WizBlog RSS FeedGAME DAY SAN ANTONIO
5:51 AM EST….Greetings again from San Antonio. It was nice to read all the posts and see how we all are trying to come to grips with the death of Sean Taylor. Again we wish the Redskins family strength as they try to move on. The Wizards did practice here in San Antonio yesterday—no surprise a lot of time spent on defending the Spurs. Like the Mavericks , Wizards are facing a Spurs team angry after a loss. It didn’t matter on Monday as the Wizards did get their first win in Dallas since 2001. It was the most complete game of the season. Glenn and I were talking at dinner last night about how this team is starting to take on Caron’s identity on defense–diving for loose balls, digging to try and force steals. And how about Butler borrowing Gilbert’s hibachi—Caron alreday with 14 three pointers this year–only had 18 all of last year. That final shot Monday in Dallas…I thought Caron was Gilbert when he nailed it between the circles…BLOGCAST with the radio broadcast will start at 8:30PM…but I will check back later today and then courtside..feel free to post questions I might use in Eddie’s pre game radio interview. dave johnson
4:30PM EST…dave johnson checking in from the hotel…i have posted below as well..got your questions ..some great points.. and you can listen online by clicking the line at the top of the page
7:15 PM…greetings courtside in SA….onlince broadcast starts at 8:30 and you can click on the link at the top of the page…glenn and I will get to the posts in a minute
8:10 PM….. online broadcast starts at 8:30..you can click on the link at the top of the page…starters in…parker, finley, oberto, duncan, bowen…wizards….daniels, stevenson, haywood, jamison, butler
November 28th, 2007 at 10:21 AM
Here are some questions for Eddie’s pre-game interview.
What do you think Andray Blatche’s natural position is?
Can Caron Butler guard opposing 2-guards in this league?
It seems like many other bloggers (along with myself) want to see Butler-Jamison-Blatche at the 2-3-4. It seems like this gives us a size advantage on offense and defense and under the boards. What do you see, Coach Jordan, as the disadvantage of using that lineup?
Thanks,
-Rick
November 28th, 2007 at 11:19 AM
Somebody mentioned in a post that Antawn is going to the hoop more this year vs. last year. That is because he didn’t play summer ball in the FIBA Championships this year. He was tired last year and it showed. I think the same is true about Songuila. I think he looks tired and has been kind of disappointing thus far this season. Anybody else have any thoughts on Songuila? I thought he was going to be critical for us this year.
Anybody know timeline on Pech’s return?
Last but not least - RIP Sean Taylor.
November 28th, 2007 at 1:35 PM
Question for Eddie:
Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison are among the leaders for minutes per game. Are you going to look more towards the bench to give these guys some rest?
November 28th, 2007 at 2:50 PM
I think Songalia has not played his best over the last few games, but that he has been a valuable contributor this season. He is a guy who can come in off the bench and set some screens, grab some boards, make some passes, and knock down that mid-range jumper. His on the ball defense is not so great, but that could be mitigated if the wiz play better team defense.
Overall, I think he is an asset (who may be a little weary after this summer), but I’d rather have him than Ruffin or Boothe.
November 28th, 2007 at 3:46 PM
I think Blatche’s natural position is PF. But we’re thinner at C and SF, which he can also play. So I think he’s going to be spelling Haywood and Butler mostly, at least until Pecherov comes back. But what’s more important is what Jordan says, if he’s asked the question (which is a good one).
I’m betting Pech will be practicing by 12/8 and will play against Sacramento on 12/15. But I’m not expecting as much as some people.
I’d certainly rather have Songaila than Ruffin or Booth, but I’m also disappointed in his shooting. I presume he’ll come back, but he may be suffering a let-down from his international play.
November 28th, 2007 at 4:04 PM
Im hoping the Wizards will be able to handle the Spurs’ big 3 tonight. Parker, Duncan, and Manu are 3 players who can play really good defense but also put down alot of shots in your face…..i just hope Haywood/Blatche/Jamison will be able to limit Duncans rebounding and shot taking tonight cause when he’s hot….his team is hot and thats gonna be hard for the wiz to stop them if the spurs’ bench is hot cause they have alot of depth.
