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WIZARDS PREPARE FOR HAWKS
AUDIO: Eddie Jordan | Antawn Jamison | Darius Songaila
After holding a film session yesterday at Verizon Center, the Wizards returned to the practice court Monday to prepare for Tuesday’s home match-up versus the Hawks.
“It’s big, because the most important thing is we want to get a ‘W’,” said forward Antawn Jamison. “We a have little losing streak going on and you definitely want to stop the bleeding as soon as possible. This is a team that’s in our division, so you always want to win as many games in your division, because you never know when they might count.”
“This team has been playing pretty well and they are going to come out and play hard,” Jamison added. “Joe Johnson is playing well and the rest of those guys have taken their roles and filled in pretty well. We have to come out and play hard and be prepared for a tough Atlanta team.”
November 27th, 2006 at 4:24 PM
I hope Songaila comes back so I never have to see Ruffin at center ever again. Also play PF so Jamison can move to SF or get some bench action.
November 27th, 2006 at 4:38 PM
Two home games for the Wiz to regain some confidence back. Normally, I would say that the Hawks and Bobcats are automatic wins, but now, every opponent is a big question mark because Washington is the biggest question mark in the NBA.
If you look at the December schedule, the Wiz have 6 back-to-backs! Also, these are good opponents that want to feast on a shaky team like the Wizards.
Washington has gone through these types of losing streaks the last two consecutive years. The two team leaders, Arenas and Jamison, went through them. I wonder how the team is “improving” if it repeats the same mistakes over and over again? I mean, if I was told to leave the toilet seat down and I consistently forget, my wife is going to get upset with many wet bottoms.
I believe cutting down these 3 things will help the Wizards end the losing streak:
1. Stop bonehead plays that lead to turnovers and fast break opportunities for the other team.
2. Don’t take a jumper with 14 seconds left on the shot clock unless you’re absolutely wide open and confident you have the range for the shot.
3. Don’t just explode out of the gate in the first quarter and hope to beat the opponent in 12 minutes. Phoenix Suns do this all the time and patient opponents will come back. Continuity for the entire 48 minutes will create better momentum and flow for the Wizards.
November 27th, 2006 at 4:47 PM
Things will change big time when Songaila. Even if he does struggle a bit to insert himself into the rotations, it will allow a more effective use of others. I cannot wait to see D-Song either.
However, first things first…these guys have to get things turned around tomorrow. Everyone is saying the right stuff, now they need to back it up.
November 27th, 2006 at 5:31 PM
WizardsFusion, you are right…and hilarious!
Is it me, or do the Wiz seem to be turning it over alot on stupid things like traveling and palming? It just seems as though when I am watching the game Gil is getting called for a lot of palming and Butler with the travels. I mean this is stupid stuff that should not be happening at the NBA level. I know the refs are cracking down on it, and I am glad. But our guys have to see that stuff in the tapes.
Eric, is there any way to get ahold of the stat that tells what percentage of our turnovers are by palming and traveling?
November 27th, 2006 at 5:34 PM
I am going to reiterate something I said earlier.
The Wiz need to start playing more like a team. I am no saying just playing like a team here and there, but ALL THE TIME!! None of this “here you take the ball and break down your man.” That kind of game does not win basketball above the recreation level. I want to see passing, at least five each time down the court. I also want to see guys make “the extra pass” more often. So many times players can make one extra pass and have someone else find an even more open shot. Teams that can do that win championships. Get everyone involved on all levels. If we continue to let our Big Three take the bulk of the action, opponents will continue to key on that.
November 27th, 2006 at 8:36 PM
Got a scenario for you guys and I would love to hear some comments on it;
First do you think this could or would every happen and what would you think of a Haywood, Hayes, and Jamison, maybe throw in a first rounder for Garnett. Let me know. I’ve been thinking about it for a while.
November 27th, 2006 at 10:22 PM
So we’d have to give up three players, including a 20-point, 8-rebound guy, plus our next first round selection for KG? He’s paid upwards of 20 million a year and I don’t think the Wizards would be able to afford it. I don’t care much for the loss of Haywood, but I think Jarvis is an important bench player. By the way, I think Garnett is in the last two years of his contract, so once that is up, it is not guaranteed that he will stay with the team. I like the idea, but I don’t think that’ll happen anytime soon.
