This post is certainly a couple days late and definitely several dollars short amidst the pixels urgently begging for your attention as soon as it happens. But words last forever and video preserves them further. This is what Randy Wittman, Erik Spoelstra, Shane Battier, Chris Bosh, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Mo Evans and Nick Young said after they played on Friday, Feb. 10, 2012 in a 106-89 Miami Heat win over the Washington Wizards.

Who says….?

x “My challenge is always finding a way to be aggressive.”
x “Every team plays hard against us, they bring their ‘A’ game against us. We understand that.”
x “We’re always a day late and a dollar short.”
x “I think that’s what the fans came to see. They love to see their favorite players do amazing things, and they got a chance to see that on both sides … Hopefully everyone that came to the game, paid their hard-earned dollars for their ticket, and got their money worth tonight.”
x “I’m the best 3-point shooter in the world.”

[answers below video]

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Look, it’s not *all* about Jeremy Lin, I just wanted to get his name in the post title via #LinsanityPixels. But the video below does feature the Washington Wizards (Randy Wittman, John Wall, Trevor Booker and Mo Evans), along with Lin, talking after Wednesday’s Wizards-Knicks game. These are the things you need to know:

• Randy Wittman doesn’t need to be reminded of the exact number of free-throws the Knicks took in the third quarter, he knows it was a lot.
• Mo Evans mentions sharks.
• Various parties talk about the pick-and-roll: Booker, Wall and Lin.
• Evans says he spoke with John Wall about how what Jeremy Lin and the Knicks did to the Wizards is actually encouraging because they can use John in the same way.
• Wall responds to a query on if his teammates left him high-and-dry on that Jeremy Lin dunk.
• Wittman gets to a breaking-point with the #Linsanity.
• And… an awkward question about Tim Tebow.

The Wizards Said WHAT? Yes they did, it’s all there.

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Look, the Washington Wizards gave Jeremy Lin a wide open lane to dunk. You understand, don’t you? Let’s watch.

Yikes. Not good. I’m not sure if Jordan Crawford or Mo Evans or Jan Vesely froze, but… um… wow. John Wall and Trevor Booker also totally got duped by Lin turning down Tyson Chandler’s screen. So, team effort. Evans was asked about the dunk after the game. Let’s watch his answer.

Yes, it is just Wizards basketball right now. Also, take note of the crowd cheering Lin’s dunk. Very loud.

John Wall on the Verizon Center fans:

“When you play against certain teams, you already know the crowd is against us sometimes. So we just go out there and play. You make it a game, the crowd gets on your side.”

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[The DC Council -- After each Wizards game: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the bench, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is over the table. Game 19 contributors: Sam Permutt, John Converse Townsend and Kyle Weidie.]

Score

Washington Wizards 76 at Houston Rockets 103 [box score]

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[The DC Council -- After each Wizards game: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the bench, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is over the table. Game 13 contributors: Adam McGinnis and John Converse Townsend with first-hand coverage and Kyle Weidie from watching on T.V.]

Score

Washington Wizards 106 vs. Houston Rockets 114 [box score]

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Merry/happy time of the year for whatever it is that you and friends/family enjoy celebrating/taking part in. Hope all of that is going well. What you will see in this Christmas Day post is scenes from scrimmaging at Wizards practice on Thursday, December 22. Prepare yourself, fans of the team, for an ugly start to the season as a young team looks to progress toward improvement in uncertain times, i.e., enjoy!

What You Will See:

The Wizards making extra passes in the early offense — even JaVale McGee passing out of the post, go figure (I imagine this happens because McGee knows a double team is coming) — and Jordan Crawford ultimately finding Mo Evans in the corner for a jumper.

What You Will See:

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Big Bad John Wall wants to know. Beckley Mason, Rashad Mobley, John Converse Townsend and Kyle Weidie ask and answer hot topic questions about the Washington Wizards.

MOBLEY: Do we hold Ernie Grunfeld, Flip Saunders and the Wizards to any expectations during this abbreviated season, or do we just assume no significant strides will be made until next year?