November 28th, 2007 at 4:07 PM
With Pech back wont his minutes be limited B/C of andray,jamison,and songaila well unless jamison moves to SF and andray at the PF. But there will still be a problem at the center position because who is going to back up brendan…. songaila…. but hes to small and normally a PF… will Pech be seeing time at Center? but even then Pech i believe is to soft and skinny to be playing center….IDK just think this team needs to sign another true center either from the D-LEAGUE or look to get Anderson Varejo
November 28th, 2007 at 4:17 PM
Hey Dave, is it possible to listen to the pre-game interview with Coach Jordan online?
November 28th, 2007 at 4:30 PM
I am glad that Ivan Carter is going to ask Jordan about playing Haywood, Blatche, Jamison, Butler and Daniels together. I think that that line-up intuitively has more athleticism, talent and raw basketball power than the starting line-up. Mr. Carter stated that the starting line-up has the best +/- score than the other combinations, but I think the +/- statistic can be misleading at times. In this case the line-up I propose hasn’t been used enough yet to get a true +/- read, and the +/- ratio can be scewed during “garbage time”. I’m not saying to have that line-up on the floor for 40 minutes, but at least 10 minutes a game.
Some other thoughts…
-I think Songalia played Nowitzki pretty tough on Monday
- Nick Young stopped the Mav’s momentum cold when he took over the game and abused that short point guard of theirs (Barera?) and drove him out of the game. That guy was sparking them too so it was good to have him out of there.
- Now that he is incorporating the 3-point shot into his game, it makes even more sense to have Butler spend some time at 2-guard where he can shoot over shorter players.
- I hate to say this, but I am glad Navarro is with Memphis. It really works out the best for him because he gets to start, play a lot of minutes and play with his pal Gasol. If Ernie had played hardball to the hilt, he might still be shlubbing in Spain.
- Speaking of the Griz, they smoked the Nets on the road last night. They’re playing well and we should not be so hard on the Wiz for losing to them.
- A lot of pundits are down on the Wiz since Gil went down and say the Wiz won’t make the playoffs. If they can stay healthy, I think they can play with anyone in the East. But injuries are such a wild card factor. Just about all teams are a single injury to one key player from being a lousy team.
- Kudos to Jamison and Butler for playing at the top of their games. Barring injury, I see no reason why they can’t keep it going.
- The win against the Mavs should give the Wiz a lot of confidence. There is no reason why they can’t beat the Spurs. The problem is the Spurs are an excellent 3-point shooting team, and those types of teams give the Wiz trouble. But that will make beating them all the more impressive.
November 28th, 2007 at 4:35 PM
^ I agree with you about Songalia on Dirk the other night. You could tell he was just bugging him by being up on him and leaning on him. Guys dont like to guarded by Darius, even if he’s not the best defender. It’s always good to have a guy on your team like that.
I will only probably see the end of the game tonight, so I hope we are still in it in the 4th. I too think we can compete with this team and that the win in Dallas was monumental. Caron is playing with the most confidence I’ve ever seen. Jamison is taking it to the whole almost every time. When he’s not, he’s knocking down jumpers. He’s also getting on the glass really well. It would be great to get this win tonight and move on to Philly on Friday where I think we would dominate.
November 28th, 2007 at 4:41 PM
hey gang dave johnson chekcing in from the hotel….to rick’s question about eddie’ pre game…you can listen online beginning at 8:30…click the link at the top of the page for the online broadcast.. and great questions from everybody…we have seen butler at the two with blacthe and jamison inthe lineup… i will talk..but i just don’t see a change inthe starting lineup….stevenson has value on defense.. and he had on eof his best offensive games agaainst thge mavericks.,..but will talk to eddie and anzero that’s a great point about minutes….i feel like we have been on the road all month.. and this week filled with travel ends with a back-toback
November 28th, 2007 at 6:35 PM
I made a comment earlier in the this young season about arenas not being the answer to the wiz reaching their potential.I still stand on that. AD may not be as gifted as arenas,but he’s a better facilitator. We all love the individual stats,and hair raising scoring,but at point guard it’s almost a curse.Big scoring at pg almost promises limited ball distribution.The Wizards play with an energy that they haven’t shown before and I bet it’s because everyone feels like every night they may have a opportunity to impact the game.The ball is being distributed. Gil arenas with 40 50 points is cute but it won’t make his team a winner. How about making other’s around you better.that’s what winners do. Something tells me that all of this has happened for a reason. I really think Gil has the potential to be great,but even before the injury,he wasn’t worth a max contract. Show me a 7 assist a game average or better and then we can talk. Show a passion for wanting to elevate your team mates and then you have a franchise player.Without that you are just a gunner.
