WizBlog RSS FeedGAME DAY DALLAS
8:25 AM EST… Dave Johnson checking in from Dallas…team had the day off yesterday… they had just played Golden State and Memphis back-to-back so a chance to receover….Caron Butler was icing his knee before the Grizzlies game and still finished with 27 points..yes the Grizzlies game was a stinger…there was an opportunity there..have to steal one back now… and it is a BIG challenge….the Wizards have not won here in Dallas since 2001..BLOGCAST will start at 8:30P…with the radio broadcast….but will check in from courtside before then and will check back later from hotel in case anyone has any questions for Eddie Jordan..
7:45 PM… Dave Johnson and Glenn Consor here courtside and posting below...radio broadcast starst at 8:30 and you can listen online….will post starters in a moment
November 26th, 2007 at 10:21 AM
Question for Jordan:
Given your druthers would you have started the season with more players? If not, would you rather sign at least one more player now? If yes, for what position?
November 26th, 2007 at 10:44 AM
Tom, thanks for originally referring me to hoopshype. It has been very illustrative.
I don’t remember which teams did well in the playoffs last year. Are any of them under the luxury tax limit?
My hypothesis is that if Pollin persists in keeping us under that ceiling, we’ll never be one of the top teams.
November 26th, 2007 at 11:17 AM
I don’t think Abe realizes the groundswell of anger that will be directed at him for failing to spend appropriately for a winner. Jordan’s verbal leakage may outwardly say it’s ok but it’s clear that it’s a joke that we can barely practice full 5X5. Navarro was just salt in the wounds. If Abe had permitted going over the cap, he would have been a designated shooter for instant O off the bench. Instead, it was Grunfeld’s choice between DeBrick and Nav. We could have had them both and still had 4 more roster slots. Only this team would keep an open heart surgery patient on the active roster. Michael Jordan was right when he told Abe to sell.
November 26th, 2007 at 11:17 AM
I really don’t think the salary cap is our problem. sure there are good teams like Dallas (93M) and Boston (75M) that pay a lot more than the wizards do (67M). But there are also teams like Utah (59M), Orlando (60M) and Toronto (62M) that are finding ways to win and paying less than we do.
Would it help us to hire a free agent or two while Gilbert is out with the Knee injury? Maybe. Probably not though. How will we find anyone of value who is not already signed with another team? Sure we could buy another body, but would they even play? If it’s just a practice player we want, no need to go over the salary cap for that, just sign someone to the league minimum.
Money might get you some more regular season victories, but it can’t buy happiness or championships.
November 26th, 2007 at 12:15 PM
We have 4 overpaid contracts — Jamison (last year), Thomas (a real boat-anchor contract), Songaila (he’s not worth $4m, sez I), and Stevenson (I’ll *never* understand throwing $15m at that guy). Antawn will be back next year for *a lot* less, or he will finish his career in Charlotte. He’s playing at a high level right now and assuming it continues, he’ll sign a nice contract.
If we re-sign Antawn, we’ll still have $$ to pay two rookies if we get two out of the draft and sign a mid-level free agent, staying under the luxury tax ceiling. That’s pretty good. We can also do that from a roster point of view — we have 13 players, officially, and if we add 3 Roger can go.
All of the above reflects the kind of work a GM does — it ain’t about “lets get Kobe and win a championship.” Ernie has done a good job of setting up the future of this franchise (if the kid-nucleus of Blatche/Pech/Young/McGuire works out and we draft well next year).
November 26th, 2007 at 12:23 PM
Speaking of Toronto: Colangelo did an amazing job of putting together the Raptors in one off-season by signing Garbajosa, Parket, Baston and Calderon — all euroleague players who worked out. And now he grabbed a 27 year old rookie, Jarmereo Moon, out of the euroleague and he seems to be working out as well.
November 26th, 2007 at 1:22 PM
hey guys i was wondering if you could ask Eddie why deshawn and brenden seem to dissapear after about 5 min into second half all the time? is deshawn starting just to start? because at the end of games our line up is looking more like
daniels
butler
jamison
songila
blatche
at times nick young is in there instead of songila… is it because deshawn isnt being that consistant at the offensive end?
i feel like we might be able to apply more pressure at the end of games with our defense if we go:
daniels
butler
jamison
blatche
haywood
i know it depends on match ups but haywood is rarly seen at the end of games… unless blatche fouls out…
November 26th, 2007 at 1:34 PM
I agree with Daniels, Butler, Jamison, Blatche, Haywood. But it still seems like Eddie wants to play small no matter what. Haywood and Blatche would allow our other guys to watch the perimeter more.
I know we don’t have another center after those two but Eddie will go small anyway so play them.
Dave- I don’t want to sound like a broken record ….but why no Blatche and Haywood together. I’ve been a big Eddie supporter but I’m starting to lose faith in him. We have seen Dre and Wood together once or twice and we played good now it’s back to small ball.
November 26th, 2007 at 1:36 PM
Tom, I can understand wanting to fast-forward to the draft given the way this season is starting out. But I’m not ready to do that.
Like JGarcia, I cannot understand why Jordan does not play the big lineup with Blatche and Haywood together. Blatche is a natural 3 or 4 man anyway!
There is a lot of talent on this team (especially when it comes to scoring). If Jordan and the players can just make the mental switch and understand that playing time will be earned with defense, then I think things could get real interesting when Gilbert returns. I worry that Jordan simply doesn’t share that philosophy.
November 26th, 2007 at 1:55 PM
Ricklevinenyc, we are already way over the “salary cap”.
We are $374,221 under the luxury tax limit. The league minimum for a rookie is $427,163. That would put us into luxury tax territory. A better idea would be to sign someone with two or more years of experience for a minimum of $770,610. There are lots of exceptions to the “salary cap”, but only one to the luxury tax limit. That’s in the case of a medical retirement.
