September 22, 1971. Louisville, Kentucky. Freedom Hall.

Just over 40 years ago the Baltimore Bullets made the 600-mile trip west from Northern Virginia, where they had battled the N.B.A.’s New York Knickerbockers in their preseason opener the night before, to square off against the Kentucky Colonels of the American Basketball Association in the biggest game few today have ever heard about. The contest would be the second act in an Inter-League Exhibition Game (ILEG) series, a sporting event invented by the owners who were looking for something to make “airing out the big arenas, sweeping the floor and printing up tickets worthwhile,” amid rumors of a merger between the two roundball associations. Though early on, these exhibitions were not well publicized, they weren’t without meaning.

The 1971 ILEG series was headlined by two N.B.A. titans, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Baltimore Bullets, both gearing up for another shot at an N.B.A. championship. They were scheduled to play five A.B.A. squads in five A.B.A. cities; the games were held in A.B.A. cities like Louisville and Winston-Salem for the simple reason that the N.B.A. didn’t want to legitimize the upstart league.

Baltimore Coach Gene Shue, two years removed from an N.B.A. Coach of the Year Award, journeyed westward without star guard Earl “The Pearl” Monroe (sent home with knee bursitis) and forward Gus “Honeycomb” Johnson (still working his way back into shape after off-season surgery in both knees), but still had a championship-caliber roster at his disposal. It was a homecoming affair for Bullets guard and Louisville native Westley “Wes” Unseld. Unseld was the star center for a Seneca High School team that won two state championships, and a three-year letter winner at the University of Louisville; the Cardinals played their home games at Freedom Hall, just six miles down the road from Seneca. In the 1968 A.B.A. draft, the Kentucky Colonels drafted Unseld, but lost a bidding war for their hometown prodigy, who inked a four-year $400,000 contract with the Bullets as the second overall selection in the 1968 N.B.A. draft

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Lockout thoughts, randomly, and links, etc…

Fix This Mess.
[Southeast-Southwest Freeway - 12th & K St. SE - Washington, D.C. - photo: K. Weidie]

Whomever put the debate over Basketball Related Income (“BRI”) at the forefront of the NBA Lockout argument between players and owners knew what they were doing, assuming they were working in favor of the owners. At least this is in terms of public perception, but does either side care about the public anyway? No, not really, it seems.

Fifty-fifty is what we’ve been taught is fair; “even-steven” is intrinsically connected to our humanity. Disregard concerns otherwise when it comes to the lockout, the focus has been how to split the BRI between owners and players. Under the previous Collective Bargaining Agreement (“CBA”), the players received 57-percent of all NBA BRI, and for the purposes of new CBA negotiations, players have indicated that they are willing to reduce their BRI to 53-percent and have stuck staunchly to that (although recent reports indicate the players might lower their demands to 52-percent).

But players make the league, don’t they? They deserve more than half the BRI share. Yes, but who cares? I know I certainly don’t. I like to see teams, run by owners, with the best ones able to succeed, even in the previous purportedly broken system, with excellent organization and a watchful eye toward spending. The San Antonio Spurs, ladies and gentlemen.

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This may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back which then caused that camel to fall on the puppy holding a bouquet of flowers for his puppy girlfriend while they nuzzled wet puppy noses in a field of porcelain angels surrounded by butterflies and rainbows, and ice cream.

Did you hear what JaVale McGee did?

Maybe you read about it. Maybe somebody told you. Or, you can listen to JaVale McGee himself over a tape recorder, via the L.A. Times website, saying, “There’s definitely some guys in there saying that they’re ready to fold, but there are some guys, a majority of us, are ready to stand strong,” when asked by a reporter outside of a National Basketball Players Association meeting if players are standing strong against the NBA lockout, or if some are saying that they’re ready to go back to work.

Maybe McGee was earnest and right, but a negotiator with media concerns in mind he is not.

This, of course, happening after he ducked out of the NBPA meeting early. You know what else McGee enjoyed, aside from an early exit from long, tedious meetings (something we’ve all dreamed about)? He enjoyed the bountiful food spread provided by the hotel where players’ meeting was being held. On-location he Tweeted: Read more »

[The deflated NBA - Lowell School basketball court, N.W. Washington, D.C. - photo: K. Weidie]

What does the latest lockout news, the cancellation of the first two weeks of the season, mean for player development, fan loyalty, media coverage, and if a season will be played at all? The collective knowledge of TAI contributors — Rashad Mobley, John Converse Townsend, Beckley Mason, Adam McGinnis, and myself – weigh in, on the scale of 1-5.

