Washington Wizards Blog

Comment from Anonymous
Time October 25, 2006 at 3:57 PM

Well they almost all pick us to finish 2nd in division and 6th in conference. Probably pretty accurate. The thing holding us back is lack of talent at center, and Jamison’s zero defense at PF.

Comment from Anonymous
Time October 25, 2006 at 4:10 PM

Jamison’s idea of defense is to stand in front of his man, and if he comes towards him get out of the way. Basically he plays defense like a bull fighter (without the swords). Seriously if you watch him that is what he does! He stands facing his man, then turns sideways and watches him run by.

Comment from Wizards4life
Time October 25, 2006 at 4:17 PM

“Gilbert Arenas believes Team USA booted him because he’s not a big enough star. Wrong. It’s because he’s proving to be the next AI, an incredibly gifted player who makes the game harder, not easier, for his less-talented teammates.”

Give me a brake. all i have to say about the above statement is highest scoring trio.

now onto the ones that had merit i think that the NBA is changing to an offensive uptempo stage. with the new rule changes its not hard to see where we are going. and with a little D in the post we have a chance to take that title and no one can tell me that we don’t. to the finals we go IMHO….

Comment from wizardsdotcom
Time October 25, 2006 at 4:29 PM

This is what’s referred to as “matador defense”, in case anyone was wondering…

Comment from Anonymous
Time October 25, 2006 at 4:44 PM

There used to be an old baseball player nicknamed “Shoeless” Joe Jackson. We should nickname him “Swordless” Antawn Jamison!! Or the way he steps aside and opens the door for defenders how about “The Doorman”. Or the way he walks players to the basket how about “The Escort”… or I can’t think of the name, but in the olden days those people that used walk people to their seats in movie theaters with flashlights, what were they called?

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time October 25, 2006 at 4:55 PM

I think Antawn gets as much out of the 4 position as he can, being slightly undersized for it. Ideally, he would play the 3, but he must play 4 on the Wizards.

They might do better, but I agree that the Wizards are *most likely* going to have a season like last season — slightly over .500 — and, I hope, get to the 2d round.

Of course, I want them to meet — and beat! — Cleveland in that 2d round.

But… could they do better in the regular season? Could they approach 50 wins? Yes, if Jarvis Hayes stays healthy and plays to his potential.

And that’s what I’m hoping for. Yet, you know how it goes with ‘hope.’

Comment from BK
Time October 25, 2006 at 6:43 PM

As long as he outscores his opponent, who cares.

Comment from Wiz034
Time October 25, 2006 at 6:56 PM

“Gilbert Arenas believes Team USA booted him because he’s not a big enough star. Wrong. It’s because he’s proving to be the next AI, an incredibly gifted player who makes the game harder, not easier, for his less-talented teammates.”

I agree this is the most ridiculous thing I have ever read. The words for today is ‘trio’ ‘big three’

AS far as Jamison, remember he’s playing a 4 is a 3. He has the battle scars to prove it.I hope EJ will soon to move him to his natural position.

I think the Wizards will go further then sports analyst and even some fans think they will go. But no matter what, I hope they meet Cleveland. I want that rematch, whether it’s the first or second round. I just want us to walk away with the “W”

Comment from Wizards Fusion
Time October 25, 2006 at 7:54 PM

I agree with Tom Mandel that the Wiz will be slightly better than .500 this season. Getting more than 41 wins should land the team in the playoffs for the 3rd consecutive year. As for the Jamison bashing on his defense (from several anonymous bloggers) - I ask, why now? It is not a revelation that Antawn isn’t that good on D. Jamison’s wizardry (pardon the pun) is his offensive skills. He can shoot from the outside; do a little bit of posting on the inside; make unbelievable shots near the basket that makes Buckhantz scream in amazement. If fans only remember LeBron driving past Antawn for layups during last year’s playoffs as “Jamison’s definition of defense”, then I guess his 9 boards a game wasn’t important. Let the stats show Antawn outrebounded Brendan Haywood per game last season and the year before that. Also, Coach Jordan calls AJ a true professional and a veteran team leader. I would take Jamison and his weak defense anyday.