November 28th, 2007 at 7:51 PM
Gilbert Arenas makes the wizards a better team, period. When it comes to how much better, well then I think you make a valid point D.C. If Gilbert can distribute the ball more effectively and expend more energy on defense, I’d say a WHOLE LOT better. He is basically unstoppable running the pick-and-roll and when he is hitting the outside shot he can score 30+ points with ease. There are not too many players you can say that about.
November 28th, 2007 at 8:12 PM
on the Blatche ntaural position questiion..the answre is probabaly 3, 4, or 5, depending on matchups….talking with glenn as well he falls into the ctageory of boris diaw, or charles barkley, or danny manning…robert horry…were you really don’t talk about one specifc position
November 28th, 2007 at 8:14 PM
and that was a great question about caron guarding oppoosing twos… he can but it depsned on who the two is.,..for example kobe bryant would be a good matchup… but jason terry who we just saw playing the two in dallas would not be…
November 28th, 2007 at 8:25 PM
starters are posted above
November 28th, 2007 at 8:34 PM
I have a question
i know the wiz don’t want to worry but
how’s gil
I haven’t heard any updates
is he making a hopeful good and VERY QUICK recovery
November 28th, 2007 at 8:34 PM
hey all, hoping for a good game… it will be extremely tough for us to be competitive til the end, but as others have said before, we really need to not let parker penetrate and keep them shooting uncontested threes.
November 28th, 2007 at 8:36 PM
I wan t Gil to play
my friend is joking that the wiz can go 75-7
November 28th, 2007 at 8:36 PM
early in the recovery for gil….i will check and get back to you all on that tomorrow
November 28th, 2007 at 8:37 PM
wermol you still in estonia
November 28th, 2007 at 8:37 PM
since we started 0-5
i’m hoping to see gilbert 100% by march since my birthday is april 9th and their a home game i believe that day
November 28th, 2007 at 8:39 PM
Hey it’s a wensday and a home game against the celtics
i just checked
November 28th, 2007 at 8:39 PM
we are with you on that gilbertarenas 101….again we were told 3 months so that would be possible
November 28th, 2007 at 8:39 PM
Yes, I am still in Estonia :p
November 28th, 2007 at 8:41 PM
as always great to have you with us
November 28th, 2007 at 8:43 PM
That awesome
November 28th, 2007 at 8:44 PM
There are many players who can play multiple positions (especially in the NBA), but they typically are most comfortable/productive in one. My sense is that Blatche would be most comfortable at the 4 (tending towards the 3), yet he gets almost all of his minutes at the 5 spot. I’m wondering if that is because of our current personnel or if the coaches feel that is his best spot?
November 28th, 2007 at 8:44 PM
Sometimes star players have something happen when they are trying to go 100%
November 28th, 2007 at 8:45 PM
I am very optimistic
November 28th, 2007 at 8:45 PM
thanks, always a pleasure to be here
November 28th, 2007 at 8:48 PM
no need to worry im here………lol
November 28th, 2007 at 8:49 PM
gold jerseys again?????????
November 28th, 2007 at 8:50 PM
rick i would agree and i will ask the question of eddie again..as we talked about it off mic…he was talking about his versatility..and his role at 5 really emerged at training camp with Thomas out
November 28th, 2007 at 8:50 PM
gold jerseys
November 28th, 2007 at 8:54 PM
is there a reason for wearin them for 3 games in a row……..NICE BLOCK
November 28th, 2007 at 8:54 PM
the spurs tv announcers are making fun of the gold uniforms
November 28th, 2007 at 8:56 PM
i have to admit i love da gold jerseys though
November 28th, 2007 at 9:00 PM
haywood 6 quick points…thats nice…
November 28th, 2007 at 9:02 PM
tough matchup bowen on butelr
November 28th, 2007 at 9:09 PM
wizards mixiong defenses..hangiing with the spurs
November 28th, 2007 at 9:14 PM
why did he get free throws?