1) Scale 1-5: How much does the lockout set player development/rebuilding back for the Wizards — 5 being a huge setback; 1 being no big deal?

Mobley: The reality is that the Wizards would have been in rebuilding mode even without the lockout. What it has done is give franchise-player John Wall, an extended summer to flex the new found confidence in his game, and ideally that will be contagious.  Ideally. 1.

Townsend: The Wizards have a lot riding on the development of the last two draft classes. Rookies Chris Singleton and Shelvin Mack would greatly benefit from a full NBA offseason, allowing them to hit the ground running come game day; however, other players have signed deals overseas and continue to mature in professional settings. Setback? Maybe. Idle? More likely. 3.

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Sabermetrics. They have been a continous hot topic of conversation in modern sports circles, recently sparked (and fueled) by Jonah Lehrer’s Grantland column, The Math Problem. Lehrer argued that while sabermetrics — the computerized measurement of statistics, in this case basketball data — can be extremely useful at times, the allure of definitive measures of production leads us to ignore the oft-underrated intangibles. Worse, the popular obsession with quantifiable sports values has resulted in shortsighted personnel decisions. The horror!

But this post isn’t about the great paradox of sports statistics nor whether dismissing math in sports is the right call. It’s about how Washington Wizards 2011 draft pick Jan Vesely played on paper — was he a slam dunk in Europe or something less spectacular?

The Wizards brass had their hearts and minds set on adding the 6’11” combo-forward to the roster for over two years, so I wanted to take a look at what attracted the team’s attention (assuming, of course, that the front office dabbles in advanced hoops data).

Our friendly neighborhood basketball statistician, ESPN.com’s John Hollinger, has determined that there is a predictable relationship between how a player performs in the Euroleague and how he will compete as a rookie in the Association. When transitioning to the NBA, a Euroleague player’s pace-adjusted per-minute stats will be affected as follows:

• Scoring rate decreases 25-percent
• Rebound rate increases by 18-percent
• Assist rate increases by 31-percent
• Shooting percentage drops by 12-percent
• Overall, player efficiency rating drops by 30-percent

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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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During last Friday’s Washington Wizards win over New Jersey Nets, Comcast’s Chris Miller had an in-game interview with JaVale McGee’s mother, Pamela. The questions centered around her thoughts on JaVale being selected for the All-Star dunk contest. She talked about how proud she is to see his growth as a basketball player, his love of dunking, and shared a story where JaVale touched the top of backboard in street shoes at his pre-draft workout for Cleveland. Hilarity ensues at the 1:08 mark of video when Pam interrupts her backboard story to yell this to a passerby:

“Hey dude, we’re on TV … We’re on TV dude!”

There’s no video of the funny exchange, only audio while highlights of JaVale are shown, so the identity of the interview interrupter is unknown, but Gheorghe Muresan is sitting in the background. Miller later tries to prod Pam, a former WNBA player and Olympic champion, into revealing if she would be involved in any of McGee’s dunks. She coyly indicated that she would be on-hand for the festivities, but stopped short from officially announcing her participation.

Midnight Madness had ended and the Wizards were funneling out the back of the Patriot Center. Al Thornton briefly chatted with family members on his way to the team chartered bus. JaVale McGee and Cartier Martin quietly filed by. Suddenly, a loud musical voice boomed from behind me and the lyrics were easy to make out, “Teach Me How To Dougie.” John Wall was singing the Cali District Swag hit at the top of his lungs while bobbing his head over and over to a beat in his head, since he was not wearing any head phones.

Hours earlier, as the Wizards were taking part in a drill, Wall barked to Kirk Hinrich, “Get em going out there, Kirk!” I was thoroughly impressed that a rookie in his first official NBA practice was not afraid to tell a veteran to get on their teammates. The Game Changer was no shrinking violet. (Kyle Weidie witnessed something similar in the Summer League with Wall getting after JaVale McGee)

Wall’s impromptu Dougie flow displayed his bubbly personality and youth. He is a freshly minted 20-years old, and I know that at his age, I was humming along to “Biggie, Biggie, Biggie, Can’t You See?”