November 28th, 2006 at 8:44 AM
There is no way I would make that trade. As bad as he can be on defense, Antawn adds so much on the offensive end. That, and he is a consummate professional. I would consider him the leader of this squad.
Jarvis is still young and is getting is legs under him. For his basketball life to be severely interrupted by injuries over the last two years is major. To expect him to come out “guns blazing” is unrealistic. As we approach the All Star break, I am sure you will see a much more effective Jarvis. There is no way I trade him, EVER.
As for Haywood, I would consider moving Haywood for as high a draft pick as we could get. I would enjoy the prospect of having two first round draft picks this year. I am not sure there is much out there that we could get in a trade with Haywood, so a pick is the most likely.
KG is in no doubt an excellent player, one of the best. But if you trade three for one, you are setting the team back 2-3 years in terms of chemistry. Plus, how many years does KG have left in him? I am guessing not many.
I do not make that deal. KG is not worth it.
November 28th, 2006 at 9:33 AM
I think KG is a good player but feel just like the other fan that commented before me. I would not give up Jamison, Haywood, Hayes, and a first round draft pick for him. I do wish the wizards had used there last year first round pick better, but now only time will tell.
November 28th, 2006 at 10:07 AM
Any deal for KG would probably be something like Jamison, Haywood, Blatche and Pecherov.
Don’t think we want to do that. KG is past his prime and makes too much money. I’d love to have him of course… him and Gil would be an awesome tandem, but I don’t think it’s realistic.
I don’t want to deal our 1st round pick. I want Al Horford. He is the exact type of player we need, and could have a good shot at him depending where we end up.
November 28th, 2006 at 11:38 AM
Jamison is tired. EJ needs to shut him down at the perimeter. As others have pointed out, he sits out there and jacks it up and is not available to get the board once he misses.
I think we are going to turn this bad streak around, but what is most galling is that we were supposed to come out strong right out of the gate because we didn’t make any major adjustments in the off-season. That is completely out the window at this point, obviously.
Last, I have been hearing how we are repeatedly getting burned by the pick and roll. Why can’t we learn to stop it? Over and over for 3 years now I have been hearing about this. Is it all EJ or do other teams have this failing?
November 28th, 2006 at 12:31 PM
There’s about five guys in the NBA I wouldn’t trade for Garnett, there’s another ten I’d be very wary of trading. Anyone else in the NBA you give up for him. Gilbert is the only player on the Wizards that makes that list of 15. Yes, when you start packaging a few players and draft picks maybe you are giving up to much, but that Grunfield’s job and he does it very well. If you can get Garnett, you do it and it’s almost a no brainer. So moving on, here’s some things I’ve been thinking about:
1) If Jamison is tired, let’s rest him on the second games of back to backs during this stretch. He needs to get in the post, and keep moving on offense instead of hanging around the perimeter waiting to jack up shots. If its tired legs that are the culprit, rest him more. If it’s because he isn’t doing what he’s told, bench him, and if it’s because EJ isn’t telling him, then change the coach. This is a fixable problem and a problem everyone on this blog seems to recognize, so to should the Wizards organization.
2) I don’t know much about Songalia. Looks to me like he’s had about 10 games in the past two years grabbing double digits in rebounds and shoots a little better than 48% from the field, indicating he plays in the post. From his college days I remember him as a decent mid range jump shooter. Those are things we need and he could be a key cog if that’s how he works out.
3) I’ve always like Jarvis Hayes and I was penciling him in for my sixth man award, and for a second place in the comeback player of the year behind Amare. I get the feeling he’s about to start living up to that expectation and that’s going to be a huge boast.
4) I feel like the Wizards playing the “we’ve been through this before” card is somewhat of a cop out. Fusion made a good point about how a team could be improving if it was still making the same mistakes. They still let up when they get a lead. They come out in the first few minutes of each half with more intensity and it seems to fade from there. Sort of a tortoise and the hare thing as the Wizards don’t seem worried about the tortoise, then all of a sudden it’s to late and they can’t catch up anymore. That’s a bad habit to get into.
