[Editor's Note: Before we all complain about the inundation with all that is LeBron -- with coverage good, bad, overall, and everything in between -- consider the fact of how such a unique character provides an opportunity to relish in how influential sports figures have become. That is to say, at least all of this is not boring. Ben Standig (Twitter: @BenStandig) writes about DMV sports all over the web, CSNWashington.com amongst them. In a TAI guess piece below, Ben breaks down a commonality between LeBron and Mike Tyson, who, by chance, is being inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame today. -Kyle W.]

Once upon a time, Mike Tyson was legitimately the baddest man on the planet and in that era he delivered one of the best quotes – both figuratively and in his case, literally – depicting the nature of intimidation in the world of sports. When told before a fight that his opponent had a plan to beat him, Tyson brashly countered that “everyone has a plan, until they get hit in the mouth.”

This quote is pertinent to the NBA Finals because up until a few days ago, most of the basketball world surely would have slotted one LeBron James into that role of baddest of the bad. Not that he would land an actual haymaker to an opponent’s cranium or was the one guy in the league you wouldn’t want to cross, but his physically imposing ways surely put fear into the hearts of opponents. That physicality certainly blinded the observing world.

As it turns out – and as I suspected – James is showing that his persona indeed resembles some aspect of that quote. But not as the harasser, rather the foe to whom Tyson was referring.

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The San Antonio Spurs came into the Verizon Center last night and thoroughly dominated the Washington Wizards 118-94.  They shot 58-percent for the game, 52-percent from three-point land, only trailed for 22 seconds and had six players in double figures.  They were also able to accomplish this with Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili combining for just 20 minutes and 12 points.

San Antonio’s victory was even more impressive considering that the night before, they were outplayed in Philadelphia, losing to the 76ers by shooting just 33-percent from the field, 17-percent from the three-point line, and by putting up just 25 points in the second half.  As Gregg Popovich said during his pregame presser on Saturday, “We set offensive basketball back a decade.”

“Just one?,” asked another reporter.

“Maybe two …. you’re right, I’m being too kind. It was just ridiculous,” responded the coach.  One night later, Popovich got his team to leave that ridiculousness behind. By halftime in Washington, they scored more points (72) than they had the previous night in Philadelphia (71 points total).

The Spurs not only own the league’s best overall record at 45-9, but they are also an NBA-best 20-7 on the road — and 5-2 through the first seven of their nine game “Rodeo Road Trip,” when there is a prolonged scheduling block in the AT&T Center due to the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo. That lies in sharp contrast to the Washington Wizards, who will be aiming for road victory number one against the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday.  It doesn’t take a genius or fancy statistics to see the tremendous gap between the two teams.

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The Wizards last faced the Spurs on December 26, 2010 in San Antonio, and they did so without Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee due to their club fight suspension. It was also John Wall’s first game back after missing six in a row and 12 out of 19. The Wizards were competitive, by their standards, but San Antonio moved the ball much better and won 94-80. Plus, Manu Ginobili got into Nick Young’s head. Washington last won in San Antonio on December 11, 1999.

The Wizards haven’t beaten San Antonio in Washington, D.C. since November 12, 2005 — 1,918 days ago. The were last in town on January 2, 2010, the day after the New York Posts’ article came out sensationalizing the Gilbert Arenas-Javaris Crittenton gun situation. San Antonio’s efficiency won 97-86, Tim Duncan led his team with 23 points on 16 shots, and Roger Mason Jr. added 20 points off the bench. Meanwhile, Gilbert Arenas (25 shots) and Caron Butler (21 shots) were in a pissing contest on offense and scored just 23 and 24 points on their respective attempts. After the game, Flip Saunders spoke about how he wanted Andray Blatche, who started the game with Arenas, Butler, Antawn Jamison and Brendan Haywood, to look for his offense closer to the basket. When asked, Blatche said he was just trying to stay out of Arenas’ way. Andray also took shots like this:

On February 21, 2009 the Spurs won at the Verizon Center 98-67, against thanks to Duncan, 19 points on 13 shots, and Roger Mason Jr., 25 points on 15 shots in a starting role. The rest can simply be explained by the Wizards’ starting a lineup of Mike James, Butler, Dominic McGuire, Jamison and Darius Songaila. Javaris Crittenton had a very Javaris Crittenton game with zero points on three missed shots to go with zero assists, zero turnovers, zero steals, three rebounds and three fouls in 18 minutes off the bench.

About Songaila, who was third on the Wizards with 15 points that game, Comcast’s Steve Buckhantz said: “He’s a smart guy, he knows how to play the game. If he had the body of a . . . Kwame Brown, he’d be an All-Star. And he makes the most with what he has.”

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Prior to Saturday’s 97-86 loss to the San Antonio, Flip Saunders indicated that for the most part, Brendan Haywood would guard Tim Duncan straight up and they would run one-and-a-half men toward the Spurs center “at times.”

Duncan finished with an efficient 23 points (10-16 FGs), seven rebounds, and three assists in 36 minutes.

Flip Saunders

After the game, I asked Coach Saunders asses how the defensive plan against Duncan worked. He said:

“Well we didn’t want to double at all. Every time we doubled, we gave up a three-point shot, which we weren’t supposed to be doing. So, like I said, when you play against a good team and you don’t stay with your game plan, you mess up, you pay the price.

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The story of Andray Blatche has become lost in this absolute mess of a season for the Washington Wizards. Blatche wasn’t exactly “the” headliner coming out of the summer and into training camp, the knee of Gilbert Arenas was. Still, Andray was seen as very key to hope for success this year.