These incidents provided an early glimpse into his persona. With the ball in his hands, during practice or during games, he is a team-oriented player with killer instinct. He wants to pound opponents at mach-one speed and hates to lose. HATES it. Off the court, he is a normal young man who likes to have fun by singing and dancing.

Those two personalities mesh with Wall’s celebratory enthusiasm and energetic, entertaining style, so I was not surprised when Wall decided to “Dougie Out” (Andray Blatche’s description) when introduced at his first home game.

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[A D.C. basketball court - Florida Ave. and R St. NW - K. Weidie]

The Wizards are a 40-win team.*

Or a 25-win team. One or the other.

The Wizards’ 2010-2011 NBA preseason is now over. (They had a 3-4 preseason record.) The team left the 8,000-seat multi-purpose Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio in defeat, but with plenty of promise. And with promises I hope the [insert final roster number] Basketball Wizards can keep.

(Paraphrased) Promises like:

• I will do work in the low block. — ‘Dray Blatche
• I will gobble up defensive rebounds. — J-Mac
• I will protect the basketball. — Jimmy Teach ‘Em How To Dougie
• I will be the self-effacing sidekick to The Blur. — Robin Gilbert Arenas
• Et cetera

In 1960, the great American writer John Updike wrote a melodic tribute to Red Sox legend Ted Williams — Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu. Updike describes the relationship between fans, the media, and Williams himself as one of fragmented love: Read more »

[Editor's note: I would like to welcome Rashad Mobley to the staff of TAI. Rashad has covered the Wizards with media credentials over the past two seasons for HoopsAddict.com. He's also written several guest posts on this site. Now, I'm excited to announce that Rashad will be bringing his writing skills to TAI full-time. And for his debut as 'officially' official, he dives further into Nick Young's one game in Vegas. Enjoy. -Kyle]

[Nick Young gains separation from Trey Johnson
heading toward a screen from Corsley Edwards.]

Last Thursday when the Washington Wizards PR staff allowed bloggers and writers to watch mini-camp practice, I had some things I expected to see.  I expected to see up and down play from John Wall;  I expected to see JaVale McGee and Hamady N’Diaye doing friendly battle in the post;  and I definitely expected to see Sam Cassell barking instructions out  because, well..that’s what’s Cassell does.

But I can honestly say that I did not expect to see Nick Young on that practice court.  Yet there he was, taking passes from Wall in stride and launching jumpers, playing pressure defense, and matching the intensity of players not guaranteed a roster spot like he seemingly is.

Young did not talk to the media after that particular practice, so it was up to Flip Saunders to shed light as to why Young was there, and whether he’d play in the summer league.

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[Editor's note: Below is the debut guest post of Arish Narayen. Arish is 23-years old and is currently in his second year at the University of Maryland School of Law. Arish has always been a basketball fan, especially of the Terps, but became enamored with the Wizards around the time Gilbert Arenas was hitting game winning shots and stealing game five from the Bulls in Chicago in the 2005 NBA Playoffs. The Wizards have gone nowhere but downhill from since, but somehow Arish has stuck around ... and now he wants to write about the Wiz for Truth About It.net. Go figure.

Check out Arish's debut below as he analyzes the Wizards' attempts to fill their potentially open small forward/wing position. Mike Prada has a quick breakdown of several wing candidates on Bullets Forever, but check out what Arish wrote too -- he worked on this post over the course of several days and goes in-depth statistically on a handful of players the Wizards are rumored to be interested in ... although Arish does use the much too vaunted 'Win Shares' stat that I recently went on a Twitter-rant against. I won't hold that against him. After all, the stat isn't good for nothing, it's just not all what it's cracked up to be. -Kyle]

The Wizards’ Small Forward Situation

by Arish Narayen

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[Editor's note: Check out the debut of new TAI author, John Townsend. Read more about that John at the bottom of this post, but first, check out his piece about another John. -Kyle]

America always seems to need an enemy, whether they’re found in politics (terrorists!) or in sports (referee Dan Crawford for Mavericks fans).  Sure, there are times when our criticism of these villains is justified (British Petroleum), but just as often it is not (Steve Bartman).

The most celebrated, captivating products and people are the most polarizing as well.  We should expect this, especially considering the amount of time, money, and hopes being invested.  This all brings me to John Wall – savior or setback? The question was never will the Wizards select John Wall, but instead what will happen when they do.

photo courtesy of thomasbeisner's Flickr

The debate over whether or not John Wall is the answer in Washington, DC is groundless.  John Wall is one part of the solution to a greater basketball challenge.