November 28th, 2007 at 9:15 PM
wermol..good question..they thought he was in ther act of shooting…tough call
November 28th, 2007 at 9:15 PM
Just another update:
ILL- 49 MD- 53
2nd 6:10
November 28th, 2007 at 9:16 PM
bowen limiting butelr.. but he is 2 for 2 neeeds to come off screens
November 28th, 2007 at 9:17 PM
Bowen is also making butler work on the defensive end…already 7 points.
November 28th, 2007 at 9:23 PM
I just can not believe Butler at the 3pt line…
November 28th, 2007 at 9:23 PM
good point./…butler perfect fropm, the field.. bowen out right now..blatche is about to come in..wiz shooting 63 spurs 60 percent
November 28th, 2007 at 9:24 PM
wiz five of 6 beyond the arc
November 28th, 2007 at 9:24 PM
it doesnt seem like Bowen or anybody else is going to bother Caron the way he is shooting lately. Haywood looks tired on D. Not showing strong on the pick and rolls and leaving Elson wide open like that?! Jordan really should pull players out for that kind of lazy defense!
November 28th, 2007 at 9:29 PM
other than the last 3 by mason, most of the missed shots we have taken have been “good shots”.
November 28th, 2007 at 9:30 PM
thsoe shot by elson hurt
November 28th, 2007 at 9:30 PM
glenn and i agree on teh shot slection…it has been good
November 28th, 2007 at 9:30 PM
rick, I don’t think it is really all that smart to guard Elson that far out… I’d much rather have him shoot from the ft line than see Spurs try something else.
November 28th, 2007 at 9:32 PM
good ball movement by wiz
November 28th, 2007 at 9:38 PM
I know he can hit those, but I really don’t like blatche shooting from that far out :/
November 28th, 2007 at 9:44 PM
sean elliot the halftime guest
November 28th, 2007 at 9:45 PM
HOW did they call that good? wow superstar call at its finest
November 28th, 2007 at 9:49 PM
oh…so apparently they did call it off again…good job
November 28th, 2007 at 9:50 PM
Kinda funny that the half ended with a brendan haywood jumper :d. He had a very good half…Duncan just 8 points.
November 28th, 2007 at 9:52 PM
yeah brendan a 17 footer..score is 49-46..last basket by duncan no good
November 28th, 2007 at 10:07 PM
not the start to the sceond half..wizards…fighting for evrything..on offense.. struggling against parker on defense
November 28th, 2007 at 10:07 PM
not a good start to the second half…
November 28th, 2007 at 10:13 PM
I’m really not happy with blatche’s shot selection tonight…you’re a 7 footer prove it
November 28th, 2007 at 10:13 PM
i think a lot of people forget how young Blatche is (21). Nick Young is 22!
November 28th, 2007 at 10:14 PM
Paker absolutely torching us sadly.
November 28th, 2007 at 10:15 PM
yeah, I know he is just 21 and I am absolutely ecstatic about his potential and the future with our team…but…it doesn’t mean he doesn’t make mistakes and shouldn’t be called for them…
November 28th, 2007 at 10:17 PM
We need to cut the lead to single digits if we want to have a shot in the last quarter.
November 28th, 2007 at 10:19 PM
amen
November 28th, 2007 at 10:20 PM
onlky 10 tos between the teams
November 28th, 2007 at 10:23 PM
spurs give us chances but we’ve failed to convert
November 28th, 2007 at 10:25 PM
Another thing I am not too keen on seeing is stevenson creating his own shot…I’m fine with him taking any jumper when he is open…but boy I don’t like to see him create shots…much more when they are contested 3pters
November 28th, 2007 at 10:26 PM
wow…second break for us at the end of a quarter…
November 28th, 2007 at 10:27 PM
stevesnon has hadf two good offensive games… have to find a way to get butler more involved he has only missed one shot..but he has only taken 6 shots and a lot of that goes to bruce bowen
November 28th, 2007 at 10:28 PM
yeah..it seems to me butler realizes when a shot would be a bad one and doesn’t take them…bowen has done a great job on him…but we need Butler to start shooting if we want to have a shot at the game.
