Comment from Beeb
Time December 12, 2007 at 9:51 AM

Good game to watch. When you’re at the game,you realize that guys like Mason and Haywood are doing alot of the little things that don’t show up on boxscores. Mason is playing defense and Haywood bothers shots and bats rebounds to others. I still don’t understand how we make Craig Smith an allstar with 37.Jameson boxscore is misleading. He played terrible defense. Took bad shots and always manages to work a stupid foul in for a 3pt play. T-Pups ran the same pick and roll inside all night and we made no adjustments. Plus,you could see that Young had no mojo after sitting on the bench until the 4th quarter. If Eddie will just stay out of the way,we’ll keep developing. Great postgame by Glenn. Thanks for keeping it interesting!

Comment from Jgarcia104
Time December 12, 2007 at 10:21 AM

hey dave will do. hey quick thought.. remember towards the early part of the season how eddie had those games that he said where for the vets to play.. or “this was not a game for the rooks” when we were trying to rebound off our 0 and 5 start? well nick hasnt been getting that much pt over the course of the last 2 games *didnt see the suns game so not sure on that one* so was it just because there was a sense of urgency or what? dmac only played a lil as well. or is it because deshawn is getting into a nice groove and rodger is playin well?

Comment from SportzWiz
Time December 12, 2007 at 10:43 AM

Hey guys, great points on a couple of situations. I will try to relay exactly what Coach Jordan said in his post game presser last night.

A. He doesn’t like playing Roger and Nick together because neither is a true point guard. He always wants to keep either DeShawn or AD in when Roger or Nick comes in. With Roger playing lights out last night that left less time for Nick.

B. Yesterday the entire game plan and defensive focus was to stop Al Jefferson. Coach Jordan didn’t think that Smith would be able to do what he did so the defense was really focused on stopping Al and they did that, in the process Smith got some good looks and got rolling.

Comment from wizkid034
Time December 12, 2007 at 10:55 AM

First…to Beeb…I think it is crazy to expect perfection from Antawn. He and Caron are the gas that keeps this car going. He might have had some defensive lapses, but his hands are like glue. He pulled down so many big boards in the midst of 2 or 3 other T-Wolves. That is impressive. That being said, we allowed way to many points in the paint. I am sure EJ addressed that after the game. Why do we maky Smith look like an all-star? Roger said it in the post game interview on Comcast. Eddie wanted them to take away Jefferson, which they pretty much did. That is going to open up opportunities for guys like Craig Smith, and he took advantage of them. Plus, he is not a horrible player. He is a promising young player.

Second…to Jgarcia104…Nick actually did play a good amount of time in the Suns game, as did D-Mac. Now, we were out of that game going into the 4th, so I think they got a lot of “scrub time.” Bottom line is that NY and D-Mac are rookies, and while Roger and Andray are playing so well, you will not see much “the rooks.” The only reason D-Mac played decent minutes last night was that D-Song was a little injured. The coaches I am sure wanted to preserve Darius if we didn’t really need him…which we didn’t.

Last night was pretty much what I expected…a double-digit win over a struggling, very young team. I continue to be impressed by guys like Andray and Roger. The fact that they are stepping up so much might not seem like a big deal now because we really need it. But once Gil comes back, he will not have to deal with as many double teams. Now we have more than AJ and Caron to draw attention away from Gil. If Roger keeps attacking the basket like he did last night we are going to be sitting pretty. He and AD are excellent free throw shooters. Add to that the real threat Roger is from beyond the arc. I am feeling real good about the Wiz as they move their record to 8-5 without Gil. I expect us to go no worse than 6-2 for the remainder of December (with a real possibility of 8-0). That would bring our record to 17-12 (or 19-10) by the end of the month.

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 12, 2007 at 11:58 AM

dave johnson checking in before getting on the plane..beeb..really liked your points about haywood..the game plan going in was to limit al jefferson with double teams and to see if haywood’s length would give him some trouble…well haywood did give jefferson trouble..as i said on the broadcast last night…he was also the difference maker in the 4rth quarter when we had to finally put the Twolves away….and to questions about nick.. that was not eddie’s plan to sit him for so long..but both roger and deshawn were doing well… nick will get plenty of minutes..brendan said it best after the game in the post-game interview..team is together…when they get down..no finger pointing..and there are great leaders like caron, antawn and antonio..again the words of brendan…i’ll check in from miami…dave

Comment from SportzWiz
Time December 12, 2007 at 2:04 PM

I just got back from practice, Coach Jordan said that Darius did practice today and based on how he feels tomorrow he should be able to play.

Nothing much else to report on the day, a lot of the players talked about Miami being a tough team and how they are coming off of back to back wins and how they are playing well so it should be a good game.

On another note we should have some more videos coming out later next week that I think everyone will enjoy. It has been rumored around here that DeShawn will be doing a couple videos and we might even have another couple surprises up our sleeve .

Comment from neal
Time December 12, 2007 at 3:12 PM

I just reviewed a bit on Mason. He was a 2nd round pick by the Bulls in 2002. I heard he then played a year in Israel and one in Europe (or the reverse), before the Wiz signed him last year. He’s now 27. It’s no accident he’s not playing like a rookie.

I can’t believe any team spent a season with only 9 or 10 players.

Pay back time in Miami. For all the indignities we’ve suffered from these guys in the last few years.

Go Wiz.