November 28th, 2006 at 1:43 PM
I agree with you SMCHawk! The Wiz never put anybody away. They get ahead and then lighten up the intensity which is a big problem.
I am pumped for tonight’s game though. I think Lez Boulez are going to find a way to win this one. I just hope they get some good things going that they can latch onto for Friday’s game and beyond.
Go Wiz!
November 28th, 2006 at 2:06 PM
I agree for the most part. I think we are pretty thin at the PF spot. Jamison, Blatche and Ruffin are all we have. If we are forced to play Butler there we will be outsized. Playing Etan there and Brendan at the center seems to be out of the question. I think that once Songaila comes back it will be a whole different story. D-Song will give us that legitimate PF to rotate in with Antawn. Bottom line is that we have too many freaking guards. Get rid of Taylor and bring in an extra PF (maybe Kevin Pitsnogle).
November 28th, 2006 at 2:07 PM
I am looking forward to this game very much. We cannot sleep on ATL, they have a young energetic team and alot of talent. I hope we see some James Lang tonight, and I also think it’s a good time to give Blatche alittle run.
Stick DeShawn on Johnson. Something tells me Etan is gonna have a big game.
November 28th, 2006 at 2:12 PM
andrew good post! I agree with you 100%, we gotta dump Taylor. I cringe everytime he comes in the game, he’s gotta be the worst player in the league.
November 28th, 2006 at 2:13 PM
anonymous - a little harsh, don’t you think?
November 28th, 2006 at 2:32 PM
I actually think we need another guard, a POINT GUARD that is!
Arenas is not a pg and he should play sg with ANTONIO DANIELS at pg running the show. He is 10x better running the team than Gilbert “Shoot first, complain to the refs later” Arenas. We should add a good pass first backup pg (like Steve Blake) to backup Antonio and move Gilbert over. How many palming/traveling/offensive fouls/charging violations do we need to see before we can figure out the guy is not a pg and never will be!
DeShawn can backup Arnenas at SG. We don’t need to add another PF if Sonagaila is coming back. But we should be starting Antonio Daniels and Gilbert together in the backcourt. Other than Caron, Antonio has been our best player this season, and he needs to be on the court!!
If we do that we will be a better TEAM!
November 28th, 2006 at 2:42 PM
Just egt Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler, Antwan Jamison, and the rest of the starters ready to go so we can win.
Go Washington Wizards!
November 28th, 2006 at 3:11 PM
It’s funny how we wanted to draft Butler but he was gone so we took Jeffries instead, but now we don’t have Jeffries and we have Butler. We drafted Kwame Brown number one overall, and the best player in the draft was Arenas who lasted to 2nd round, and now we don’t have Kwame and we have Arenas. Also how we were able to dump Stackhouse a former star at UNC and replace him with Jamison a former star at UNC.
November 28th, 2006 at 3:20 PM
I agree 100% Deshawn should not be starting over AD.AD is the voice and captin of this team maybe not performance wise but should be in the back court with Gil at the start of the game.But with Gil moved up to SG and AD to the point.
November 28th, 2006 at 3:34 PM
smchawk- you are probably right. If we dealt Jamison, Haywood, Pecherov and Blatche with our #! pick this year, we might be able to get KG.
Imagine Arenas with KG! Plus Caron, Hayes, Etan, DeShawn, Antonio etc.
We can lose Jamison because he plays same position as KG, and he is also WAY overpriced. We can lose Haywood because we still have Etan, Booth, Lang and Ruffin.
We can lose Pecherov and Blatche because the possibility that either of those guys actually develop into a legitimate NBA player is very unlikely.
Throw in the draft pick, because that’s all luck, and again we are talking about someone who might possibly be able to contribute someday if ever.
We need someone who can help us NOW! While Arenas is in his prime. Miami is weak, the whole East is weak…THIS IS OUR CHANCE! OUR OPPORTUNITY IS NOW AND WE HAVE TO MAKE OUR MOVE NOW OR NEVER!!
It is our only chance to win a championship before Abe dies.