Good questions, Jgarcia104, but I don’t think you’ll get a response.
November 26th, 2007 at 3:50 PM
just wanted to say that I hope sean taylor pulls through, not a wizard but part of the washington family…
November 26th, 2007 at 5:01 PM
right Neal, i typed salary cap, but meant luxury tax limit (related concepts of course). again everything is relative. i dont think anyone in the front office is going to be concerned about spending a few hundred thousand dollars in luxury tax. a few million is a different story. the nba is a business first, after all.
but still the question remains… who would we sign that can actually contribute valuable minutes? I say stick with the players we’ve got. the best thing we can do for this season (and for the future) is let the young players get a lot of minutes and get comfortable out there. No way Nick Young comes along this quickly with Gilbert playing 40 miuntes.
Just make them play defense! If they do not put out as much energy on the defensive end as the offensive end then sit them on the bench. Hopefully the points will come, but we MUST be able to get stops, especially without Gilbert.
November 26th, 2007 at 5:16 PM
Oh man could we use Juan Carlos Navarro for this game lol but that has got to be the worst decision this team has made signing stevenson over Navarro. i mean Navarro is tearing up teams including us….
November 26th, 2007 at 6:28 PM
OK, ricklevinenyc, the worst defenders on the team are Jamison and Arenas (I understand Navarro would have competed for that honor). You want to bench Jamison and Arenas?
November 26th, 2007 at 6:54 PM
all though this doesnt have anything to do with the wizards..i ask that all on here redskins or non redskin fans please pray for sean taylor..he was shot and is in critical condition
November 26th, 2007 at 7:42 PM
Three things. About signing a free agent. I’m against wasting money to get players who will not take us to the next level. No one that good is left over. instead our rookies should get more run. As a gm you have to think short and long term. Our star player is injured so short term we are capable of less so we have to put ourselves in a better position for the long term. We can do this by a) giving our young guys more time to develop and more responsibility. DMac is now seeing some playing time, nick is handling the point and comes in at the two and three sometimes depending on matchups. b) saving money for next years free agency class and also to put us in a better position for contracts we’re going to have to work out next year within our own team i.e. Gilbert and AJ c) put us in a position where we are able to draft better. Only if its worth it do we pursue this option.
Another thing I want to talk about is the Dray and Haywood at the same time issue. I like to see them both in the lineup except situations where one of them is in foul trouble and the other will likely have the back the former up, also in situations where AJ has a good matchup against their PF and is on fire. When Pech comes the fouling issue will be less because we’ll have another body that can step in. Our lineup options will increase with him also capable of playing backup C/ PF and SF. Although Songaila has a good mid range game I prefer pech. I think Pech is a better rebounder, fouls less but is still tough, has more length and challenges shots better. Songaila can get up that high.
Lastly we’ve played about four games in five or six days. The guys are going to be tired. Especially if its an uptempo game. With our players gaurding the paint theres been alot of penetrating leading to kickouts (brokeback mountain games according to phil jackson) So our weakness on the perimeter is that, our weakness on the interior is we have to be careful about foul trouble
November 26th, 2007 at 7:53 PM
dave johnson checking in courtside..great posts…a lot of salary cap/luxury tax stuff…i don’t think the issue is a much number as the player..in other words the wizards are not looking to add a player who won’t play much but yet will push them over the limit..in short they are not looking to add pleyers just to have an extra body around….we’ll see if that changes but right now the only add i expect is pecherov getting healthy
November 26th, 2007 at 7:56 PM
i think jgarcia you asked about stevenson starting….stevenson is starting for defense first and foremost..i know nick young has played well offensiveley..but i have had this conversation with eddie jordan..young is not ready to be a starter..as for who is in at the end of games..it comes down to matchups and also how much scoring we need
November 26th, 2007 at 7:57 PM
Dave how much do you think Pecherov can give to the team and how long do you think he will play per game?
November 26th, 2007 at 7:57 PM
and to your point jgarcia..we did not see haywood and blacthe together at the end of the memphis game becasue we were getting hurt so much on the perimeter
November 26th, 2007 at 8:04 PM
reuben that’s a good questions..it really is a shame he was not healthy to start the season..he had a really good camp..it’s hard for me to predict…but i know he impressed the coaches in camp…he was showing an ability to play in the post they did not anticipate..or at least he exceeded expectations….he was one of the best talkers on defense..and was active with his length denying passing lanes.. and his scroing we knew about….i think easily he can become a critical part of our rotation
November 26th, 2007 at 8:05 PM
Hey guys I think its gonna take us about 15 games in to see how this team is going to shape up without gil. We are like wat 7 games in? We have had lots of games in the past 2 weeks with lots of back to backs and so on. By 15 games in the guys will be ajusted to not playing with arenas and they should have their legs under them by then. So let’s just give it some time and I think that we will be fine in the long run and pron even better going into the playoffs with an expirenced nick dmac and pech. Where did lang dissapear off to? Maybe we can sign him to a couple of 10 dayers or until pech comes bac jus to give some guys a rest and bring some competion asnd fresh blood back…
November 26th, 2007 at 8:14 PM
we are on game 12 right now dude. lol
November 26th, 2007 at 8:15 PM
unles you meant games without him
November 26th, 2007 at 8:16 PM
bring back party john ( Pj ramos).. where is he nowadays? is he in the D league
November 26th, 2007 at 8:17 PM
Lang looked lost to me when he was out there. I’d be more afraid of mistakes with him than with Taylor.