Comment from Wizards4Life
Time December 12, 2007 at 6:01 PM

yeah i for one was really hard on him.. i thought we wasted roster space and money on him but he showed why EG and EJ wanted to keep him got to give it to the guy for what he has done the past 3 games but lets not get a Brenda outta this ill watch for a few more games b4 i let him have the full complement

Comment from neal
Time December 12, 2007 at 6:40 PM

As Jordan said (Dave’s post above), Mason is no longer just coming in and putting up shots. He’s settled down and letting the game come to him – doing a better job of being a complete player and taking what’s there.

One good thing Jameson does (like Arenas and Daniels) is draw fouls. That’s really important since we’re a good FT shooting team. And also toward the end of the game when we start getting penalty shots before the enemy.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time December 12, 2007 at 9:47 PM

You know, some people know something about basketball, and other don’t. But both types of folks get the same empty box to write in at the bottom of the web page. And that would account for the criticism of Antawn Jamison, who is really playing great ball and leading the team. Leave it at that.

It’s terrific to see Roger flourish in this way; still, I want to see it for a little longer stretch. Nick’s game, on the other hand, is one-dimensional for the moment. But, man he looks good with a basketball in his hands, and his shot is very very “easy” — as Gil described him in his blog.

A win in Miami would be big. I guess we all know that.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time December 12, 2007 at 9:53 PM

Just a note on “intangibles” — those things that “don’t show up” on boxscores.

The box score shows you who won the game and how they won it; it also shows you who lost the game and how they lost it. All the intangibles in the world don’t help one whit unless they are reflected in the stat lines.

Put simply, teams that have guys who put up big stats win lots of games. Teams that don’t have those guys lose lots of games.

I don’t mean raw scoring numbers. You can get those by taking lots of shots. But efficient scoring, good rebounding, lack of turnovers, few fouls and some steals — all those show up on the box score, and they are what wins games.

Comment from newposter
Time December 12, 2007 at 11:24 PM

Tom, I’ve got to give it to you, you are the consummate hater! I thought you were coming around when you said you might have been wrong about Mason. Then you go and keep writing…Of course a talent evaluator/scout would want to see him keep it up before making any longstanding conclusions about his basketball capabilities. But as a Wizards fan looking out for the team, if you choose to compliment him for a job well done over the last 4-5 game stretch, why not leave it at that? But not you! If you mention that he’s flourishing, you have to throw in that you want to see it for longer or counterpose it with points re Nick’s game. You’re so funny. I swear I’d think it was personal between you two. Otherwise, I really can’t figure how you can manage to be so consistently negative only in regards to one particular player. I’m sure you can’t wait for him to have a bad game so you can say I told you so. How spiteful. I don’t expect for you to be his personal cheerleader, just don’t understand why you have to keep bringing him up in a negative vein. Just don’t talk about him at all.

Comment from newposter
Time December 12, 2007 at 11:28 PM

other than that…go wizards! time to beat the heat.

Comment from BruceO
Time December 13, 2007 at 5:35 AM

I’m done watching roger mason for his game.. now that he’s proven he can shoot. I will watch to see who they have him guarding. As long as I know he has it in him. I’ve also been saying that I see him doing some point.. he and nick i.e it’s not something where I’m smart or anything it’s just been mentioned somewhere that he could do so and I came across that.
I’m now watching Nick to see what kind of effort he puts in other categories other than scoring. He’s been putting some effort in rebounding and some in assists. the assists is more unnatural cause he scores at a good percentage and theres no reason to pass the ball up..he does move the ball within the princeton which is just as neccesary as assists.
I’m watching Dmac to see how much he looks to score and how. I want to see what needs to be done to make his defense good enough to keep him on the floor for primarily that reason and other intangibles. His speed or reaction is questionable to me at this moment but this could change.
I’m watching Blatche for his shot selection. He shoots alot of outside shots and I don’t approve of him not taking it to guys. I also think if he was strong he’d do huge damage. Dwight and Amare just get points off dunks constantly. If he was strong with those hands he will be consistent and a Beast.
I’m also thinking ahead about Pech and wondering what to expect. I’m kinda rating him to Blatches level at this point with a better shot, better rebounding and unknown as far as the post game. Worse Blocker and worse defensively but probably good effort. I’m kinda excited about Pech though cause we have an opportunity to make a dirk like player..
Haywood and caron rule. Im glad haywood is beasting and proving people wrong. If he has a good game against shaq who else is there out there that’s an elite center that Haywood hasn’t proven himself against other than shaq

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time December 13, 2007 at 9:15 AM

Awww, Newposter, don’t worry — you’ll get over it.

Bruce — great post, and yes those are the things to watch. I’m delighted w/ Mason’s progress; I think he was in major part responsible for a couple of our recent wins. Keep it up, Roger.

Nice point about Andray: if he can get into A+ condition, he can be one of the dominant players in the game. But… can he? Will he?

In the meantime, tonight’s game at Miami seems really big to me. They definitely think they own us, and we’ll see them a bunch of times this season not to mention potentially in the playoffs too. Plus, we need to get ourselves *permanently* above .500. So… I’m really hoping for a win tonight.

Comment from HardCoreFan
Time December 13, 2007 at 9:16 AM

Well done to the entire Wizards team and coaches and especially to Bulter, Jamison, Haywood, and Mason. This team has really stepped up with having Gilbert out – look at Cleveland without James & Miami without Wade! But the Wizards without Agent Zero are working it. Keep up the good work guys. I hope the Wizards put a fire under the Heat tonight. Fire them up guys.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time December 14, 2007 at 1:39 AM

Newposter… Tom is the pesimist that keeps the rest of the “cup 3/4 full’s” in line….. rofl