November 28th, 2007 at 10:31 PM
If the wizards don’tstart making people pay for driving down the lanes, its going to be a looooooooonnnnnnnnng season.
November 28th, 2007 at 10:36 PM
San Antonio is a very physical team. Maybe i’m stating the obvious, but the wizards (okay Twan) is complaining to the refs up and down the courts. But do you really think the refs are going to make all those calls against a championship team?
November 28th, 2007 at 10:40 PM
jamison takes really bad shot then his man comes down and hits a three. ouch.
November 28th, 2007 at 10:40 PM
ok…game…we had so many opportunities to cut the 6 and 8 point lead and we just failed to convert…
November 28th, 2007 at 10:41 PM
wiz had made it 6 point game….now 7-0 run….spurs have done a good job of taking away jamison’s angles so he is not comfortable
November 28th, 2007 at 10:42 PM
jamison is forcing the issue. san antonio knows he will not pass the ball so they are making him take bad shots
November 28th, 2007 at 10:43 PM
Haywood is just too slow.
November 28th, 2007 at 10:44 PM
plenty of time……..i think that my linup for the final 3 min would work: butler, jamison, haywood, daniels, young
November 28th, 2007 at 10:45 PM
or maybe sooner
November 28th, 2007 at 10:46 PM
jamison hasn’t had a good game and this has been a difference tonight…it is understandable…he can’t have good games all the time…
November 28th, 2007 at 10:46 PM
PG doing it too us again..well he has a lot of help but Parker is having a field day
November 28th, 2007 at 10:46 PM
i just relized thats da lineup now……………we need a change then…. put mason in for young
November 28th, 2007 at 10:47 PM
parker wont miss
November 28th, 2007 at 10:48 PM
EVERY SHOT COUNTS HAYWOOD NEEDS TO MAKE THIS FREE THROW………………….
November 28th, 2007 at 10:49 PM
tony parker just embarrassing us…on the other end…haywood has a chance to get a new season high from the line
November 28th, 2007 at 10:50 PM
wizards shooting 47% but losing..tony parker amazing
November 28th, 2007 at 10:51 PM
we need a steal
November 28th, 2007 at 10:52 PM
Okay, how does tim duncan keep getting left open…LOL..This one is over
November 28th, 2007 at 10:52 PM
#3 should shoot some 3’s
November 28th, 2007 at 10:53 PM
good nshooting..low turnovers..but too much parker
November 28th, 2007 at 10:54 PM
butler and jamison negated by bthe spurs defense
November 28th, 2007 at 10:54 PM
I really hope dominic gets a chance to dunk this game, maybe this is just what he needs to get going.
November 28th, 2007 at 10:54 PM
SA is just a beautifully built team…..commentators are discussing the Dallas game…..totally different type of team. This is one that our role players can learn from.
November 28th, 2007 at 10:55 PM
san antonio is shooting 57% and has 109 points (already 10 over their average). The Wiz play no defense, and that really hurts when your leading scorers both have off nights.
November 28th, 2007 at 10:57 PM
tip our hat to the spurs..we’ll check from philly..dave and glenn
November 28th, 2007 at 10:59 PM
The wizards are a young team when it comes to the fundamentals of the NBA. The whole team needs to look at this tape and watch how the spurs spaced their players, helped out on driving wizards, etc. Granted they don’t have the same level of personnel, but footwork can alleviate being on the other end of a highlight reel
November 28th, 2007 at 11:38 PM
I agree, dcbutler357. The Spurs are impressive defensively just as much as offensively.
Jamison hustled on D until he seemed to get tired in the 4th Q. I dont’ think he should play so many minutes. Give McGuire some minutes if that’s what it takes. And yes, he sometimes forces it on offense. But then several Wiz players ended up forcing it when the Spurs wouldn’t give us good shots.
How do the Spurs get so many good players without going through the roof on salaries?
Stevenson played well on both ends.
Songaila finally hit a couple of shots.
Young makes a nice shot, then makes a rookie mistake. I’m sure he’s learning, however.