November 26th, 2007 at 8:19 PM
PLus he’s overweight and unfit. It kinda sucks that I have devin harris on my fantasy squad. He’s averaging 17 points and 5 assists. I obviously think aside from his flopping he might do some damage. Who’s the starting small forward on dallas squad? I think they have howard at the 2, they also have jason terry, brandon bass and stack coming off the bench
November 26th, 2007 at 8:19 PM
glenn consor checking in: Keys Dallas runs lots of offense off of the elbows, screen and rolls, isolations, draw and kicks, etc. They also like to see how teams will doulble up on Dirk and try to exploit it, get it to the shooters, Howard, Terry, Stack, and Harris. Wiz need to show different looks to disrupt the offensive flow. Also, who is going o be the third scorer this game, the X factor, every good team has thee scorers.
November 26th, 2007 at 8:27 PM
hey has Pech travelled to see the game? I know he’d like to see dirk play since he’s planning on becomming a dirk like player. If we had a full roster this would be one of those howard on Caron at the two or three.. Jamison on the three (who I don’t know since I thought that was howard ) Blatche against dirk or putting an athletic Sf on him and Haywood on Diop. I think we have alot of players similar to dallas players. I don’t understand why they’re at the next level and we’re not. Is dirk really that big a difference maker? Will pech having the same skills and maybe more be that difference maker? I know some of the coaching staff was really enthused about him
November 26th, 2007 at 8:34 PM
bruceo..thanks for the commens and your comments on the salary cap were spot on…pecherov is not here he is back in dc rehab..and yes i do think he will be a difference maker. but can’t says to the dikr level…..about dallas… our big problem against them has been here..we have won at home against them….but yes didrk is that big a difference maker..causes problems all over the floor and then makes things easier for his teammates
November 26th, 2007 at 8:42 PM
Dallas has had issues defending point guards, so it will be interesting to see how they defend us, keeps in mind our strength is our forwards.
November 26th, 2007 at 8:48 PM
Pech has the work ethic and already has some of the skills dirk has. Both are rare big men (7 footers who can shoot). Hopefully he can sustain it during the game and hopefully Hopla helps him reach that level when it comes to shooting. Dirk looks heavier and wasnt a good rebounder from the get go, so I think as far as rebounding Pech has a chance to get that skill too. Also Dirk was accused on not being defensively tough so as far as that goes Pech can get to a better level defensively. Pech has work ethic too. There are a couple of intangibles but to be honest I’m overly optimistic about these kids. I see Pech model his game after nowitzski and he’ll become something different. I’m watching clips of dirk and I think dirk has this ability to put the ball on the floor that I’m not sure pech has yet, though I remember pech penetrating once people figured he could shoot. I see Dray model his game after Garnett both are versatile but garnett is more wiry strong and has a better motor. Nick young models after kobe. All in all them modelling is just a way to figure out who has the same tools they have, how that person has been successful and try and figure out how to reach that level. They certainly have the opportunity but I do Understand it takes alot of work and it requires a mentality that has you aggresively trying to reach this point
November 26th, 2007 at 8:48 PM
hey dave and glenn, wondering how we’ll match up with Dallas’ deep bench, if we’ll use our youngsters more today than the last couple of games.
November 26th, 2007 at 8:52 PM
We only have 10 suiting up, not many options, young guns will play, Eddie does not have options.
November 26th, 2007 at 8:53 PM
Neal, I do think Jamsion is playing too many minutes. As for Arenas, well, unfortunately he is not getting enough minutes.
There is no reason why Jamison cannot be a good defender. Except maybe that he uses that time to rest.
November 26th, 2007 at 8:54 PM
gold jerseys.. i’m glad we get too watch this game. I was fiending cause I couldnt watch the other game
November 26th, 2007 at 8:54 PM
yeah I’m with rick.. arenas isnt getting enough minutes
November 26th, 2007 at 8:57 PM
dirks too big for jamison. Offensively and defensively. They need Blatche in unfortunately so jamison can do his damage out of the SF spot.
November 26th, 2007 at 8:58 PM
y are we wearin gold jerseys again???
November 26th, 2007 at 9:00 PM
c’mon seriously! Jamison is shorter than dirk by 3 inches. Plus he can’t D up that well. Blatche needs to play PF and stay foul free
November 26th, 2007 at 9:01 PM
nowizki now 4 for 4
November 26th, 2007 at 9:01 PM
for real. those gold jerseys make us look like an expansion team
November 26th, 2007 at 9:02 PM
we can score on them, we just need to be more careful with the ball
November 26th, 2007 at 9:02 PM
I agree with you natsdude562 and with you BruceO!
November 26th, 2007 at 9:04 PM
i dont understand why jamison is playing dirk either. and why is he playing off him? is he worried that dirk is going to blow by him with that blazing speed?
