John Wall’s vision and speed are the main reasons Flip Saunders knew he would be drafted No. 1 overall by the Washington Wizards this past summer. Everybody else obviously knew it too, or there wouldn’t have been a Sports Science study done on him. Still, amidst all the Wizards’ struggles, it’s been easy to forget the positives of just how good Wall really is.

Wall has hit bumps in the road while learning the NBA game, but that’s certainly to be expected. His brief “rookie wall” can mostly be attributed to nagging foot, knee and left hand injuries. But after missing 12 games in a 19-game stretch from November 16 to December 22, Wall has appeared in 41 straight games since. Against the Oklahoma City Thunder last week, an incredible play from Wall as he blew past Serge Ibaka caught my eye and reminded me that hey, the Wizards may not be very good but at least we’ve got John Wall to watch.

Ibaka should be familiar with Wall. They were both at All-Star weekend, playing against one another in the Rookie Challenge. Wall ran the floor all night, recorded a Rookie Challenge-record 22 assists and helped JaVale McGee outdo Ibaka in the Slam Dunk Contest, despite Serge’s toy-snatching, role model-acting, free-throw jumping first round. And yes, Ibaka is quite an athletic player. He’s become a perfect fit for Oklahoma City’s youthful and energetic style of play.

For a quick sequence on March 14, as Wall sprinted with the ball past Ibaka, the Thunder big man probably wished he hadn’t been so eager to play defense. Maybe he should have let the rook roam free or wait for his teammate Russell Westbrook, who was having his way with Wall all game long. Instead, Serge took himself out of the play by getting spun around by Wall, and awakening fans inside the Verizon Center in the process. Good thing for Ibaka that Mr. Durant was there to hush the crowd soon thereafter.

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[Editor's note: This is the second piece on TAI by John Townsend, check out his first one here.]

photo courtesy of K. Praslowicz (Sjixxxy)'s Flickr - www.kpraslowicz.com

“Just because you have money doesn’t mean you should overspend on someone that won’t be a part of your long-term future.  If the right opportunity comes along, I think you want to look at it, but I’ve said all along that we might save our powder for down the road, to see what the new CBA brings, to see if there’s a hard cap or a soft cap.  We don’t really know all the rules going forward, so just because you have the cap room doesn’t mean you should go out and spend it if it’s not for the right player.”[1]

These were wise words spoken by Wizards GM Ernie, a new herald for operational procedure and organizational preparedness, at a press conference on June 10.  As a long-time Green Bay Packer fan (my first memories of football were watching Packers games at 4am in New Delhi, India with my Wisconsin-born dad), I understand and fully endorse building a team through the draft.  There seem to be philosophical parallels between Grunfeld and Packers GM Ted Thompson, who firmly believes that the most effective way to build a winning football team is through the draft.  Thompson sees free agency as a complementary tool which can be used to add the types of players to a roster that may otherwise be difficult to find. In practice, this means that the Packers re-sign as many of their own players possible.  Rebuilding post-Mike Sherman, the Packers made 14 draft-day trades, all but one of them down, turning 31 picks into 44.  The Packers’ picks filled the roster with solid “glue guys” and have been able to add impact players including QB Aaron Rodgers, FS Nick Collins, OLB Clay Matthews, TE Jermichael Finley, WR Greg Jennings, and NT BJ Raji.  The result? The Packers are a team poised to make deep playoff runs every winter and are near the top of the NFL in just about every statistical category.[2]

Ted Leonsis, the Wizards new majority owner, made public his commitment to building a “generationally great team” that will ultimately win a championship.  Under new management, the Wizards will aim to hit their targets in the draft, spend prudently, create a competitive, cohesive team on the court that plays with an identity and within a system, and (most importantly) win games.[3] In an open note to Wizards fans, Leonsis also dismissed the generalized notion that the franchise was unwilling and averse to bringing in free agents.  Leonsis noted that that teams must consider using all of the tools at their disposal: the draft, free agency (small, medium, and large), rookie free agency, waiver wire pickups, developmental league players, and finding players in Europe.

All fans want to see that max contract free agent wear their team’s colors.  The addition of a superstar means that the team feels it is close to a winning a title and are prepared to kick down the doors of the championship fraternity. Read more »

With the Washington Wizards, I could point to a ton of self-induced actions that don’t go right during the course of a game. It boils down to a team that’s lacking focus, fundamentals, and a commitment to each other.