November 29th, 2007 at 1:02 AM
yeah we did not have off nights they locked CB3 and AJ down tight CB3 got a double every time the ball got to him and they were not going to let AJ get close to the basket they had 2 some times 3 on him that way AD had a better shooting night had Gil been in the game he could have broke it down that were we are lacking i hate roger mason’s Game i love N1 even tho he is young pardon the pun he plays and get better at least all in all the spurs just out played us on both ends got to give them this one and try to get em next time
November 29th, 2007 at 3:54 AM
It’s a shame both Caron and Antawn picked the Spurs to have an off night. I’m betting Nick Young will Never miss that many shots from point blank range the rest of his time in the league.
gotta give those guys credit. They figured out what we were doing in the first half, then, passed the ball back and forth from the inside to the outside until one of the two was wide open. Guess that is why they have been the champs so many times. Tony Langoria should get early MVP nods. (sorry I couldn’t resist)
Great Games Haywood and Daniels… How many blocks did Blatche have?
back to “even” against eastern Pa.
November 29th, 2007 at 6:59 AM
the spurs just were very good in finding the open man and hitting the open shots. They also played very good D. They did a god job in slowing down our big two. But dont worry we will get them back when they come to the phone booth.
November 29th, 2007 at 7:50 AM
Nobody has beaten the Spurs at home yet this season. They’re a better team than the Wizards; better than any other team too.
I didn’t see most of the 2d half (got it tivo’d tho, and may race thru it yet), but it was obvious early in the 3d quarter that San Antonio was now able to shut down whatever we were doing in the 1st half. Apparently we adjusted too, and we got it down to 6 or 7, but they put us away at the end.
Looks like we didn’t have Haywood and Blatche together much on the court, if at all. I don’t understand that, especially against a long team like the Spurs.
November 29th, 2007 at 8:20 AM
Looking at the Wizards line from last night, it is clear that we played extremely well — we’d have beaten most teams last night. The only negatives: just 1 steal among only 7 forced turnovers and the opponent shot 56%.
The Spurs were *very* focused last night, coming off a loss. Their shooting was incredibly consistent across the board, a credit to their ability to move the ball crisply and get open shots.
I like our team, however. Just give Andray 30 minutes instead of 20 every night.
November 29th, 2007 at 8:44 AM
Haywood and Blatche can’t play together right now, because of the depth factor on the bench (my opinion). I admit, I didn’t think the wiz should have kept ruffin, but he made people pay for coming in the middle. He always gave a hard foul, and didn’t get in a fight, because that was part of his role. The key is that everyone on SA knows their role, and shines by playing their part. The nucleus of that team is set and once the wiz get a nucleus player that won’t look to bolt for more money or will focus on how they can help bring out the best in the whole team, i.e. focus on how the wiz can get a championship, rather than looking for a team that already looks like championship material on paper…….a foundation can not be formed.
November 29th, 2007 at 1:19 PM
I don’t agree: last night, Brendan and Andray wound up w/ a combined total of 5 fouls. No problem for them to be on the floor together, e.g. in the 4th quarter.
November 29th, 2007 at 1:26 PM
true, with a game on the line, why not put them in together, if it will help the team? Other than that, doesn’t one spell the other right now?
November 29th, 2007 at 4:25 PM
If Haywood & Blatche play simultaneously, and Blatche also backs up Haywood, Blatche is going to play about 40 minutes/game and McGuire is going to back up Butler. That’s doable, but debatable.
What I don’t like is Jamison playing 39 minutes/game at age 31. He sure looked tired to me in the 4th quarter.
November 29th, 2007 at 7:03 PM
thanks for the Update
I’m very excited tommorow
i think we can pull out a win to get back to .500
November 29th, 2007 at 11:06 PM
I don’t think any of them should be playing 40 minutes, but, the coaching staff has never seemed to agree with that philosophy?
November 30th, 2007 at 11:17 AM
Blatche can back up Haywood and also log 10 minutes at the 4 — why not? — and that gets him 30 minutes and could be used to lighten Antawn’s load as well.
With a 10-man team at present, clearly the starters have to play heavier minutes than we’d like. Don’t see any way around that.
I worry especially about Antonio, who is the oldest of the vets I believe, and Antawn — will they have the energy we need later in the season? Will they break down along the way? Another reason I’d like to see 30min/night from Andray.