November 26th, 2007 at 9:06 PM
Aight josh howard is playing the shooting gaurd. Caron should play against him. Then whoever the SF was whos a defensive guy most likely should be matched up with Jamison, Blatche then plays the PF. The SF and C are not offensive guys for dallas. My concern is foul trouble
November 26th, 2007 at 9:07 PM
have 3 asists and 3 turnovers
November 26th, 2007 at 9:08 PM
on another note you guys seen the video of the grimy house ( Nick youngs and dominics place) NIck got these gold shoes in that video. I wonder if he’s gonna wear them during the game
November 26th, 2007 at 9:08 PM
blatche should be guarding dirk…if he isn’t the long atheletic guy on our team i dunno who is
November 26th, 2007 at 9:10 PM
wizards have to get the long rebounds
November 26th, 2007 at 9:10 PM
i have to admit i love da gold jerseys but not to wear them every road game……..i mean wear them at home on special nights. Also I think that the Wizards should wear bullets uniforms on DEC 1st in honor of Verizon Center’s 10 anniversery and Earl the Pearl…..banner hanging
November 26th, 2007 at 9:11 PM
Dave and glen my poit bout stevenson was I’m ok with him starting by it.seems like he’s only playing at the biging if the game and the start of the 3rd and then about 5 to 8 min in he goes to the bench to never be seen again and yes I ment 15 with out arenas not into the season guys my bad for that
November 26th, 2007 at 9:12 PM
I think with the not having a threat out of the two spot offensively is people cheat and have two small forwards in the game or two power forwards like dallas is doing in here. In my mind josh howard is a G-F. Stackhouse I consider the same. Dampier I consider a PF/ C. I’ve seen alot of two small forward, two PF, two PG things going on against us
November 26th, 2007 at 9:14 PM
that play deshawn was gaurding devin harris. So they put a big gaurd on us in Stackhouse. Someone AD can;t gaurd
November 26th, 2007 at 9:15 PM
NY in yay
November 26th, 2007 at 9:17 PM
told u they were different warm ups
November 26th, 2007 at 9:17 PM
WAT A PLAY BY BUTLER
November 26th, 2007 at 9:17 PM
and daniels
November 26th, 2007 at 9:17 PM
our hands are active in those passing lanes
November 26th, 2007 at 9:17 PM
defense into easy buckets, love to see that
November 26th, 2007 at 9:18 PM
dirk was reaching over carons back. HOws that a foul on caron
November 26th, 2007 at 9:19 PM
not a bad quarter, dallas is cooling off shooting wise, we need to take advantage now
November 26th, 2007 at 9:19 PM
Some criticism: nicks never in good position to rebound well. I don’t see any box outs or any specialized attempt to get the ball. Doesnt he have enough hops to attempt to get that ball?
November 26th, 2007 at 9:21 PM
jgarcia134..you make a good point about stevenson and he need to be more aggresive on offense yeah young canm get up i hear you
November 26th, 2007 at 9:22 PM
Just an update:
SCORE FOR MNF
MIA-0 PIT- 0
7:20
1st
November 26th, 2007 at 9:22 PM
balls stuck
November 26th, 2007 at 9:23 PM
Tell Steve Buckhantz that Bob Weinhauer made that Dirk for Tractor Traylor trade for the Bucks. Grunfeld subsequently replaced him.
truthaboutit.net
November 26th, 2007 at 9:24 PM
Nice layup by Young
November 26th, 2007 at 9:25 PM
we got some better flow going now
November 26th, 2007 at 9:26 PM
nice hustle by butler on d
November 26th, 2007 at 9:26 PM
Great playing by the Wiz
November 26th, 2007 at 9:26 PM
Caron is really playing like an All-Star at both ends of the court.
November 26th, 2007 at 9:27 PM
mmh I notice alot of deshawn + nick lineups. I think both of them can play some point guard. I think thats part of our response to the point gaurd issue
November 26th, 2007 at 9:27 PM
I can’t feel my face!
November 26th, 2007 at 9:28 PM
wow…bad foul
November 26th, 2007 at 9:28 PM
Yeah Songaila cant feel his head
November 26th, 2007 at 9:29 PM
sometimes i think once songaila decides to foul, he can’t stop himself
November 26th, 2007 at 9:29 PM
Ugh…3+1
November 26th, 2007 at 9:29 PM
i know it sounds like a broken record, but put haywood in to bang with Juwan Howard and let Blatche roam around and use that length to bother shooters.
November 26th, 2007 at 9:30 PM
still good signs, we’re defending the paint a lot better this quarter, forcing outside shots
November 26th, 2007 at 9:31 PM
hmm we’re getting lucky with these broken plays
November 26th, 2007 at 9:32 PM
yeah I think nicks been playing some point gaurd. Didnt set a good screen there
November 26th, 2007 at 9:32 PM
Nice recovery by blatche
November 26th, 2007 at 9:34 PM
man thought Young was going to sky howard there
November 26th, 2007 at 9:35 PM
Damn foul…Nick would have applied for the dunk contest with that one…
November 26th, 2007 at 9:35 PM
Glenn here, good stuff from Stevenson and Young, Wiz need that backcout scoring punch to mix up the offense. I’m feelin good right now, but, very early.
November 26th, 2007 at 9:36 PM
lol wermol true
November 26th, 2007 at 9:37 PM
wtf was that?
November 26th, 2007 at 9:38 PM
is there a NBA LIVE curse like there is Madden…….i mean Wade injured last year…AGENT ZERO this year
November 26th, 2007 at 9:38 PM
haywood posting up makes me cringe
November 26th, 2007 at 9:39 PM
maybe they gve the cover to someone whos going to have alot of time to promote it due to injury
November 26th, 2007 at 9:39 PM
we need to score soon, dallas wont be cold shooting forever
November 26th, 2007 at 9:40 PM
wizards not taking advanatge of
November 26th, 2007 at 9:41 PM
There is something with Songailas passing…early in the season he was awesome…but lately he has been way off at times…two TOs today.
November 26th, 2007 at 9:41 PM
opportunity..but nice taking cvharge by haywodd
November 26th, 2007 at 9:42 PM
hey guys any chance the wiz will wear a 21 patch on thier uni’s at the game on sat i know thats a big game bc of monroe jersey being retired but givin the situation…. he is part of the dc sports family…
November 26th, 2007 at 9:42 PM
R U KIDDIN ME
November 26th, 2007 at 9:42 PM
too many turnovers guys
November 26th, 2007 at 9:43 PM
man we can’t keep giving them and1’s
November 26th, 2007 at 9:44 PM
two mintes score less by dallas and wizards did noit take advantage..and wermol i understand what you are saying..in fact those to’s happening while the mavs were struggling to score
November 26th, 2007 at 9:46 PM
it’s a good thing dallas is shooting so miserably. and they are missing open shots. maybe we should just let them shoot uncontested. seems like when we try to bother the shot they make it plus the foul!
seriously though, there has been a big opportunity to open a lead in the last ten minutes and nothing. turnovers by haywood, songalia, and other bad passes. it’s not that we are missing too many shots, we’re not getting to take enough shots.
