First of all, we know Houston’s Chandler Parsons got a put-back dunk on JaVale McGee, circling his crotch and balls around Epic ‘Vale’s head for good measure. McGee was more than posterized, he was GIF’d…
In video form, if you will…
Then, of course, in true JaVale fashion, there was this, a dunk off the backboard when down 64-60 early in the third quarter against Houston:
In the midst of training camp, just three days since it commenced, four days until the first preseason game, and exactly two weeks until the beginning of the regular season, the Washington Wizards are running toward the beginning.
Rashad Mobley, John C. Townsend and I represented Truth About It.net in an ESPN 5-on-5 regarding the Wizards today. Along with Brett Koremenos of HoopSpeak.com and Mike Wallace of ESPN.com, we attempted to answer five questions:
For which Wizards player is the 2011-12 season most important?
Who is the most intriguing player on the Wizards’ roster?
[Editor's note: Eric L. is a Wizards fan, season ticket holder and a faithful reader of Truth About It.net ... and he's caught in a conundrum over whether to renew his season tickets for next season or not. Ted Leonsis, upon officially taking over ownership of the team, said:
"Full season ticket holders are the lifeblood of our company. And I will tell you that we need more full season ticket holders for the Washington Wizards. I will personally drive our full season ticket holders to games. I’ll mow lawns, I’ll wash cars. We are in this together. And while I can’t promise championships, I can sincerely and honestly tell you that what is in our control is making the game experience, the value and the way we treat our customers, the best in the plans."
As is evident, Eric's decision is crucial for all parties involved. So, read below what Eric has to say on the matter and help him decide via the poll at the bottom of this post. -Kyle W.]
Last Friday against the Portland Trailblazers, the decision was made to bring Gilbert Arenas off the bench. After missing four out of six games and then coming off the bench versus Toronto, it was time for John Wall to start. But next to Kirk Hinrich and Alonzo Gee at the wings instead of Arenas? It seemed curious at a minimum. So, speculation, contributed to by myself and others, ran away with itself … because what else are we to do with curiosities? Feed the algorithm monster with pixels I suppose.
“Well, Hinrich IS Ernie Grunfeld’s darling (Arenas ain’t) … and maybe the team would rather get Wall and Hinrich used to playing next to each other for the next couple of seasons” — (even though Hinrich is likely to bolt D.C. as fast as Mike Miller did, probably back to Chicago when his contract runs out after the 2011-12 season … if he’s not traded before then).
“Maybe Flip Saunders wants Arenas’ scoring off the bench since Nick Young missed the Blazers game due to what was reported to be a thigh contusion.”
“Maybe the ‘Arenas and Wall can work together’ idea is being phased out.” — (amid rampant Arenas trade rumors that have been vehemently denied by Ted Leonsis)
The Wizards are 0-6 on the road so far on the season, but they are treating faithful fans to a 5-2 record at home. The last time the team started 0-6 away from home came in 2008-09, they won road game No. 7 against the New Jersey Nets on December 2, 2008. The worst before that came in 2006-07 when the Wizards started 0-8 on the road before beating the Knicks in New York on December 6 … and actually, that represents the worst road start in franchise history.
The 1961-62 Chicago Packers, technically the first season in franchise history, actually started their season 0-8 “away from home” — in that their seventh game of the season versus the New York Knicks took place in the neutral territory of Detroit, Michigan. The Packers won their eighth “true” road game, ninth “away from home” against those same Knicks in New York on November 21, 1961.
Of course, current team personnel doesn’t consider those two seasons in Chicago (’61-62 as the Packers and ’62-63 as the Zephyrs) as part of the franchise’s history that counts. If they did, we’d be celebrating the franchise’s 50th season in existence this year. Instead, as a member of the Wizards’ PR team informed me a while ago, the franchise’s 50th anniversary will be celebrated two years from now, marking half a century since the franchise arrived in Baltimore, instead of when they actually started bouncing balls on courts.
On Monday afternoon Flip Saunders left practice early, storming out and cutting it short because he said his team did not have a sense of urgency and that his players were not working hard. Saunders also said, “That’s the one thing as coaches, you can’t coach effort.” He told his team to come back for a second practice that afternoon at 4 pm.
Barring your opinion of whether coaches can really coach effort or not, or if they should at least be taking measures to encourage maximized effort, or if you believe it should not be an NBA coach’s responsibility to hold the hands of basketball millionaires, there are a lot of issues with this Wizards team and they have been pointed out.
But Saunders walking out on practice … how big of a deal is this? Sure, as TAI’s Adam McGinnis was opining to me over Google-chat, this would be getting killed in Chicago or New York. Then again, via web media with boundless reach, it’s out there for a larger audience to scrutinize nonetheless.
Is it a good sign? No, it’s not a good sign that the lines between coaching instruction and player implementation are not in tune. But we’re talking about practice.
[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
Beards are great for a variety of reasons, none of which I’ll delve into right now other than to say I gots one.
Now, the beard fraternity might not be at a total loss. You see, Arenas has often sported an actual beard, just not one this long that has attracted so much attention.
He has also sported a goatee before, and could do so again … to show solidarity toward the owner who often embraces him and encourages others to do the same.
[The Wizards may not win a lot of games in 2010-11, but it certainly will be less painful to watch than the last two campaigns of 19 and 26 wins respectively ... I hope.]
The experts have spoken, myself included amongst the ESPN panel of 93, and have cumulatively pegged the Wizards to finish with the ninth best record in the Eastern Conference in 2010-11 with 32 wins and 50 losses.
So, that puts the Wizards behind (in order of projection) the Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks, Charlotte Bobcats and New York Knicks; and ahead of the Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, Detroit Pistons, Cleveland Cavaliers, New Jersey Nets and Toronto Raptors (Damn, the Raps are last?).
