Grunfeld, circa 2000 NBA Playoffs, East 1st Rd. Gm. 5 vs. Indiana

Look at this young gent. Suave, classy … proper descriptors of this Ernie Grunfeld that your grandma could easily roll into one by saying, “He looks like such a nice boy!”

Now the goings-ons ’round the Wizards web

Candid Gil

“…what has surprised me is how open [Gilbert Arenas] is. We’ve had a lot of talks about everything, including his relationships with all the coaches he had from junior high to high school to college to the NBA. I have a better understanding of where he’s coming from.”

Read more »

Between hitting up the John Legend concert Friday night, going out for some fresh oysters at Hank’s Oyster Bar on Saturday, followed by a night on the town (really, the oysters at Hank’s, especially the ones from Fanny Bay, BC, Canada, were awesome), and then getting trounced in softball on Sunday afternoon (honestly, I think the final score was 24-2), I didn’t have much time to dedicate to the Wizards this past weekend.

I was able to make it through the T-Wolves game Sunday night, and take notes on it, but fell into a slumber before I was able to watch the Wizards against the Clippers or Knicks, both of which, I understand, were much better efforts from the D.C. boys. Oh, and Andray Blatche didn’t play in either game. Nick Young sat out of Sunday’s game against New York as well.

I aim to watch both of the remaining games tonight and subsequently post notes/observations, and then hand out some summer league grades. But until then, here’s the big media dump on what others have said:

Wizards vs. T’Wolves

Flip Saunders apparently sent word down to the bench at halftime that he wasn’t unhappy with the shot selection or their offense, but that the effort simply hadn’t been good enough, and the second half certainly looked better, anyhow.
…..
After posting double-doubles in his first two games in Vegas, Andray Blatche was completely out of kilter. I didn’t have a chance to catch up with him, but he was matched up with Pecherov a lot in the early going, and it sure seemed to me like he was trying (and failing) to take advantage of his former teammate.

Read more »

a scene from one of the more popular Cleveland street festivals - flickr/jmd41280

And Milwaukee thought it had it bad … being the target of Gilbert Arenas’ trash talking and all. Maybe his buddy Richard Jefferson will have the last laugh, seeing that now he’s off to dance the championship dream in San Antonio with Timmy, Manu and Tony.

Step aside Brew City, Cleveland is more boring than you. The city that LeBron James may or may not leave in the future has been named the most boring city in America by a TripAdvisor survey of over 3,400 respondents.

Uhh … sorry guys.

Luckily, the Cleveland Cavaliers can do no wrong [via Waiting For Next Year] Read more »

To see all 14 of the NBA Draft Lottery faces, head over to Hardwood Paroxysm.

What “They” Are Saying:

Tom Knott: No Griffin, no Rubio and no luck – Washington Times

Michael Wilbon: When the Lotto Gives You Lemons . . . – Washington Post Read more »

David Stern’s Dream Scenario:
Blake Griffin to the Wizards and Ricky Rubio to the Knicks
(that’s right, Stern would rather Griffin in DC than OKC)

Well folks, we made it … to NBA Draft Lottery evening. It’s been a while since I’ve cared about one of these. Four years of Wizards playoff action did it’s job to erase some of the memories. And when the Wizards last won the lottery in ’01, I was away in college, a bit lost in my following of the team.

Part of me has been somewhat giddy as I’ve gone through today, knowing that there is a chance. But then again, I’m a Wizards fan … I’m pretty sure we will NOT be landing in the top two. Guess finding a balance between these two is keeping medium, as Jim Zorn would advise.

I’m not really a superstitious person … no consistent lucky charms, just an odd infatuation with May 19th (so much so that I ran the ESPN lottery machine 19 times today, results below).

But I’ll surely find something “lucky” to do tonight, such as laying out all my Wizards/Bullets jerseys on the floor, starting with a #1 Rod Strickland Wiz jersey, followed by a #2 Chris Webber Bullets jersey, but definitely not a #4 Webber Bullets jersey. C-Webb will be on-stage representing the SacTown Kings, maybe the #4 will bring him bad luck.

Read more »

Well, here we are…..finally, the last game of the season. I’d like to be gearing up for the playoffs, but even in the years of futility in the red, white and blue uniforms of Lez Boulez, I would be filled with regret and sadness at the season’s end.

But this year, I’ll probably only be letting out a sigh and a “well, that’s that” after the Wizards-Celtics game tonight.

Hope no one else gets hurt….including the last man standing. Arenas and Jamison aren’t playing, so I guess that’s a good thing (even though Gil only playing in two games is a WTF? situation to me…..sure hope it’s not because of hidden knee issues….the pessimist in me, cultivated by simply being a fan of this franchise, can’t help itself).

You’ll probably be watching the Caps playtoff game tonight, and rightly so. But if you feel like drowning yourself in the sorrows of other Wizards/Bullets fans, you can head over to the game thread on Bullets Forever.

I’ll actually be watching both games on two TVs……could be a dual volume situation, with the Caps taking precedent. And if Twitter is your thing, then I’ll be there too.

Read more »

As the dust settles from the “it’s a done deal” to the “it’s official” phase of hiring Flip Saunders as the next coach of the Wizards, I find it hard to form a solid opinion on perhaps the most important aspect of transforming this team from mediocre to championship contender (aside from health of course).

I still subscribe to the thought that players are on the court, playing the games, and thus hold the ultimate responsibility for winning and losing. But a good coach…well, he can be a difference maker.

Not to say I’m apathetic towards the hiring of Saunders. If I had to rank, I suppose he would have been my number one choice, with Mark Jackson being a sleeper pick (he is a minister, and could surely preach on it….plus, his NBA analysis on ABC/ESPN is on point….but he lacks significant coaching experience).

I might have taken Avery Johnson over Jackson…but over Saunders? I’m not so sure…..in fact, I doubt it. So Saunders it is, and I’m okay with that….but not exactly thrilled. Then again, the stink of this season hasn’t been laid to rest, and that certainly has something to do with my mundane attitude.

Michael Wilbon, whom I’ve taken to task before because of generic columns, when it comes to the Wizards, that scream lackluster effort of trying to cater to the masses instead of a knowledgeable fan base, actually wrote an astoundingly astute column on the Wiz coaching situation. However, I don’t exactly agree with his sentiment.

Read more »

Have you missed something on the Wizards in the past 10 days?

Well, you’re in luck…because below is a massive, massive list of links and the best of what was said about the Wiz. Enjoy.

Be sure and check out the Wiz-Cavs Screen Shot Memories on Bullets Forever.

Things You Like To Hear From Gil Arenas
“I just want to flow through Antawn and Caron. They’ve been holding the ship down, so I’m not gonna come in here and step on their toes. I’m just come in here, get them the ball, get some of the young guys the ball, show them the right way to play basketball . . . I don’t need to go out here and score 30 because everybody knows I can do that. Like I’ve said before, my worst day, I can probably average 10 and 10.”
[Wizards Outlet]

Songaila The Hero
Then [Brendan Haywood] paused, started grinning and yelled out “THEN IT WAS THE WHITE KNIGHT! DARIUS SONGAILA, THE WHITE KNIGHT! BACK IN THE GAME! WHITE KNIGHT!!” Songaila sitting next to Haywood getting his shoes on and gave a fist pump and grinned.
[Wizards Outlet]

Songaila isn’t one for emotion, but he really let loose on Thursday, hooting and hollering like he was playing for the Lithuanian national team, not in some relatively meaningless game for a lottery team. “You could feel the energy building up in the arena,” Songaila said. “We were all fired up. I think that definitely showed on the court.”
[Wizards Insider]

Read more »