November 26th, 2007 at 9:48 PM
our flow is officially gone
November 26th, 2007 at 9:48 PM
lets get a lttle run here in this last min
November 26th, 2007 at 9:51 PM
good d at the end here
November 26th, 2007 at 9:51 PM
goood job guys way to buckel down on defense… a block a steal and a layup. over all good rotation in tha last couple of series lets keep it up
November 26th, 2007 at 9:52 PM
jason c we just talked about the D on the broadcast…
November 26th, 2007 at 9:52 PM
man 3 dollar hair cuts at dallas games? thats awesome…hahaha
November 26th, 2007 at 9:52 PM
oh ok sorry i’m watching it not listening to you guys today
November 26th, 2007 at 9:53 PM
davin with a tech.. momentum is now def in our favor
November 26th, 2007 at 9:55 PM
thank god taylor was a bit responsive… they say he squeezed his hand and had “facial expressions” my prayers are with him and his family
November 26th, 2007 at 9:58 PM
a shame we weren’t able to convert better during the dallas cold streak, but we are up at the half so I guess it could have been worse.
November 26th, 2007 at 10:02 PM
jasonc..i was just compliemnting you….and sayinmg we agree..it was funny you posted it the same we said it
November 26th, 2007 at 10:03 PM
yeah i am watching the game looks like a playoff game with alot of hard fouls no easy lay ups at all but its still good that we are up 2 at the brake
November 26th, 2007 at 10:07 PM
haha oh ok, whenever i see … i think sarcasm. Haha sorry force of habit.
November 26th, 2007 at 10:09 PM
2 what you were talking about at the begining of the game glenn it looks like blatche and and daniels will combine 2 be that 3rd catalyst of this team in this game to try and get us over the hump
November 26th, 2007 at 10:11 PM
nice we can capitalize on howards absence
November 26th, 2007 at 10:11 PM
got lucky with that foul on howard.
November 26th, 2007 at 10:13 PM
yikes, last thing I want to see, haywood with the ball iso’d on the 3 point line.
November 26th, 2007 at 10:13 PM
We seem to playing well tonight! The kid says, “Caron is amazing!”
November 26th, 2007 at 10:14 PM
Yes we need either Daniels, Blatche, Stevenson, or Young to have big scoring nights.
November 26th, 2007 at 10:17 PM
Hey, just noticed that AJ has only one rebound! What is up with that?
November 26th, 2007 at 10:19 PM
not been god night on boards for wiz
November 26th, 2007 at 10:20 PM
man dallas is really overplaying us, letting us run the princeton
November 26th, 2007 at 10:20 PM
Nice job by Daniels…
November 26th, 2007 at 10:21 PM
Butler!
November 26th, 2007 at 10:24 PM
i love the way deshawn is playing tonight
November 26th, 2007 at 10:25 PM
thats what has been missing. him being aggressive
November 26th, 2007 at 10:25 PM
hmm i think i get eddie’s reasoning for putting jamison on dirk, he wants to make dirk work on the defensive end more, tiring him out.
November 26th, 2007 at 10:25 PM
Notice how the rebounds have started coming for AJ…Let’s hope Dallas remains this cold from 3, that would be a total change, huh?
November 26th, 2007 at 10:26 PM
*Random* DS needs to cut that beard he will be like 20 lbs. lighter lol
November 26th, 2007 at 10:26 PM
butler on fire!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 26th, 2007 at 10:26 PM
WOW caron got range
November 26th, 2007 at 10:27 PM
Butler!!!!!
November 26th, 2007 at 10:27 PM
we are on fire!
November 26th, 2007 at 10:27 PM
wow
November 26th, 2007 at 10:28 PM
nice job by jamison on the offensive end…was it 4th on dirk?
November 26th, 2007 at 10:28 PM
wow its kind of early but both butler and jamison deserve to be on the allstar team
November 26th, 2007 at 10:28 PM
uh nevermind it seems they gave it to dampier
November 26th, 2007 at 10:28 PM
no it was not him he still has 3
November 26th, 2007 at 10:28 PM
hair gel! *if any of you were at the george mason game you know wat i mean…
November 26th, 2007 at 10:28 PM
i’ll give bass the shot over the other options all night
November 26th, 2007 at 10:30 PM
hairjel was holding him!!!!!! he had all jersey!
November 26th, 2007 at 10:30 PM
that was such a bad call
November 26th, 2007 at 10:30 PM
lol the kick seemed almost like he meant to do that
November 26th, 2007 at 10:30 PM
meh AD got held
November 26th, 2007 at 10:30 PM
Nice game by DS!
November 26th, 2007 at 10:31 PM
hah great court vision by blatche
November 26th, 2007 at 10:31 PM
we need a time out they are getting hot
November 26th, 2007 at 10:31 PM
Ok, up and back… we need to get a stop here!
November 26th, 2007 at 10:31 PM
i can’t feel my face
November 26th, 2007 at 10:32 PM
i know his last name is daniel’s but lets not kick the ball Danial’son
November 26th, 2007 at 10:32 PM
i ment they need a time out haha
November 26th, 2007 at 10:32 PM
you just got to love blatche’s court vision…yet another smart pass
November 26th, 2007 at 10:34 PM
Wow… now all we need is for Brendan to catch fire in the 4th and this will be the best all around performance in a long time!
November 26th, 2007 at 10:34 PM
this experience for our young guys is going to pay off later
November 26th, 2007 at 10:35 PM
great pass by songila to blatche they really seem to look for eachother when they are on the court together
November 26th, 2007 at 10:36 PM
ok…so there was songailas passing :p
November 26th, 2007 at 10:36 PM
butler!!!!!!!!!