Some will argue that taking a point guard with the number one overall pick is a waste, based on historical records.  Power forwards and centers who have been drafted number one overall have won 23 championships combined, while point guards, shooting guards and small forwards have only won nine.  However, it is important to note that there has been, and continues to be, a large disparity between frontcourt and backcourt players selected first overall.  No. 1 overall power forwards and centers have won more championships, not because they are necessarily better players, but as a result of being selected at that spot with greater regularity – 21 times since 1985.

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{ Jordan smokes 'em if he's got 'em - flickr/simplistic.designs }

I’m not a ‘huge’ fan of Michael Jordan, and I definitely don’t hate him. When he was beating the Lakers and Blazers for a ring when I was 11 and 12, I was like, “Oh cool! It’s MJ!” When he was taking down Chuck Barkley, my sentiment was “may the best man win.” When Jordan came back, I rooted for the Sonics and Jazz because I thought the Bulls had won enough, it was time for someone else. Finally, when Jordan was a Wizard, I initially thought his presence would be good, then responded to his departure with shock/surprise, and ultimately, became apathetic toward his presence in DC.

Ok, now that my Jordan fandom disclaimer is out of the way …

Jordan’s HOF speech has been called petty, uninspiring, disparaging, vicious, and strangely bitter by Yahoo!’s Adrian Wojnarowski. He was called a clown, and vicious again, by FanHouse’s Terence Moore. Ken Berger of CBS Sports dubbed Jordan “ruthless,” and called him a “competitive sociopath.” In his Twitter one word description of each HOF entrant’s speech, The Washington Post’s Michael Lee used “cruelty” in reference to Jordan. J.E. Skeets of Yahoo!’s Ball Don’t Lie twittered that MJ’s speech was a bad idea, and akin to “finding out the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were crackheads.” Joshua Lobdell of The Inquisitr called Jordan petty (again), and a disgrace, even going so far as to say, “a large part of Jordan’s legacy has been forgotten” as a result. Tim Varner of 48 Minutes of Hell called the speech “tacky, vitriolic, and unnecessary” … but Tim also recognizes that Jordan’s shots were “footnotes of his mythology,” and calls on us to better recognize the David Robinsons of the world (a more than valid request). And finally, Matt Moore of Hardwood Paroxysm calls Jordan a jackass, but has a great piece highlighting that such actions from Jordan are nothing new … although Moore does claim that, “Ron Artest probably has more going for him than Michael Jordan as far as a complete life goes,” and challenges readers to wrap their brains around that assertion. Not worth trying.

You see, I came across most of these reactions prior to actually seeing Jordan’s speech. My initial response to the reactions was, “Well, that’s Michael … he’s a dick, but a competitive and winning dick.” And the same sentiment seemed to be conveyed by many who knew Jordan with a shrug of the shoulders.

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flickr/The CJM

On draft night, there were many frustrated rumblings on Bullets Forever over Ernie Grunfeld failing to land (or go after) Vince Carter. Not only that, but Carter was allowed to go to the reigning Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic.

With Hedo Turkoglu opting out, unlikely to return to Orlando, who knows if the Magic will be better off with Carter … many assume yes. I’ll be curious to see if Stan Van Gundy uses Carter similarly within the offense as he did Turkoglu, creating for others off the high pick and roll.

And if Rasheed Wallace goes to Orlando (which probably means that baby ‘Sheed is backing off demands of $8 million a year), they could be very scary. Tumultuous with Wallace the home-wrecker, buy scary nonetheless.

But in terms of the Wizards, should Grunfeld have gone after Carter?

Point

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On the eve of Mike Miller and Randy Foye becoming distinguished gentlemen for the Washington Wizards, I’d toiled over a ‘should the Wizards trade Brendan Haywood post‘. It began …

on a mission (question mark) - flick/Keith Allison

“Everyone likes Haywood.

Hell, I like Haywood (now), and recently challenged someone to name five better ‘Centers’ in the East. They couldn’t.

Championship teams need a guy like BTH. He’s in a contract year, motivated to work hard and make a strong comeback after missing an entire season. Perhaps most of all, Haywood knows enough to not be a stalwart in a free-flowing Flip Saunders offense. More and more, somewhat evident through his blogging, he’s acquired leadership maturity.

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