MASON: My expectations for this team aren’t altered a bit. The summer is a time when, from a basketball standpoint, players need to be spending their own dime to work out with the best trainers possible. The lockout shouldn’t have affected that reality. Flip probably wishes he had more time with his newest players, but an extra week of training camp wasn’t going to solve the problems with McGee and Blatche, or help the Wizards to land a major free agent.

MOBLEY: John Wall has raised expectations for the Wizards with his play this summer, so it is entirely fair to hold Grunfeld and Flip to the same standard. But given that Grunfeld  hinted that he plans on using the amnesty clause next year, he may have bought both he and Flip an extra year.  However, if the Wizards win 25 games or less, a new coach/GM combo should reap the amnesty benefits.

TOWNSEND: Wizards boss hog Ted Leonsis promised to bring our fine city respectable hoops in three years or less. That is the plan, and I’m holding Leonsis to it. Stay financially flexible, develop the young players, light a fire under the seasoned vets, and, above all, find a way to win games as a team (and on the road, dammit!).

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Representatives of the owners and players emerged from the umpteenth NBA lockout negotiation session on Wednesday (actually, Thursday — this one was of the 12-hour variety, 1 pm to 1 am), with an agreement to continue to negotiate on Thursday. Neither black nor white smoke emerged, but rather a bunch of smoke blown up our collective butts. That and the telltale sign from covering media via Twitter: ‘Two different press conferences, you know what that means.’ It means no basketball.

No news is not good news, it’s no news. Yet, people are forced to look for silver linings, some citing the mere fact that NBA commissioner David Stern “stopped the clock” (his words) on a previously given ultimatum of a 5 pm Wednesday deadline (for a player acceptance of the owners’ offer) as a positive sign. Afterward, neither side could publicly say whether progress was made.

“I can’t characterize whether they showed flexibility or not in certain system issues,” said player rep Derek Fisher. “Nothing was worked out today,” said Stern. Media sources have, however, indicated a semblance of progress. “Progress was made on three system issues,” wrote the Twitter account @WojYahooNBA.

When asked by Howard Beck of the New York Times if the NBA was in a position where they could give the players some semblance of what they want (in terms of in exchange for a 50-50 Basketball-Related Income (BRI) split) Stern said, “I don’t know how you would define ‘some semblance’.” Exactly.* Nothing appears as it seems, or vice versa.

There are no indications optimism nor pessimism the Commissioner told us. So into an uncertain tomorrow (or later today) we go. The mystery on the evening/morning, however, might not be the details of the negotiations, but why player union rep and Washington Wizard Mo Evans seemed unable to restrain chuckles on several occasions. I like to imagine that Dikembe Mutombo was sitting in the front row with a dry erase board drawing pictures of things that would like to sex him. Read more »

Links, commentary, fodder, beef…

Andray Blatche had himself a chat on ESPN.com Wednesday. Normally, would that even happen? Doubt it. The assumption is that this is more the doing of him deciding to re-acquire an agent this summer. Now that power-agent Andy Miller is on the scene — clients of his include: Trevor Booker, Kevin Garnett, Jared Jeffries, Kenyon Martin, Chauncey Billups, Brendan Haywood, Roger Mason Jr., Andre Miller, Michael Ruffin, Sebastian Telfair, Antonio McDyess, etc., etc. — Blatche is hitting the circuit of pumped positivity. And thus here we are.

Anyhow, nothing provocative or ground-breaking in his chat; it totally fits within the norms of prosaic NBA player media & PR fare. The highlights include: when asked about how his roll [sic in a very Ledell Eackles kind of way] has changed over his years with the team, he chats about, “listening to guys like Antawn, Brandon, Caron” … which actually got me very close to seeing if a “Brandon” ever played for the Wizards on Basketball-Reference.com before realizing that he was talking about Brendan Haywood.

Quick flashback: in January, Blatche said this:

“When I do lift, I’m the type of person, I don’t see results at all. I mean, I tried everything, man. I got a chef so I could start getting as healthy as I could eat. I don’t know what it is, man. I’m trying.”

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The Sacramento Kings closed out their season with a very emotional home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. At the time, there was a strong possibility that it was last game in Sacramento after 23 years as the team‘s owners, Joe and Gavin Maloof, looked to move the franchise to Anaheim, California. The Kings broadcasters broke down on air, and fans organized a protest by refusing to leave the arena after the contest’s conclusion. Kings players returned to the court to address their adoring fans. There was great sense of empathy amongst sports fans online in seeing a team ripped away from a fan base.