November 26th, 2007 at 10:37 PM
Butler!!
November 26th, 2007 at 10:37 PM
CB3 playing like Gil but shooting better
November 26th, 2007 at 10:37 PM
I am seriously impressed with Butler’s 3pt shooting the last few games…
November 26th, 2007 at 10:37 PM
most organzied the wizards have looked on offense this year
November 26th, 2007 at 10:37 PM
wow im glad i have butler in fantasy
November 26th, 2007 at 10:38 PM
caron found his 3-point stroke with those desperation shots at the end of the memphis game, and now he’s kept it! very impressive.
November 26th, 2007 at 10:38 PM
We need someone to draw a quick foul on Josh Howard to sit him for even longer!
November 26th, 2007 at 10:39 PM
55 % shooting wiz to mavs 42%
November 26th, 2007 at 10:39 PM
I guess breaking his hand made it grow back stronger? (medically I think thats accurate)
November 26th, 2007 at 10:41 PM
I liked the foul by mason.
November 26th, 2007 at 10:42 PM
nuts that guard is pulling a JCN
November 26th, 2007 at 10:42 PM
dont like mason in there at all but that was a good foul need to get N1 to play some D on that spark plug over there
November 26th, 2007 at 10:42 PM
that 3pter however really hurt us
November 26th, 2007 at 10:43 PM
Barea has not missed anything…
November 26th, 2007 at 10:45 PM
good job by nick
November 26th, 2007 at 10:45 PM
wow N1 is like i got game too
November 26th, 2007 at 10:45 PM
Nick Young… wow!
November 26th, 2007 at 10:45 PM
good help on dirk
November 26th, 2007 at 10:45 PM
Yes, Brendan!!!!
November 26th, 2007 at 10:45 PM
way to be aggressive NY1
November 26th, 2007 at 10:46 PM
that was a VERY good minute lol
November 26th, 2007 at 10:46 PM
thats that spark we needed
November 26th, 2007 at 10:46 PM
is it just me or did i hear some boo’s raining down ? haha way to go nick
November 26th, 2007 at 10:47 PM
Ok, is this what it was supposed to be like when we have someone to come off the bench and score?
November 26th, 2007 at 10:48 PM
Nick young..super…good foul by haywood on dirk
November 26th, 2007 at 10:50 PM
man more and1’s
November 26th, 2007 at 10:50 PM
Huh… anyone notice both CB3 and AJ are on the bench?
November 26th, 2007 at 10:50 PM
bad call again
November 26th, 2007 at 10:50 PM
haywood should have at least tryed for that block!!! knock him on his @$$!!!! blatche would have gone for it… especailly after daniels just got knocked down
November 26th, 2007 at 10:51 PM
threre u go haywood
November 26th, 2007 at 10:51 PM
Go Brendan!!!
November 26th, 2007 at 10:51 PM
these open 3’s are scaring me
November 26th, 2007 at 10:51 PM
theres 4
November 26th, 2007 at 10:52 PM
see this is what i dont understand guys… it seems liek stevenson hasnt played much in the fourth but as soon as nick gets hot eddie puts stevenson back in…
November 26th, 2007 at 10:53 PM
man i dont like that call.
November 26th, 2007 at 10:53 PM
we needed a spark but its time to take care of the ball i think thats a good move to put DS back in
November 26th, 2007 at 10:53 PM
need to get the defensive rebounds…those killed us against memphis aswell
November 26th, 2007 at 10:54 PM
i dont mind trading baskets
November 26th, 2007 at 10:54 PM
haywood!! and THAT”S DIRK”S 5th!
November 26th, 2007 at 10:54 PM
Yes!! Go Brendan!
November 26th, 2007 at 10:54 PM
niceee haywood
November 26th, 2007 at 10:55 PM
You know, AD has been a bit shaky at the end of games… but not today!
November 26th, 2007 at 10:55 PM
that was a travel!!
November 26th, 2007 at 10:55 PM
whew i’ll take a foul over a 3 from dirk
November 26th, 2007 at 10:55 PM
Love Brendan being this aggressive!
November 26th, 2007 at 10:55 PM
thats 3 bad calls that i have seen so far
November 26th, 2007 at 10:56 PM
wat a shot
November 26th, 2007 at 10:56 PM
Butler!!!
November 26th, 2007 at 10:56 PM
WOW…Butler…WOW
November 26th, 2007 at 10:57 PM
i think they should post up haywood on dirk and see what happens
November 26th, 2007 at 10:58 PM
Go Brendan!
November 26th, 2007 at 11:00 PM
with dirk having 5…it might even perhaps be smarter to put blatche in…I think he has more offensive moves than haywood….
November 26th, 2007 at 11:01 PM
hey all…man…butlet has really improved his 3 point shooting and is clearly establishing himself as ‘the man’ for the team in gilbert’s absense.
November 26th, 2007 at 11:02 PM
i think the key to this game is our ability to get to the line. also we are doing much better on the boards in the second half
November 26th, 2007 at 11:03 PM
i love that they are throwin in the towle. taking dirk out with 3 left
November 26th, 2007 at 11:05 PM
no easy baskets, stingy to the end, I like it
November 26th, 2007 at 11:07 PM
where is the foul?
November 26th, 2007 at 11:07 PM
dallas perfect from the line tonight…wow
November 26th, 2007 at 11:08 PM
we need a bucket in the worst of ways
November 26th, 2007 at 11:09 PM
wow i hope we lock this thing back down because right now it can go wrong and quick
November 26th, 2007 at 11:11 PM
huge play buy D.Song
November 26th, 2007 at 11:11 PM
dagggerrr!!!!!!!!!!!!1
November 26th, 2007 at 11:12 PM
nice way for cb3 to sign out
November 26th, 2007 at 11:12 PM
yep that sums up his shooting night
November 26th, 2007 at 11:12 PM
lol we got it and not only did we get it CB3 pulled a Gil at the end
November 26th, 2007 at 11:13 PM
Butler is amazing…seriously…Blatche has picked up Songailas passing skills and Butler has taken over the insane 3 pters from Arenas
November 26th, 2007 at 11:13 PM
CARON BUTLER=PLAYER OF THE WEEK!!!
