NBA Draft Lottery thoughts and links…

{flickr/Lisa Brewster}

The life of a Wizards/Bullets fan has often been predicated on the NBA Draft Lottery. Being a fan of the team since moving to D.C. in 1990, it has generally been ‘the’ highlight of the season… More than the draft itself, more than peddled hope before a season. A simple flip of a card, the bounce of a ping-pong ball and/or the chance of mathematical equation can change the fate of a franchise for years… in just a brief moment. How exciting, right?

In 1992, with the fifth worst record in the NBA, second worst in the Eastern Conference, Washington fans hoped for Shaquille O’Neal, or even Alonzo Mourning. Instead, the Bullets were jumped by the Charlotte Hornets (who chose Mourning with the second pick), and ended up with the sixth pick and Tom Gugliotta.

With the fifth worst record again in 1994, did the Wizards succeed in landing one of three draft prizes in Glenn Robinson, Jason Kidd or Grant Hill? Nope. Fifth is where they stayed… begin memories of the Juwan Howard saga.

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A D.C. picture, what others are saying about the new-look Wizards, and a whole bunch of links…

[Outside of Sportsman's Liquor in Mt. Pleasant - photo: K. Weidie]

What They Said… {About the new-look Wizards}

“I mean, this is a B+/A- at worse, and it just reminds us how horrific the past decade has been.” -Dan Steinberg, DC Sports Bog, Washington Post

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Parties, commentary and links…

Antawn Jamison is on his own level and you can’t get on it, at least that’s what the promotional party flier above seems to indicate. Jamison’s level these days involves sitting out the past 13 games — likely the rest of the year — due to a broken pinkie finger; and he has to watch the 15-58 Cleveland Cavaliers all the time, which probably isn’t that much different than watching the 18-55 Wizards. Jamison’s level also involves getting paid over $13.3 million this season, which is a pretty nice level regardless of the environment. Back to the promotional flier … Jamison’s level will evidently be on display this Thursday at the Shadow Room, as he is welcomed back to D.C. with a party the night before his Cavs take on the Wizards. Speaking of the Shadow Room, that’s the venue where Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee once got on the level of fighting with each other outside the club on Christmas Eve. The Wizards are just a classic team, on so many levels.

In other team party news, Josh Howard, who has appeared in 409 minutes over 18 games this season, has lent his name to the Wizards-Heat post-game party at Oxygen tonight. The most recently injured Wizard, Trevor Booker, had provided his name for use as well. Wale will also be performing … I still wonder if he roots for the Cavaliers and/or Nuggets.

Links.

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Screen shots, commentary and links…

My column last week in the DCist got delayed due to my account, so it was posted this morning for you to kindly read. It’s all about how the “Our Time” motto worked out for the Virginia Commonwealth Rams, but not so much for the Washington Wizards. And as evident by the posters above from the crowd seen on television at VCU’s big win over Kansas yesterday, it was clearly a theme that resonated from when Rams coach Shaka Smart outlined it for his team at the beginning of their season. So a big congrats goes to VCU … go check out my DCist column … and the below screen shot captures how the ticket that I purchased in Las Vegas last July (while I was out there for the NBA Summer League) for the Kansas Jayhawks to win the NCAA national title feels.

Wizards-Warriors.

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Links, commentary and video…

I’m not sure if anyone has a formula for jumpers, but I’ll make one up: one part mechanics, one part muscle memory, two parts confidence. Confidence can wane between quarters, games and possessions, it’s all about building a history of it. And that’s what John Wall is working on. He put on a glimpse of jump shot confidence in a takeover display versus the New Jersey Nets last Sunday. Let’s watch…

The knock on Wall’s jumper will continue to be the most prevalent of knocks against him, but at least he’d never pull what Rajon Rondo did recently.

LINKS.

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Some pictures, some writing, some links…

{Jordan Crawford in pre-game warm-ups.}

{Nope, not a dunk.}

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Pictures, commentary, links and the whatnot …

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{John Wall looks for Kevin Seraphin - photo: K. Weidie}

{Wall looks for a trailing Andray Blatche - photo: K. Weidie}

In contrast to John Wall dropping a Rookie-Sophomore game record 22 assists on Friday night, an NBA team achieving single digits in assists over the course of a regular season game is a pretty rare feat. According to the Basketball-Reference.com database, it’s occurred just 194 times since the 1986-87 season (the extent of BBR’s game box score database). So in roughly 0.3-percent of NBA games over the last 25 seasons. And of course, your Washington Wizards did just that on Wednesday night in Orlando, tallying a mere eight dimes divided up amongst Kirk Hinrich, who had three, along with one each from and John Wall, Kevin Seraphin, Josh Howard, Andray Blatche and Hilton Armstrong.

Teams have now put up a single-digit assist total five times this season. The Orlando Magic dropped  five assists in a 26 point loss to the Miami Heat in just their second game on the 2010-11 season (the day after Orlando blew out the Wizards by 29 points in their season home opener). The Magic also had just nine team assists in a 80-74 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on December 6, 2010. The Portland Trailblazers had eight assists in a 100-86 loss to the New York Knicks on January 11, 2011. And surprisingly enough, Chris Paul’s New Orleans Hornets put up a league season low four assists for a team in a 88-70 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on December 12, 2010.

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There’s sadness to report from the Wizards’ locker room, unfortunately on Valentine’s Day, and it involves Nick Young’s  forlorn relationship with the NBA’s annual dunk contest. Upon being passed up by the League for this year’s event in his  hometown of Los Angeles in favor of teammate JaVale McGee, Young admitted that he was a little jealous. However, not two weeks ago, Young was alluding that he and McGee had something special planned for the contest being held on NBA All-Star Saturday night on February 19. Now, things have seemingly changed … sadness, and perhaps some hate has entered the realm of Young. Poor guy. Let’s hear it from him:

Believable? Well, Young did learn from the master, Gilbert Arenas … so there’s that.

LINKS.

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Pictures, commentary and links…

Sometimes I feel like on offense, when he gets the ball, JaVale McGee is like that guy who receives a particularly funny chain email (well, at least it’s funny to him), and then gets so overwhelmed with excitement that he forwards it to everyone he knows when it’s probably not appropriate to do so. Or maybe when he gets the ball he’s more like a little kid who sees a dancing puppy holding an ice cream cone and a PS3 outside, whereas the kid goes running through a clear glass door to get to the puppy (or to the rim) in a fit of enthusiasm.

Whatever the case may be, dude needs to chill. No one wants to seem him get hooked for the same stupid mistake he keeps making over and over again … dribbling around like he’s a 6’2″ guard.

“We explained to him, at the end of the game when he started going on his dribbling exhibition, that’s one of the reasons that we lose on the road, because we get in close games and we do those things,” said Flip Saunders after Wednesday’s match versus the Bucks.  “You can’t do that, and then players lose trust, as far as throwing him the ball in a late-game situation. It becomes easier for teams to defend against you, and puts more pressure on you, especially if you’re up a couple [points],” Saunders finished, explaining his teaching moment of quickly taking McGee out of the game when he performs such acts, as he’s done countless times before.

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