From a previous time when John Wall was sad. He’s probably pretty sad now, too.
During his press conference on Wednesday, Washington Wizards coach Randy Wittman spoke about some of the “bumps and bruises” his team was experiencing leading up to training camp.
Of course there was mention of Nene’s plantar fasciitis and how the team would be cautious with the 30-year-old. Wittman also said that Emeka Okafor dislocated a finger just that day. “He’s fine… pops back in. Your finger joints happen all the time, I’m lucky I got straight fingers,” he said, also mentioning that Okafor’s knee had been at 100 percent since the Wizards traded for him. In addition, Wittman mentioned that Trevor Booker was healthy and ready to go.
Finally, Wittman said that John Wall was experiencing some bursitis, but he didn’t seem highly concerned about it Then, on Friday afternoon, the bombshell. Per team press release: Read more »
Long after last Wednesday’s win over the Milwaukee Bucks, Jordan Crawford remained in the training room. He likely knew the microphones waited for him to speak, but couldn’t do anything about it. A throbbing ankle spoke louder. Meanwhile, assorted media members squatted around his locker, eager to record the shooting guard’s comments after his big 32-point, 11-for-17 shooting performance in Washington’s 121-112 victory over the Bucks. When he finally emerged, Crawford gingerly limped over to his stall; he could barely put any pressure on his right ankle. He looked more like a man who would struggle moving to the right on a Metro escalator without falling down than one who just significantly diminished the hopes of a playoff contending team, including burying Milwaukee with a Agent Zero-esque 30-foot dagger to put the Wizards up six points with 50 seconds left.
Mo Evans argued that the sprained ankle, which afflicted Crawford from the opening tip, was actually beneficial:
“I think the ankle injury helped him because he slowed down, took his time and utilized all the many skills that he has; he has a ton of them. He was extremely effective tonight.”
Coach Randy Wittman expressed sentiments on Jordan’s decisive 3-point make: Read more »
Last Saturday, Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld reported that the Los Angeles Lakers have “expressed interest” in signing Gilbert Arenas. On Sunday, ESPN’s Chris Broussard confirmed the report, saying the Lakers have “considered the idea” of adding the guard to their roster. On Monday, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Lakers had yet to interview or work out Arenas. On Tuesday, via Kevin Ding the Orange County Register, Lakers coach Mike Brown acknowledged that team personnel had “just conversation” about the former Wizard, also confirming that there had been no workout, nor a review of Arenas’ past game video by Brown.
After Monday’s Wizards-Bulls game, I spoke with Nick Young, a good friend of Arenas, about how his former teammate was doing and about his prospects of joining the Lakers.
You said you talk to Gilbert just about every day. How is he doing? Is he just down in Orlando working out?
“Yea, he’s been working out. He said he got the — I don’t know if I’m supposed to say this — but he got that Kobe treatment on his knees…”
[Editor's note: The two interesting, or curious, developments in the John Wall injury recovery process is that he is looking into getting his own personal trainer to help with his knee, etc. issues, per the Washington Post's Michael Lee, and that he has shut himself down for an indefinite amount of time. Wall speaks with CSNWashington's Chris Miller in the video below. -Kyle]
[After last week’s Wizards loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, I asked Derek Fisher, Ron Artest and Shannon Brown their impressions of John Wall's game. Wall did not play in the defeat, but had a stellar outing in their previous match up in LA.
Brown commended of Wall’s ability, Fisher heaped high praise on John’s character, and Artest had a comedic response. -Adam]
Before tonight’s Wizards-Grizzlies game, I briefly spoke with Josh Howard about how the rehabilitation on his knee was coming along — because we are getting closer to the date that he might be back, even though he really has no timetable and the Wizards are bringing him along cautiously.
Howard said that he recently experienced a bit of a set-back with tendonitis, but indicated that such is relatively normal and that he’s going to keep working through it. I asked him if he’d circled any game in particular that he’d like to be back for. Howard said he did, but wouldn’t exactly divulge which game other than to say, “It’s in December, a big week in December too. People who keep up with our schedule, they’ll see it and they’ll know.”
Note that the Wizards play the Los Angeles Lakers in Washington on Tuesday, December 14, travel to New Jersey for a game against the Nets on Thursday, December 16, and then are back home for the their first peek at the Miami Heat on Saturday, December 18. Howard did also say that being more realistic, he might surpass whatever date that he’s targeted. Let’s give Josh a watch:
Despite his team just coming off a nice victory over the Bulls, Flip Saunders was curt when responding to the first query of Monday night’s post-game press conference.
“Josh Howard update?,” began a voice from the media corps.
“Knee,” Saunders deadpanned. “Know more tomorrow,” he followed. “I’m sure he’ll be out for a little bit,” the coach trailed off as he surveyed the room for the next question.