Comment from Anonymous
Time October 25, 2006 at 9:01 PM

I can just see it now the wizards with a 47 to 55 win season and finishing first in their division.You guys might think i am crazy for saying that but with the depth on this team anything can happen.

Comment from Anonymous
Time October 26, 2006 at 7:49 AM

Everyone is always bashing the Wizards including their “supposed” fans. Give Jamison a break! I really think that they are going to be a lot better than anyone believes. As for Deshawn, remember he has something to prove so don’t write him off as being insignificant to the team. A different team brings about a different type of game. He is already talking about how it feels to be a Wizard and won a starting role in preseason. His preseason stats are impressisve as well. I look for Deshawn to take the place of Jeffries in a great way and don’t forget we now have a healthy Hayes. And what about Mason and Lang? As Daniels says, let them sleep on us, that way we can take them by surprise. As for Arenas, to compare him to Allen Iverson is ridiculous at most! I can’t wait for the Wizards to make all of those analysts eat their words.
GO WIZARDS!!!!!!!!!!

Comment from Anonymous
Time October 26, 2006 at 9:37 AM

Sorry I don’t mean to bash Jamison, I like him alot don’t get me wrong (I wrote comment about playing like bull fighter without the swords). I was just disapointed watching the game against the Pistons, and saw Jamison do that several times, and he only played 5 minutes. Just all this talk about defense, and he talks about it as much as anyone about how he’s going to be tougher on defense this year. It was only a preseason game, but he was doing that… getting square in front of his man, then when his man drives forward to the basket Jamison will literally turn his body sideways (like a revolving door) and watch the guy run right by him. If you watch him it is what he does EVERY time! He Never takes a charge, never gets steals or blocks, and never stops his man. It is very frustrating, considering all his talk about defense. Yes he is undersized, but if anything that means he should be quicker than his man and able to stay if front of him. But he is a good rebounder, and very good offensive player.

Comment from Anonymous
Time October 26, 2006 at 10:27 AM

With the current roster, I do not see Jamison switching to SF anytime soon. Who are we going to have playing 4? We do not know when Songaila is going to play. Ruffin is just one dimensional, and is more a situation substitute. Blatche is not ready to play yet, judged by his preseason performance, and I do not think Thomas and Booth can be converted to PF.

I saw many articles talking about this year’s Wizards being deeper than last year’s. But if Songaila’s injury is long-term (which we have no idea how long it will be), then all we have is replacing Jefferies with Stevenson when comparing to last year’s roster. That is just one injury away from being thin again (e.g., Hayes last year).

I also do not think Stevenson is necessarily better than Jefferies. Stevenson may be better in offense, but he is 6 inches shorter than Jefferies. There are things Jefferies could do that Stevenson can’t due to the height difference (like running down court and swat away a potential lay up). In addition, Jefferies averaged 2 offensive rebounds a game last season, that’s potential 4 points right there. Stevenson + Songaila may be better than Jefferies, but I am getting worry about Songaila’s status.

Comment from SUPERBALLMAN
Time October 26, 2006 at 10:27 AM

Interesting Eddie’s statement that a “pecking order” has been established. I like our team once Darius is healthy (which would allow us to use Jamison some at SF).
The way I think the “pecking order” has worked out: I like Etan in the starting lineup with Jamison, Caron, DeShawn and Gil. The next 5 should be good with Haywood, Darius, Jarvis, Roger and Antonio. Then we’ve got Calvin, Lang, Ruffin, Blatche and Taylor to round out the roster. The depth at guard looks alittle thin, but remember Caron and Jarivs can both play the 2 as well, and Taylor and Mason can both play the point if needed.
I think we got a shot at 50 wins, and I would love to beat Cavs in 2nd round to advance to ECF this year!!

