[This is Part One of a two-part post on Washington Wizards team president Ernie Grunfeld looking back at his almost 25-year tenure making player personnel decisions in the National Basketball Association. Part Two can be read here.]

“I told you I was going to get
the best brains in basketball.”

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[D.C. Council: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the subs, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is on the table. Game No. 79, Washington Wizards vs Miami Heat; contributors: Rashad Mobley and Kyle Weidie from the Verizon Center, and Conor Dirks from the Dirty South.]

Martell Webster, writing checks. What you lookin’ at, Bradley? [via @wiz_spurtin]

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“[Bradley Beal] is very talented. … He can play without the ball, he can put alot of pressure on the defense and he can shoot it. He is the future of the NBA.” —Jason Kidd.

[video below / quote via TAI's Adam McGinnis]

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Twenty-eight percent of 3-pointers taken in the NBA are from the corner, and they go in the basket 3.6 percent more than above the break 3-pointers. The Washington Wizards, with John Wall, are the best shooting team in the league from the corner. This is significant.

[Wizards 3-Pointers in 2012-13 before John Wall.]

[Wizards 3-Pointers in 2012-13 WITH John Wall.]

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By now, most people will agree that Bradley Beal is a keeper—and that isn’t just because his agent, Mark Bartelstein, recently said, “I’m sure lots of teams would like to have Brad, but the Wizards have absolutely no intention of trading him.”

But that’s not all that interesting. Beal was projected to be a “keeper,” and was expected to produce as the No. 3 pick in the last draft. And he has. Beal was named December’s Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month, and, over the last three games, the former Florida Gator has averaged a plus/minus of plus-10.7 per game, along with 18.3 points (63.6% from 3-point range), 3.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists.

What’s more interesting is the reason why he’s been able to get better game by game, even before John Wall made his season debut. The easy analysis would be to say, ‘Oh, the game is finally slowing down for Beal.’ He even said so himself after Monday night’s 29-point thumping of the Orlando Magic: “The game’s starting to slow down for me more, and I’ve gained a lot more confidence.”

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Spotlight: Ray Allen

Jesus Shuttlesworth shared some of his secrets to success before the Heat took on the Wiz in Washington. Find that, plus a John Wall update, below.

Bonus Points

On adjusting to life as a member of the Heat:

“I’m learning the guys and not trying to force my ways on how I’ve done things on them. It’s been pretty good, it’s been a pretty easy transition. This start of the season, I’m still trying to figure out different ways that you can be better—for me, how I can help—but it’s always a work in progress, especially if you want to be good.”

On where the 16-year veteran wants to get better: Read more »

Here to provide the DC Council Opening Statements for Washington’s 15th game of the season against the Miami Heat in D.C. are TAI’s Kyle Weidie (@Truth_About_It) and guest Surya Fernandez (@SuryaHeatNBA), who writes about the Heat for the SB Nation blog Hot Hot Hoops.

Wizards Starters (1-13):

A.J. Price, Bradley Beal, Trevor Ariza, Chris Singleton, Emeka Okafor
(More changes to the starting crew in consideration? We will see.) 

Heat Starters (12-3):

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BRADLEY BEAL IS NOT HAVING A GOOD ROOKIE YEAR, so far.

ESPN.com’s David Thorpe recently listed Beal amongst his rookie disappointments (ESPN Insider), but concluded:

If John Wall, who is out with a knee injury, were playing next to Beal in the backcourt, things would surely get easier for Beal. It’s a great thing to look forward to. Just as the game slows down for Beal, Wall should return, and that combination suggests Beal will have a big second half of the season.

Also, Beal is just 19 years old. Much room for improvement. But how much? Let’s peel back some numbers.

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Night No. 2, Game No. 2 — this time the Wizards are in Boston to take on the Celtics. To the point: we have three questions about this evening’s game. TAI’s Dan Diamond, Arish Narayen and Kyle Weidie have the answers to those questions. 3-on-3 starts now… [UPDATE: as noted below, Ray Allen is out for the Celtics; Nene is also out for the Wizards with back spasms.]

#1) Seems like the Wizards of the Nick Young/Andray Blatche/JaVale McGee era always got up to play against these olde tymey Celtics, and likewise with Kevin Garnett often making Andray, who’s currently “NWT-Conditioning,” the target of his ire. Boston is back home after a 4-4 eight-game road trip; Washington is in the second night of their first 3-game, 3-night set of the season, and they are coming off two tough, blown-lead losses against Indiana and Atlanta. Do either of these teams play with energy? If at all, which one has more? And which player gives which team the advantage in this department?

DIAMOND:  Boston has the edge here. Wizards may be hoping to catch them sleeping–but after two weeks away from home, at least the Celtics finally got to snooze in their own beds last night. I like Greg Stiemsma to be the energy guy for Boston off the bench; he’s been a solid banger for the Celtics in recent weeks.

NARAYEN: On January 2nd, in Boston, the Wizards were on the second night of a home-and-home versus the Celtics. Washington lost that game 100-92. Interestingly enough, the total in tonight’s game is 192. My sense is that there will be more offense than crisp defensive rotations in this game. I anticipate both teams playing with energy: Boston, because of an uneven road trip that saw them lose to playoff-bound teams (and get embarrassed in Sacramento); Washington, because of trying to forge a new team identity in the midst of two gutwrenching losses. I give Boston the edge, as the home crowd will likely rejuvenate those road weary legs. As for a specific player that will boost their team’s energy the most, it has to be Paul Pierce. Boston was already thin on reserves, and with the likely absence of Pietrus, Pierce will have to play major minutes.

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Why not start with a Vince Carter dunk and a Shaq reaction?

When people think back to NBA All-Stars battling on the Verizon Center hardwood in Washington, D.C. in 2001, they call it a great game. That’s slightly inaccurate. It was a great finish that came down to the very last possession and a missed attempt by Tim Duncan. But large chunks of the rest of the game were a sloppy mess, the two teams combined for 40 turnovers. Still, none of this is to take away from the great show put by Stephon Marbury, Kobe Bryant and MVP Allen Iverson, 15 fourth quarter points, 25 for the game. The East came back from being down 21 points to win 111-100, the stars trading big buckets and making Washington fans forget about how they got there.

The evening also featured homecomings of all sorts. Both Chris Webber and Rasheed Wallace, former Bullets big men, returned to Washington as All-Stars. Iverson, of course, returned to the place he called his “second home, his home away from home” after the game. And David Robinson, from nearby Manasas, Virginia, was making his final All-Star appearance.

The East had young-and-gunning guards and wings to complete — Iverson making his second All-Star appearance, along with Tracy McGracy (1st), Vince Carter (2nd), Allan Houston (2nd) Ray Allen (2nd), Glenn Robinson (2nd), Jerry Stackhouse (2nd) and Stephon Marbury (1st). Unfortunately, this crew didn’t know how to pass to each other in the game’s early going. Turnovers, often from trying to pass too much — with three courtesy of Iverson very early — resulted in the West jumping out to an 11-0 lead that was pushed to 30-17 at the end of one quarter.

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