It’s hard to tell what Saunders really knew about what had been called a sprained left knee at that exact moment, judgment is usually withheld until an MRI is procured. But his demeanor regarding the subject spoke of a grim outlook, as if the worst was expected, as if the post-game diagnosis divulged a strong possibility that it was more than a sprain.
Pretty nice scene, huh? Well, not as nice … last night’s game was on CSN+ in D.C., not CSN HD. Heart-warming nonetheless. After the game I tweeted that beating the Bucks 109-97 was the first ‘feel good’ win for the Wizards in a long time. Mike Prada of Bullets Forever called it the best win of the year.
And the scene above captures it all. Gilbert Arenas goes down after an errant Bucks knee to his leg, not to mention losing a tooth, Earl Boykins comes in to save the day, and the two leave the court arm-and-arm and all smiles. Arenas started it with 13 points, three rebounds and seven assists, to only a single turnover, in the first quarter, and Boykins finished it with 12 of his 15 points in the final period.
It looked pretty bad when Gil went down. But after seeing him hold his thigh, and the replay, it was clear there wasn’t a reason to fear for his knee. Although, those thigh bruises do hurt. The Wizards have two days off, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Arenas sat out of Saturday’s game in Minnesota. It all depends on how deep the bruise is. He was noticeably limping right after it happened, and those things only stiffen and get worse.
So with that win, the Wizards, and their fans, will have a holiday that’s just a little bit better. But what would be this team’s ultimate Christmas (or holiday, or whatever you celebrate) wish?
It’s as if we’re forced to admire or respect the outspoken views of Etan Thomas just because, well, they are outspoken. The mere fact that he’s a rare beacon of political activism amongst professional athletes somehow lends more credibility to his point of view.
Kind of ironic when you think about it. Because he plays in a capitalism-fueled league that he’s at times criticized, Thomas’ soap box (via the Huffington Post, et al.) has been amplified more than your average Joe (except if “The Plumber” follows ‘Joe’ I suppose). When you consider the privileges athletes receive because of their status in society, no one ever thinks about such perks including a higher platform for activism. But as Thomas points out in his blogging debut on HoopsHype, there are plenty of NBA players who have been politically (or more accurately, socially) conscious. It’s just that not all of them opine on a regular basis like Thomas.
A vocal Etan Thomas isn’t a bad thing. He’s done an admirable job in his attempt to push ‘need to be discussed’ topics to the forefront. But I won’t always pay attention to or agree with all of Thomas’ utterances. As I alluded to, the fact that he’s an athlete doesn’t lend him any sort of credibility in my mind. Then again, Thomas is no more or less credible than the oodles of political pundits out there on CNN, Fox News, and the what-not … the types John Stewart so often rips down with reason and comedy on the Daily Show (Which is, by the way, my ‘source’ for news … just kidding, kinda. Would you blame me if, at times, I’d rather digest current events with heavy doses satire via a self-proclaimed “fake news”?)
Well, it’s not the end of the world, but it isn’t exactly what Wizards fans want to hear either … especially after a loss.
Miller originally injured his left, non-shooting shoulder less than a minute into the third quarter and looked to be in a lot of pain. He sat on the bench for a couple minutes while being looked at by a trainer and eventually made his way back into the locker room. Early reports indicated that it was a mild shoulder sprain and that Miller would return.
With 3:50 left in the third, Miller checked back in. He seemed to slightly favor the shoulder, but looked okay as he played through. Unfortunately, just under three minutes into the fourth quarter, he injured it again on a hard drive to the basket. Scoring the hoop and the harm, Miller stayed in the game and made the And1 free-throw, which didn’t give the Wizards a chance to call a timeout.
This time, Miller was clearly heavily favoring the shoulder. The Heat subsequently went down the court and Quentin Richardson missed a three pointer. However, the Wizards did not call a timeout to get Miller off the court. On the next offensive possession, the ball actually ended up in Miller’s hands, or hand, as he caught it and only dribbled with his right hand. And then the most amazing part which got Miller a standing ovation, he zipped a pass to Andray Blatche right under the basket for a dunk and his third assist of the game.
The Heat then called a timeout and Stevenson was able to check in for Miller who went straight to the locker room where he would be declared out for the rest of the night. In his post-game presser, Flip Saunders said that Miller would be out for 7-10 days with a “mild 1 sprain of his shoulder.”
Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that forward Antawn Jamison’s right shoulder has been re-evaluated and that the findings were consistent with the original diagnosis of a subluxation. He is expected to miss from four to six weeks from the date of the injury (Jamison sustained the injury in the Wizards’ 109-104 win in Cleveland on Oct. 14).
Honestly, I kinda expected this to be the case … especially when a shoulder briefly pops out of place. Better to be safe than sorry I guess.
Flip Saunders said he would probably start Fabricio Oberto tonight against the Bulls so that Andray Blatche can get used to his role of coming off the bench … wonder if this now changes the plan.
Antawn Jamison could be out until around December. Damn.Read more »