Comment from Andrew
Time October 26, 2006 at 10:40 AM

These “experts” have no idea what they are talking about. So far in the preseason it seems as though everyone but Jamison is stepping up on defense. I still have hope that he can figure it out, but even if he doesn’t it will not hurt that much. DeShawn is showing much more on offense than I expected from him. Now, I have not seen them play yet, I have only watched box scores and kept up with game casts. I am going to hold out on getting overly critical or praiseful(is that a word?)

That being said, I am sticking to my prediction from the beginning of the preseason. I say the Wiz finish 52-30. I think that will be good for 2nd in the division, but a 3rd seed in the playoffs. Then I think they will meet the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. I think the NBA is going more offensive, and I buy into the idea that the Wiz only need to be “middle-of-the-pack” defensively to greatly improve over last year. The “experts” seem to think we have added nothing to the Big 3 and that we are the same ‘ol Wiz. They forget to mention that Stevenson is essentially in a contract year(he can opt out after this year) and will certainly want to get paid more whether in DC or not. Jarvis is also in a contract year. We are deep and will be much better than those bonebeads say we will.

Comment from Anonymous
Time October 26, 2006 at 10:49 AM

I love that 2nd unit with Antonio’s ability to drive, and kick it to an open Hayes or Songaila. Mason and Daniels can both score and play good D. The starters are going to be real tough with Etan, DeShawn, and Caron we will be good defensively, and our big 3 can score on anyone!! Deep bench is nice hustle players like Ruffin and Taylor, and Lang gives us an inside scorer and rebounder. Blatche should spend a year in the DLeague (Dakota Wizards), he needs to work on his game.

Comment from Andrew
Time October 26, 2006 at 11:13 AM

I think that this team will look totally different once Songaila returns. It absolutely kills me that he is going to be down for at least the first month. This injury sounds so small. It sounds like something that should have just healed with some rest and certain exercise. The fact that this has dragged on and on, and he still has not fully participated in a practice or a game with the rest of the guys is bad. I like this squad soooo much. I think they are a ton deeper than last year, they can now literally run 10-deep. However, this injury to Songaila is very worrisome to me. I just hope it is not something that will make us regret signing him.

Comment from Anonymous
Time October 26, 2006 at 11:50 AM

I agree I am worried about Songaila. We signed him to a large 5 year contract which he probably would not have gotten anywhere else. A back injury like this could end his career, or keep him on the injured list for the next 5 years while he gets paid. Starting to remind me of Lorenzo Williams. Don’t understand how he hurt his back but was able to keep playing in the Worlds but can’t even practice now. For better or worse, we are stuck with this guy.

Comment from Wizards4life
Time October 26, 2006 at 1:23 PM

i think it will work out i just think the team as a whole dose not want him to relapse after 2 games that’s the thinking behind the 1 month off deal. but as far as Twan letting people run by that one is new to me but i did hear EJ say that he was leaning more to force your player into help D than lock down man to man that might have been the case with Twan he was trying to force his guy into help but he also was hurting from what i read. but i am not trying to say that he did not just let his man by i was just trying to give you reasons why that might have happened.

Comment from Anonymous
Time October 26, 2006 at 2:17 PM

Yeah Antawn gets by because he gets in front of his man, so most players will see him there and pass out. But if the player makes a move forward to the basket and there is gonna be contact, Antawn will step to the side.
As far as Darius, if he doesn’t get back real soon, he will be out of shape, and he will have no cohesion with the rest of the team because rotations and roles and chemistry will already be set without him.