November 26th, 2007 at 11:13 PM
Good performance!!! Always good to get one against Dallas. Anyway we finally understood why CB3 actually wears N°3!!!
November 26th, 2007 at 11:14 PM
Stevenson played the 4th quarter…..see the results!!
November 26th, 2007 at 11:14 PM
Wow… this looks like a team. They played very well together tonight.
November 26th, 2007 at 11:16 PM
Hey guys… tell CB3 that after that three he has to toss his jersey to fans!
November 26th, 2007 at 11:17 PM
Wow… Butler has unlimited range now… Like a Real All-Star…
*Jets off to vote CB3 for All-Star… Again…
November 26th, 2007 at 11:19 PM
WE WON WITH JUST 11 ASSISTS THATS AMAZING. WHATS REALLY AMAZING IS CARON HITTING 3 POINTERS I DID NOT KNOW HE COULD EVEN SHOOT LIKE THAT SO BIG J YOU BETTER LOOK OUT BECAUSE CARONS LOOKING FOR A REPEAT OF ALL-STAR HONORS AND BIG J YOU MIGHT AS WELL MAKE IT YOURSELF! I HAVE ONE QUESTION THOUGH AND THAT IS , WHAT THE HELL WRONG WITH SONGALI HE CAN’T EVEN SCORE ONE BASKET OR EVEN REBOUND SO HE MUST BE HURT ?
November 26th, 2007 at 11:19 PM
just a terrif night ganeg we will check in tuesday from san antonio
November 26th, 2007 at 11:24 PM
Nick Y really gave them the spark off the bench when they needed it. He’s quite an offensive talent.
And what can you say about Butler? Wow. Like Jamison, he has some problems guarding 1 on 1. But boy is he good on offense. Obviously MVP of the team now.
Dallas has problems. They’re looking like we did the first five games. Underachieving.
Bring on SA!
November 26th, 2007 at 11:28 PM
One thing that stuck out was the penetration of the point guard…..we gotta figure out how to stop it or have our big men step up. GREAT FINISH TO AN AWESOME GAME!! Adios.
November 26th, 2007 at 11:30 PM
ill take it one step further jamison player of the week and butler player of the MONTH for the Eastern Conference
November 26th, 2007 at 11:38 PM
Touche
The way they played tonight and the way the team was coached….i think someone is reading the “blog”….lol…..
November 27th, 2007 at 12:34 AM
WOW! What a Game!
Butler will again be an all star if there is any justice at all. Jamison? He turned Nowitski every wich way but loose. I’m betting Dirk doesn’t want to see Antawn again anytime soon. Jamison will be our second all star this season.
I like how coach Ayers tweaked the defense. If we can keep that up we will be a team that will definately contend.
Bruce…. Peter John Ramos is now changing light bulbs in places with high ceilings.
Aundra… Songaila is having a stretch of bad games.. no injuries that I know of.. don’t worry it won’t last.
Bring on SA exclamation point Neal? LOL. Be careful what you ask for. I’m not sure we are that good yet, but then, I wasn’t expecting us to look so good against Dallas either? Ok I’m with YOU! Bring on SA!
November 27th, 2007 at 12:41 AM
Wow. Great night. What can you say? Caron Butler is the MAN. It is such a joy to watch him in this form. It truly is special. That last three pointer just made my night.
One thing I noticed in this game is the team rebounding. I dont know what the stats were, but it seemed like we were really getting on the boards, especially on the defensive end, and that is great to see.
Nick Young was definitely a spark on offense. He nearly had three plays in a row where he ran around the entire defense to take it to the rim. The last of the three barely rimmed out. He’s getting his rhythm and it helps when CB3 is stepping up like this. I am loving our team right now.
SA lost tonight and at this point I feel like this team can beat anyone when we play defense like we did tonight. We forced them into bad shots at the end of the shot clock and in the long run things will start to fall our way.
November 27th, 2007 at 1:09 AM
Again, we play up to the tough teams. Except for the mini meltdown, this was a
beautiful game to watch. Real hustle from the guys who looked like they were
determined to win. I think one think people forget about is that, Butler and Jamison
are taking many more shots with Gil out, so when they get hot, there numbers will
go even higher than usual This can work. During the playoffs last year, my son Julian kept saying if only Caron hadn’t got hurt, we would definitely have gotten out of the first round. This kind of spirited play shows we probably would have. Gil must be so happy for the guys. Overall this experience without Gil can really help with our team building. And the kids–what can I say,–Nick’s back to back layups and Haywoods tip in on the third really came at the perfect moment when things looked shaky. He is fearless, he looked like he was determined to beat them back on his own–at a critical juncture in the game.
When I realized we could actually win this thing, I was far too nervous to blog.
GO WIZ!
November 27th, 2007 at 4:36 AM
i’m rewatching the game. It’s on comcast on demand for free under the sports section then wizards. They havent been reshowing games much. Its so much less nervewrecking watching a game from the start knowing that we’re going to win. So when they make a play I’m like blah.. It’s not killing me
November 27th, 2007 at 6:54 AM
Bruce — what are you doing up at 4:30 — but thanks for the tip on comcast. I missed this game, and I do want to try to see it!
What a terrific win.