November 28th, 2006 at 3:40 PM
Anonymous, I disagree with you. We do not need a PG. We NEED another forward or two. Our guards are just fine. They are good players. Arenas, Stevenson, Daniels, Hayes and Mason are all solid to excellent. We need to add depth and upgrade at the forward positon. Jamison and Butler are good. Songaila will be when he returns. Who knows about Blatche? Pecherov will be a nice addition next year. Ruffin gives you tenacity. We need to upgrade with at least one more guy at the forward that can do it all. I really liked Pitsnogle at WVU and he is out there, I believe. He is not an NBA center, but at 7′0″ he is very athletic and has a terrific outside game. He would be a good forward, power or small…good addition to the rotation.
November 28th, 2006 at 3:53 PM
This is the right time to go out looking for trades.A good trade might be for Gasol and trade HAYWOOD,BLATCH,and draft pic for him.
November 28th, 2006 at 3:59 PM
Haywood for Stromile Swift is a trade we should consider.
November 28th, 2006 at 4:06 PM
sorry anonymous - BWood, Blatche and a pick for one of the BEST players in the game isn’t going to happen…
November 28th, 2006 at 4:43 PM
a solid PF would do the trick thats why Songaila was a good pic up.
the Starting 5 should be Areans G , Butler SG,
Jamison SF, Songaila PF, Etan/Haywood C
i think we will get it stright it will just take some time!
November 28th, 2006 at 6:21 PM
I enjoyed watching Daniels as point guard in the backcourt with Arenas. To be honest I breathed easier when he comes into the game. AD reads the floor better, awesome at running plays, and never turns the ball over. I don’t understand why EJ doesn’t see this. Last season when AD was in the backcourt with Gil, the offense ran a lot smoother. I’m not taking anything from Gil but he’s shooter, plain and simple. He’s not good at running point..That could explain the reason why he’s struggling. But with EJ saying he’s not going to make any changes, it doesn’t look like things are going to change any time soon.
November 29th, 2006 at 8:26 PM
People The problem with the wiz is that they have too much dead weight on their team,and it shows.No offense,but Booth,Donnell Taylor,and Ruffin’s spot can be replaced with some very decent players.They don’t have to be the most espensive either. I would love to see a Reggie Evans(rebounder) on the Wiz.(Booth)Keyon Dooling woulda been nice in the offseason.(Taylor)Make the game fun for the team.Stir in some talent that can be on the court for more than just a situation,but bodies that will help anytime in the lineup.You don’t need K.G for that.
The princeton offense is trash at this point.Take it back to basics.maybe keeping pecherov would have been a blessing.So what he’s 20 he thinks to rebound,and play team ball.Likes to bang inside.There’s no way any of the dead weight crew’s seat wasn’t worth just seeing what pecherov could do. ( I think in a couple of years people are gonna b mad they didn’t take him earlier. )Songalia is gonna be a bust here.Sorry
If the wiz were smart they would look ahead with this team with some calculated risk,and shake this team up. I think the wiz realize that this team as is isn’t gonna do anymore that maybe make it as far as they have in the playoffs. This isn’t a championship team,this isn’t even a eastern conference finals team. The lack of mental toughness,and discipline,depth at the right positions,and maybe coaching style will prevent this team going anywhere.You can’t take a marshmellow ,and leave it on the counter overnight,and expect it to be hard as a rock.The outside may stiffen just a tad,but with pressure applied it ’s the same marshmellow inside. The wiz need to realize that this talentd team is just that..A talented team,but it’s missing a identity,and it’s lacking toughness from within. Caron, Etan, Daniels,and Arenas seem to be the only ones who exibit being down to play to the end. The softness is too prevalent after them that it gives them no chance to win like they did in the past couple of years. The fizzle was when Gil missed the free throws. After that it’s shake up time.Alot of you got fooled by the summer headlines about winning the east,as did the wiz,which is the ultimate testament to their softness because the inconsistency is probably coming from the self imposed pressure of winning the east before they play the game.This particulr team is not built to go any further.
It starts from the top.EJ seems unorganized and off view of what it takes to win.As a youngster I remeber times when you could go on a court and see who’s soft. He could have the best game out there,but soft.The type that if you elbow bang get him out of his comfort zone,he backs down,and his game means nothing because he doesn’t have the fight in him. The wiz have alot of players like that,and even worse they are in positions of significance.