One specific time period that highlights much of the Wizards’ woes came over a three-minute span in the fourth quarter against Oklahoma City on Tuesday. From the start of the quarter, when the game was tied at 76, to around the 7:30 mark, the Wizards and Thunder traded baskets. A Gilbert Arenas three-pointer put the Wizards up 90-89 at the 7:43 mark.

Over the next 180 seconds or so, with breaks for two Flip Saunders timeouts, the Thunder went on an 11-2 run, effectively ending the game. Here’s how it happened.

{7:34 – 4th Q}

Eric Maynor splits Andray Blatche and Earl Boykins. Andray, you’re reaching instead of moving your feet to close the gap. Your feet were growing roots. Your argument is invalid.

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I think I’ve been in denial. And by using the work ‘think’, I’m probably in full-blown denial.

I keep thinking that the Wizards, with all of their talent and health (of the big three), will somehow turn the corner. That they’ll somehow get over their loser’s mentality.

It’s not going to happen. This team is emitting the perception that they are rotten to the core. If they play like they have no guts then they need to be gutted.

Then again …. maybe, juuuuust maybe …. I mean, look at the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Wizards are only 2.5 games out of eighth/seventh place and four games from sixth. Not exactly what the team was aiming for, but if they could get themselves together and sneak in as a low seed, who knows what could happen.

Who am I kidding? Again, that denial thing.

The playoff picture in the East is like a waitress from Hooters. Both look nice, but neither is likely to provide a fruitful return stemming from hot pursuit. It’s just a tease, an illusion of something better.

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I actually rewatched last Friday’s loss against the Thunder on Saturday morning … and then was left with the “treat” of the game against the Spurs that night. Lucky me. And no, I didn’t rewatch the Spurs game on Sunday. I’m not self-loathing.

But as this player-induced, media-fueled soap opera surrounding the Wizards continues — [And Dan Steinberg is right, the players should stop ripping each other in the media. However, the media (of which I am apart, I suppose ... since I was called a "reporter" in a Tweet by an actual reporter) is good at taking windowed instances and magnifying them into potentially meaning much more. Than again, these players have been around the media plenty of times, they know what they're doing.] — it’s not necessarily about egos, or free-agents, or hidden agendas.

It’s about a group of players taking the personal responsibility to do the little things, and then that coming together under the coaching of Flip Saunders and the leadership of the three captains: Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler, and Antawn Jamison (Brendan Haywood should really be counted as a leader as well). Yes, I know … seems like these things should have been handled in training camp and the preseason.

If this team wants to get out of the current funk, it starts with the little things. I was able to capture several screen shots from the Wizards not doing the little things against the Thunder, probably could have taken more against the Spurs, but I didn’t. So without further adieu, here’s a sample of those which I was able to break down.

Changing The Game

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From my perspective, the killer against OKC was missed free-throws (19-27, 70.4%) and turnovers (20 for 25 Thunder points) … in addition to uninspired defense of course, namely by the prominent triumvirate that’s supposed to be leading the team.

But enough of that. I’ll have some screen shot breakdowns of the OKC game later, but tonight, the Wizards have to concentrate on the Spurs. Fabricio Oberto will make a homecoming, but his fellow Argentine, Manu Ginobili won’t be available (groin). Tony Parker is also day-to-day (missed Thursday’s game with an ankle).

The Wizards will take all the help they can get, especially as it’s been almost 10 years since they last won a regular season game in San Antonio. During that last win in the Alamodome, Mitch Richmond led all scorers with 31 points. Overall, the Wiz have lost seven in a row to the Spurs, last beating them at home in November ’05 thanks to 43 points from Gilbert Arenas on 15-20 FGs.

No room for moral victories tonight, this team needs a win.

{6 frames, wizards v. thunder}

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The Wizards ended their eight game losing streak and much of the credit goes to the effort of Dominic McGuire (although my game ball would still go to Antawn Jamison). You can check the Wizards-Thunder game blog over at Bullets Forever, but as far as Dominic McGuire aka The Taser, aka The Cleaner, is concerned, the highlight clip below speaks for itself.

Web Hits:

[Wizards Insider]
The more I see McGuire, the more he reminds of Ruben Patterson (on the court) except that he’s a better passer.

[Washington Times]
The Wizards were not in a celebratory mood after raising their record to 5-23. They seemed more relieved than anything, knowing a loss at home to the Thunder (3-28) would have been the lowest point yet in a season of lows.

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