Former NBA player and current Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson, husband to controversial ex-DC school chancellor Michelle Rhee, made a last ditch attempt to save the team in California’s Capital City. His presentation to the NBA was more impressive than the Maloofs‘, the potential TV money from their deal with Anaheim being inflated. Money discrepancies are not surprising with the Maloofs since their bad financial dealings have led them to this current predicament and their financial stake in Palm Casinos Resort, which is now down to a paltry 2-percent.

Johnson was able to convince the NBA’s relocation committee to give him a chance to secure a funding plan for a new arena, and after the Maloofs pulled their bid to relocate, the Kings will remain in Sacramento for at least 2011-12.

When the move appeared imminent, I caught up with Washington Wizards head coach Flip Saunders and swingman Maurice Evans to ask about their personal experiences playing in Sacramento. In the video below, Saunders talks about the Sacramento Cow Bells, and Evans provides a funny antidote about a passionate Kings fan that still supports him every time he returns.

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Fodder, links, bullets, commentary, rumors, etc., and a D.C. picture…

Cloudy skies of NBA Draft prognosticators.
[Francis Playground Court - NW D.C. - N St. & 23rd - photo: K. Weidie]

NBA.com’s David Aldridge:

“Wiz want one of the international bigs, and don’t really care which one.”

Is Kanter Worth It?

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As the NBA regular season has concluded and the playoffs are now underway, sports pundits peppered the airwaves and series of tubes last week with playoffs prognostications. Storylines were plentiful abound.

Can the Los Angeles Lakers three-peat? Will the Kendrick Perkins trade prevent Boston Celtics from a championship? Do the San Antonio Spurs have another title in them? Will Lebron James finally get a ring now that he’s surrounded himself with more talent? Can the Oklahoma City Thunder or Chicago Bulls parlay their regular season accomplishments into deep playoff runs?

While the opinions of media members and fans do carry some weight (just ask them!), I thought it would be a good idea to ask the players, who actually compete against playoff the participants, what two teams they see making the NBA finals and who will win it all.

I complied the predictions of Washington Wizards John Wall, Jordan Crawford, Mo Evans, Nick Young, Kevin Seraphin, Trevor Booker, JaVale McGee, Othyus Jeffers, and Coach Flip Saunders in the video below. Watch to find out which two players chose to be coy in their responses.

Considering I selected the Wizards to win 40 games this season, my foresight credibility is on shaky ground, so I will refrain from making picks. Personally speaking, I would like to see a Thunder-Bulls finals. The Kevin Durant-Russell Westbrook versus Derrick Rose-Joakim Noah matchup would usher fresh faces to the championship stage, which could be nice for the League before it heads into a lengthy labor dispute work stoppage.

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Thursday was exit interview day for the Washington Wizards. Players cleaned out their lockers for the offseason, engaged in parting conversations with the coaching staff, and met with the media as they trickled out of the Verizon Center with their belongings. JaVale McGee and Yi Jianlian lugged big garbage sacks full of their stuff while Nick Young was carefully leaving with a fat head poster of himself.

Throughout the individual interviews, there was an overlapping sense of reflection and relief that a long season had concluded. Jordan Crawford was thankful for the opportunity he received with the Wizards. Trevor Booker gave himself a B-minus grade for his rookie campaign. John Wall emphasized learning how to lead grown men in the NBA. And Nick Young mused nostalgic about his four-year career with the organization.

The past month of solid play provided optimism for next season, but since the Wizards missed the playoffs, the unknown future of a labor dispute is no longer looming. It has now officially moved to the forefront, with the clock ticking down to the end of June when the CBA expires.

This was apparent in Mo Evans, Vice President of the NBA Players Association Executive Committee, articulating the Union’s positions of not budging on a hard cap, contract lengths or giving up the Larry Bird Rights that past generations of players had won. Also, Young proclaiming that he is basically unemployed was a chilling reminder that he might not have a job for awhile, with or without the Wizards.