November 27th, 2007 at 7:12 AM
RIP Sean Taylor
November 27th, 2007 at 7:13 AM
amazing game lets keep it going in San antonio
November 27th, 2007 at 7:16 AM
We were outrebounded, out-assisted, and the Mavs went 29 for 29 at the foul line — yet, we won the game!
We shot the lights out is why: we got 83 points from 75 shots. The Mavs got 69 points from 84 shots. What a night for Butler!
(Btw, look at the line for Dallas’s Barea: this kid is a great little player. Draftexpress has been touting him for over a year.)
November 27th, 2007 at 9:15 AM
I also thought Jamison was playing better D than in the past. I wasn’t going to mention it because Nowitski scored a lot in spite of that.
Songaila is obviously from the M.Ruffin school of D. Muscle your guy on every possession and he will never be comfortable. Seems to work, although the downside is the fouls. I wish he would get his shooting touch back. He’d better get it back before Pecherov gets back or he may find himself odd man out.
Tom, wish you had seen Barea. He’s really impressive. VERY quick.
November 27th, 2007 at 9:38 AM
I thought Darius was effective on Dirk for a little while. Got him out of his comfort zone. He’ll be fine, I’m not worried about him in the long run offensively.
Barea was extremely speedy. Almost led his team back at the end.
Man, Butler was just out of his mind last night, just like Phil said. Out of his mind!
November 27th, 2007 at 10:54 AM
It was a great win to beat Dallas. However, other than Caron I don’t think we played great. Dallas had more rebounds, assists, and blocks than we did. They also took 10 more shots than we did and were a perfect 29/29 from the line.
Our saving grace… Dallas shot 39% from the floor, and we hit a lot of tough shots to go 51% from the floor. And watching the game, you didn’t get the feeling that Dallas was missing highly contested shots. Other than Nowitski, they were just missing.
We cannot count on other teams to shoot that poorly (Memphis and Golden State certainly didn’t). While we can beat a good team that shoots poorly, we can also lose to bad teams that shoot well. We also cannot count on Caron to get 35 points on only 17 shots (that was amazing by the way!)
OUR DEFENSE MUST IMPROVE!
November 27th, 2007 at 2:24 PM
I agree, ricklevinenyc. It’s the way we’ve won a lot of games since the Jordan/Princeton offense got here, but things have to change for us to move up. I get the impression Ayers has taught them better rotation. They just have to do it FASTER. Which means not to hold anything back on the defensive end.
November 27th, 2007 at 2:58 PM
the sean taylor thing sucks people. The washington familys going to miss him
November 27th, 2007 at 3:12 PM
By the way guys give the team credit. They’ve played good D. Since the 5 loss streak we are 7 and 2. We;ve had 20 plus points in leads. Without Pech, Gil or Etan. They’re rotating well. Caron carried the offense but Jamison contributed too. So it wasnt just caron. Deshawn did a good job on Devin harris who’s their playmaker and everyone else got defensive assignments they could handle. Dallas made alot of freethrows but so did we. I feel good about ayers knowledge. He improved the magics overall defense and look where they are now. We’ve been holding teams to less than 90 pts and the ones who passed it was a last minute surge to try and beat us that didnt work. I feel good about our shooting. Our shooting coach changed Torontos shooting for the better. They’re number one in free throw shooting and alot of the players field goal percentage improved. I see our players improving. They’ve had high percentage games, carons range has improved, Blatche is finally making shots on offense, haywoods freethrows are up (remember the 9/9 game?) I just want to see what he does with Pech. I want to give the players credit. They’ve worked hard. The recent loses have come when the squad is weary.
November 27th, 2007 at 6:39 PM
I didn’t say there weren’t other contributors BruceO, I just said that no one else played great. I agree there were good contributions from DeShawn and Nick Young, and Jamison and Daniels. But pretty much to a man, those contributions were on the offensive end of the court. And then only in the scoring column. As a team we only had 13 assists! That has got to be considered pretty selfish basketball.
My main point is that without stronger, tougher defense, we will rarely win unless the other team misses their open shots.
November 27th, 2007 at 6:41 PM
oh, and by the way, Haywood is shooting 63% from the line so far this year. A modest improvement from the 60% he shot last season, but not exactly something to brag about.
November 27th, 2007 at 8:59 PM
deshawn didnt contribute offensively. He contributed by defending devin harris and totally styming their offense by doing so since he’s their point gaurd. As far as offense goes I wasnt even thinking about offense. I was looking at the players and how hard they were working defensively and how they were getting results. Also the idea they had as far as playing solid defensively and moving into a really quick fast break is coming into fruition. I just see big differences between this season and last season defensively. I also see us holding opponents to less. I’m not sure what Haywoods shooting percentage is this year compared to last. I just know I expect him to miss less. Maybe he doesn’t. But I wasnt looking solely at this shooting. I was looking at carons shooting, Blatches shooting as well. Those are the ones showing alot of improvement. At this point I’d think you are more right than I am. But I feel we are moving in the right direction and have done alot with the little we have. My question to you is this. Are we setting the right foundation to improve aspects of our team game? has the team shown a willingness to commit to this and are they learning from our coaching staff and trying to execute. Do you see improvements in certain players?
November 27th, 2007 at 9:02 PM
anyway forget all this I don’t want to make this long and argumentative. I agree with you that caron played great and other people played their usual game offensively. Where I disagree with you is I feel the team played well defensively, they had a good plan and they executed it. I also feel the team is improving offensively. We are scoring over 100 pts without gilbert. Its a combination of work players have done and work the coaches have put in with the players
November 27th, 2007 at 9:21 PM
butler is playing all-star ball, last year they say he was lucky to be voted in, this year his is a shoe in. now u people kill me when u say why deshawn? without deshawn caron could score, nor gil, nor jamison, he makes up for their lack of d, they make up for his lack of O. his is the heart and hustle. the backbone. caron is the punch!