, when Crawford drove into the lane and flipped an air ball. Okafor jumped to get the putback, but shot an air ball over the rim. Price missed a three-pointer and then Okafor had his shot blocked by Hibbert. Fans started booing.

Let’s watch:

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In 71 total minutes over four preseason games, three starts, Trevor Booker posted the following averages per 36 minutes: 22.3 points (.567 FG%), 7.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.0 turnovers — per 36 numbers that faintly reflect Chris Webber’s second season as a Washington Bullet (but we’ll let the comparison stop right there). Trouble spots in Booker’s brief preseason window have included his free throw percentage (.600 — his career average is .639 and he shot .602 from the stripe last season) and fouls (4.6 fouls per 36 in the preseason, up from a career rate of 3.9). But any preseason concerns are far dwarfed by the solid all-around game Booker has shown in action that’s the first evidence of his offseason work.

Along with John Wall and Kevin Seraphin, Booker is one of the longest-standing pillars of the Wizards rebuild effort. And from that trio, Booker might have improved the most since being drafted by Washington in June 2010. Part of it is that improving efforts from Wall and Seraphin have gotten more attention. Wall was the No. 1 overall draft pick and proclaimed face of the franchise and Seraphin was an Olympian for France. Plus, when the Wizards were making their vaunted run at the end of last season with Wall, Seraphin and dashes of Nene, Booker was riding the bench. He missed the last 15 games, including the Wizards winning eight of their last 10, due to the very same ailment currently keeping Nene on the sidelines, plantar fasciitis.

“We actually had the same injury, same foot, and got it at the same time,” Booker told me on media day 2012. “I mean, it was something new to me, but we’re getting through it. I just had to stay off my feet for a little while. Now I’m back. I feel pretty good. And I’m ready for the season.”

Booker still ended up missing the first four games of the preseason with what he called a “grade one” left hamstring pull. But he’s better now. He’s ready to continue with defensive toughness, ready to show an improved jump shot, and ready to prove his worth in minutes. The “Cook Book” is ready to starting frying the opposition, and he’ll likely do so as the starting 4 to begin the season on Tuesday night in Cleveland.

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Sometimes I wonder if LeBron James’ spirit animal is Mitt Romney. I’m not quite sure what this means — and not to get all ‘political’ — but just bare with me. Romney was born into a rich family, and LeBron was born rich with physical gifts that the NBA has never seen before. Both, I’m sure, had to work hard to get to where they are. Both, I have seen, are capable of having emotional expressions on their face which appear obsessively calculated and robotic. (But who doesn’t have silly expressions on their face sometimes?)

What it boils down to is this: Can you see a young “Glove” Romney having all the fun in the world with a dollar bill, a fishing lure, and an inner city street near a homeless shelter? Certainly. And perhaps that’s the visual elicited from the below LeBron GIF-ery performed against the Wizards last night. Let’s watch…

Wait, what just happened? Let’s watch from another angle…

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[Yi Jianlian vs. Nene at the London Olympics, original image via AP]

D.I.Y. stands for “Do-It-Yourself,” and it’s all the rage amongst the hipster kids aiming to minimize reliance on others to get things done (trust funds be damned). D.I.Y. can involve noble satisfaction. Have a leaky sink? Fix it yourself. There, satisfied. In a sense, this entire self-published blog website started as a D.I.Y. But D.I.Y. doesn’t work so well on the basketball court, as Wizards fans are all too aware.

Nene is not a D.I.Y.-er, and for this, John Wall’s point guard ability will blossom. For that matter, the entire Wizards team could flourish when they relent to the reliance on others. Might you be listening, Jordan Crawford?

Nene and the Brazilian team moved to 3-1 in Group B play after deconstructing China on Saturday and will finish the preliminary round with a game against Spain today. With the 98-59 victory (Brazil doubled China’s score by halftime, 42-21), Nene didn’t even have to play in the final two quarters, resting whatever might ail him (such as his ongoing plantar fasciitis). A highly effective 11 minutes off the bench in the first half was all Brazil needed; Nene contributed six points, five rebounds, two assists, and a steal in this time span. Brazil’s entire team put on an impressive display of unselfish basketball, even with the knowledge that China, now 0-4 in group play, has little in terms of talent. Nene’s contributions to the Brazilian team could have implications on how the Wizards will run their offense next season, as they would like to incorporate the same unselfishness cultivated by Nene on the international stage.

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It’s hard to know what to say after witnessing the effort from the Wizards on Friday night. Well, witnessing over television most of the second quarter, all of the third, and most of the fourth — more than enough. There wasn’t much to see aside from a handful of main players, including franchise poster boy John Wall, quit on the team and quit on themselves. The result was a widespread infection of basketball that would make an AAU coach cringe, but these guys are supposed to be professionals.

And so the Philadelphia 76ers mopped the floor with the Washington Wizards, 120 to 89. Just about the biggest accomplishment by Flip Saunders’ team was doing their part to fatten up the citizens of Philadelphia. With just under seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, Philadelphia’s Jodie Meeks made the second of back-to-back threes, putting the Sixers over the 100 point mark with a 102-72 lead. And with that triple-digit milestone, all fans in attendance were awarded free Big Macs.

Caron Butler once said that you gotta laugh to keep from crying. A DC Council post for this game is to come, but until then, let’s take a look at this dribbling display from Jordan Crawford. In your mind, play Yakety Sax (also embedded below), or the Cantina Song from Star Wars (yep, embedded below as well). Enjoy

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The subtle occurrence, about to be slightly magnified by this blog’s humble reach, doesn’t mean much … unless you’re a fan of basketball nuance. And I’m assuming that you’re already a fan of John Wall, who recently made a small display that he would not be intimidated by Amar’e Stoudemire, ironically nicknamed “STAT” (standing tall and talented), even though he’s below average in a main big man stat category, rebounding.

It’s late in the first quarter in the Wizards’ October 17 preseason game against the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden. Raymond Felton, foolishly, according to the television analysis of Walt “Clyde” Frazier on the MSG Network, thinks he can play big boy veteran and pressure Wall far away from the basket.

Foolish indeed. Wall can’t shoot and Raymond Felton is Raymond Felton. His 6’1″, 205 lbs. physique, while stout, simply cannot keep up with the size and speed of Wall.

Felton goes to pressure Wall out near the Knicks mid-court logo, perhaps partially to avoid a sensed screen from Yi Jianlian. Wall counters by going away from the screen and attacking Felton by trying to get by him. The ref blows the whistle, much to the chagrin of Felton — rookies ain’t supposed to get calls. Sorry buddy, this is John Wall. Felton goes to take issue with the ref nonetheless.

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