There were several moments of brevity and humor. JaVale McGee seemed to have no clue that Wall was a team captain, complained about $4 gas, would not disclose at which beach he was going to be vacationing, for fear of potential stalkers, and joked that his dribbling tendencies were because he was not always 7-feet tall.

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[John Wall before the tip-off.]

People will say that the Atlanta Hawks lost to the Washington Wizards on Saturday night because they were without Josh Smith. Because they were unmotivated against a free-flying Wizards team with their playoff seeding already set. A date as the five seed going to Orlando to play the Magic awaits the Hawks in the first round, but did they have to get blown out by the Wiz Kids 115-83?

Regardless of Atlanta’s effortless situation, the Wizards countered with one of their best team defensive displays of the season, turning 23 Hawks turnovers into 27 points, partially thanks to 11 steals. And as the Washington Post’s Michael Lee has written, much credit is due to D-Leaguers Larry Owens and Othyus Jeffers — Owens putting in 10 points off the bench and Jeffers scoring 13 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. The energy of on-the-cusp players has made some of the more contractually secure Wizards not take their situation for granted.

Jeffers’ contagious explosion of hustle shouldn’t be taken for granted for the next training camp the Wizards hold either. He, along with Andray Blatche, were big reasons why the Wizards got off to a 29-18 jump on Atlanta after one quarter. Blatche worked Al Horford and Zaza Pachulia to the tune of nine points, five rebounds and 3-4 from the free throw line in the period. And Jeffers picked up two boards, one offensive, and 3-4 at the charity stripe in six and a half minutes off the bench. The disinterest of Atlanta was especially evident when they allowed Yi Jianlian to counter Jamal Crawford’s 11 points in the second quarter with 10 of his own. Washington led 61-46 at half.

Jordan Crawford didn’t have a particularly good first half. Limited with three fouls, he scored just four points on 2-3 shooting in 15 minutes, but he did have three assists and zero turnovers. In the third, Crawford didn’t try to force his own offense the entire time, even though he did go 1-6 from the field in the period. Instead, he proved that he’s not a limited basketball player by dropping five assists to one turnover and three rebounds. He finished the game with six points on 3-9 shooting with an 8-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, flipping zip passes to teammates with the same confidence he has in his offense.

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[The Wizards' ballsiest offensive players: Sam Cassell, JaVale McGee and Jordan Crawford]

The young Wizards made a valiant effort last night in Boston, that they did. Losing 104-88, they were within four points at 87-83 with seven minutes before the Celtics pulled away. Individual talents and potential flashed nicely, but familiar inefficiencies combined to lead the team down the path of losing. Possession-killing shots form Jordan Crawford, a crucial missed one-handed, wide-open dunk from JaVale McGee that would’ve kept the Wizards within four points with five minutes left, newcomer Larry Owens letting the 35-year old Ray Allen beat him to a transition basket, the seven turnovers of John Wall (which combined with those of McGee and Andray Blatche totaled 17) — they all were there. But nothing unexpected.

The Celtics valued most of their possessions and functioned like coordinated birds in flight on many. Rajon Rondo took ownership of the night with 14 assists. Neither John Wall nor Jordan Crawford could sufficiently keep up with him without worrying about the coordinated movement from the rest of the Celtics and whether the Wizards could depend on each other for a combined effort on defense.  Washington does not yet know how to fly together like Boston. They’ll get there as the core grows with time, but that begs the question, who’s part of the core?

Wall, Crawford and McGee? Clearly. Rashard Lewis? There’s not much choice. Andray Blatche? Signs point to yes. Nick Young? Things are more complicated with the free-agent to be. On Friday Ted Leonsis gave Young some blog love, touting him for Most Improved Player.

“He will be an integral part of our team,” Leonsis wrote, indicating that Nick can play the two or the three. And in that Leonsis is right. The shininess on Crawford’s run only means an added asset, not an internet argument on which one to keep. With Young going into end-of-rookie-contract qualifying offer free agency, Crawford is a safety to not overpay him, which could only happen if another team offers Young a contract that the Wizards will have to match or decline. Over 2,500 miles from home in Southern California, look for Young to remain in Washington for the next season of basketball that is played. Ernie Grunfeld was carefully cost efficient when negotiating contracts with DeShawn Stevenson, and he will likely do the same with Young

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