Comment from Anonymous
Time October 26, 2006 at 2:18 PM

Here is a good trade idea:

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=2746~1000~385~261&teams=16~16~16~27

Comment from FUTANG
Time October 26, 2006 at 2:31 PM

Jamison is good, he just is not very athletic. He can be a streaky shooter though. I really miss Juan Dixon I wish we had kept him. We could use a good Tyron Lue type off the bench too, or Chucky Atkins perhaps? But if we had a real PF like CWeb or Juwan Howard or Rasheed Wallace we’d be a very good team. We also need a really good outside shooter like Rex Chapman used to be for us, he was awesome to watch!

Comment from wizardsdotcom
Time October 26, 2006 at 2:33 PM

It’d also be nice to have a center like Shaq…or a guard like Kobe…

Comment from wizardsdotcom
Time October 26, 2006 at 2:34 PM

Futang - I think you want to start a Wizards Alum Team!

Comment from Anonymous
Time October 26, 2006 at 3:24 PM

Good riddance to Chucky Atkins! He did nothing but create problems in the locker room when he was here and that was it. He had no production coming off the bench and if you remember correctly, the Wizards were in a slump until they waved him good bye. That is why they told him not to come back and just paid him off and sent him on his way Just wondering if you were a tru Wiz fan or not. For this to be a Wiz blog, I can’t believe the hate that floats around. I sure hope my boys aren’t reading some of these comments. Geeze! GO Wiz!

Comment from Andrew
Time October 26, 2006 at 3:26 PM

That trade proposal is proposterous. If you want to take a huge step back in cohesion, sure. But that trade is not in the best interest of this team. We do not need to have KG. We certainly do not need to give up all of those players. That would leave big holes at other positions. Who else will play center? Is Etan playing 35-40 mpg? Booth certainly cannot handle a major role. How about PF? KG playing 35-40 mpg? Not at this stage in career. That is a very weak proposal.

As for Futang, I loved Juan would like to have him back. Lue, Webber, Howard and Chapman are and were stiffs. Atkins was a clubhouse cancer. Sheed is going to be kicked out of the league due to technical fouls this year.

Comment from Anonymous
Time October 26, 2006 at 3:47 PM

With Etan starting, we would have a staring lineup of 6′10″, 6′9″, 6′7″, 6′5″ and 6′5″, probably shorter than any team except Phoenix. Yes, shorter team may out quick the opponent, but it is tough to overcome the height disadvantage night in and night out. Please see my comment on previous thread http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=31078077&postID=116162745570870689

Some one also wrote this from the RealGM board, “Example — opponent efg when Haywood was defending was about 33% in 04-05, but was nearly 42% in 05-06. In 04-05, opponents had an efg of 49.4% vs. Etan. Last season it was about 46%. Haywood had a big dropoff in steals, but still had more non-steal forced turnovers than Etan. The gap closed between them, but Haywood was still more effective.”
http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=576102&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=36

Comment from Anonymous
Time October 26, 2006 at 4:47 PM

I predict Gil will lead the league in scoring this year. Any bets?

Comment from Anonymous
Time October 27, 2006 at 7:31 AM

That would be a fools bet. I agree. I think Arenas is going to turn it out this year too!

Comment from Anonymous
Time October 27, 2006 at 3:36 PM

Arenas isn’t going to lead the league in scoring because he shares the scoring load with Jamison and Butler (with a healthy Jarvis, the Wiz have another double digit scoring threat). Guys like Kobe and AI get about 27+ shots a game (plus they get to the line another 10-11 times). Last yr Arenas took under 21 shots a game and I don’t see it changing any this yr. For the Wizards to take the next step, I think Arenas actually needs to facilitate the offense a little more and look for his shot less.

Comment from Anonymous
Time October 27, 2006 at 5:27 PM

I know the season has started yet but Eddie Jordan should get a shot at coaching the Eastern Conference team in the All Star game this season.

Comment from wizardsdotcom
Time October 27, 2006 at 5:36 PM

I think he’d like that too! Because if Eddie is coaching the game, that means the Wizards have the best record in the East. The other way would be for the Wizards to have the second best record and the Pistons the best (Flip Saunders coached last year - no back-to-back coaches allowed).