Some have called Blatche a ’20-10 waiting to happen’, but he has only proven to be a frustratingly perpetual unknown. With this being his fifth year since drafted, questions wondering if Blatche would finally mix maturity and focus with his amazing skills and athleticism were getting national attention.

From becoming ‘Seven Day Dray’, to switching jersey numbers, to discussing improved working conditions under Flip Saunders (as opposed to Eddie Jordan), to late night practice sessions with Sam Cassell, to talking about being more consistent, to even getting inspiration from his mom,  Blatche has displayed more focus on the court this season.

Despite starting off slow in Saturday’s game against the Spurs, Blatche continued to keep his head in the game, making hustle plays like drawing offensive fouls on both DeJuan Blair and Richard Jefferson in the third quarter. Andray ended up with five points on 2-6 FGs, six rebounds, a steal, an assist, a turnover and three blocks in 27 total minutes.

Still, in his post-game press conference, Flip Saunders was not totally satisfied with the progression of Blatche’s game and his decision making on the offensive end:

“I’d like more for Andray to stay around the basket. He keeps floating back out, the reason we want to go that way is to have a big that we can put down there.

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Wizards player evaluations for ‘08-09 continue, up eighth is Andray Blatche. My thoughts are below, you can check on the full report on Bullets Forever.

[Previously: Oleksiy Pecherov | Juan Dixon | Etan Thomas | Javaris Crittenton | JaVale McGee | DeShawn Stevenson | Nick Young]

flickr/wizardsdotcom

DMX’s “Here We Go Again,” is the first song that plays in my head when contemplating Andray Blatche. Of course, DMX’s career went the way of the gutter with a litany of charges, crack-induced federal agent impersonating, car-jacking attempts at JFK, and jail time. Evidently Earl Simmons is trying to find the lord now. Andray has certainly been through the fire, but people are still waiting for his first coming, much less a resurrection.

Sure, I’m skeptical of ‘Dray, but no more than the next guy, or the guy after him, or the dozens in line after him. I really want Blatche to succeed. Honestly.The success of the Wizards depends on several aspects, and he is very high on the prioritized list.

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flickr/Geoff Livingston

When Andray Blatche changed his number from 32 to 7 in July, little did he know his action would result in a tribute to who is likely the best power forward in NBA history.

Blatche told the DC Sports Bog, “I’m wearing 7, and that means 7 days [a week] of hard work, 7 days of being focused.”

I’ll refrain from being snarky in this instance, this post is not about Blatche. I’ll just imagine Haywood or Jamison putting Andray in a headlock, rubbing him on the head, and bellowing, ‘Whatever you say kiddo,’ as ‘Dray is shuffled away like a little scamp.

When Blatche chose to go with number seven, the Wizards’ latest signee, Fabricio Oberto, having worn seven during his four-year career with the Spurs, was left to search for a new number.

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Manu over current Wizards coach Sam Cassell - flickr/eugene

Since writing the Manu Ginobili to the Wizards post, I’ve somewhat soured on acquiring him. Not that I’m now completely against it, given ideal circumstances. Manu is nice, but he doesn’t fit the two greatest team needs: a rugged big man who can defend and rebound (either in the form of starting PF or a significant bench role player), and a dead-eye three point shooter, who can also defend. Mike Prada of Bullets Forever has a good post on who that needed wing player might be: ‘Who is Gilbert Arenas’ ideal backcourt mate?‘

The veteran squad and expiring contracts the Wiz would get in the Ginobili trade scenario makes an interesting team while maintaining flexibility for the future. But as Prada pointed out on Bullets Forever, the Wizards would be giving up almost all of their attractive assets (Blatche, Young, the 5th, and the expiring contracts of Mike James and Etan Thomas) for a bunch of over the hill guys with unreliable health.

If I’m Ernie Grunfeld, I want to max out the value of those assets, or retain some for a 2010 trade deadline rainy day. In the end, I, along with most Spurs fans, can’t really imagine the trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Ginobili not being together next year anyway.

The Spurs want to prepare for the future, while remaining competitive. The best way to stay in the title picture might be to keep the veteran core on the books (Duncan, Parker, Ginobili, Kurt Thomas, Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto, Roger Mason, Matt Bonner, and Finley, assuming he takes his $2.5 million player option), along with George Hill (seemingly their only youthful prospect), fill in the gap with a MLE free-agent (which could mean heading into luxury tax territory), and pray for health.

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flickr/kris247

When the San Antonio Spurs asked Ernie Grunfeld what it would take to get the 5th pick in June 25th’s draft, Grunfeld simply responded, “Manu Ginobili,” or so goes the purported story relayed by the Washington Post’s Michael Lee.

Despite Ginobili’s old age and injury issues, sounds like a pretty absurd counter request (assuming only expiring contracts/low value players would accompany the pick) for one of the top gamers in the NBA. Spurs brass certainly would not expect to give up one of their top three stars for a pick in what most are saying is a down draft.

Grunfeld is not ridiculous, nor is he stupid. He’s just playing hardball knowing the pick will only increase in value heading up to the draft. Case in point would be the hype surrounding Stephen Curry and interest from the Knicks to possibly trade up to get him (amongst Wizards’ threats to draft Curry themselves). Whether Grunfeld’s old team would deal with him might be another story.

Forget what you’ve heard about this being a down draft. Even the worst drafts produce hidden gems, and every GM, with their egos, confidence, and scouting reports think they can mine the next one. A pick’s value is in the size of the target on a slotted player’s back placed there by interested parties.

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