Comment from Tom Mandel
Time September 25, 2008 at 1:10 PM

Great post, SportsWiz — but… that’s 16 things!! What’s w/ this “5a” biz?

I’m going to hold it down to five things:

1. Another “solid 5″ season from the starters — we could not have asked for more from AD, DeShawn, Caronimo, Antawn and Brendan last year. They were terrific, and we need the same kind of year from them. If that includes a jump to “superstar” status for Caron, so much the better.

2. A healthy, productive season for Etan; one that says “I’m back; we’ve got Center covered off the bench.”

3. The first year of Dray’s career as a *mature,* productive player that we know we can count on as his career unfolds. In other words, jump to grown-up.

4. Real progress from Dominic and Nick — earning real rotation time and being overall, across the board, productive. If there’s some posterizing, fine. But I look for an all around NBA game.

5. The occasional surprise from out of the blue — a big shot from Juan, off-the-charts athleticism from JaVale, a blur of speed from Dee. That kind of thing.

5a. Good health for Gil — and for Abe Pollin too!!

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time September 25, 2008 at 1:33 PM

Oooops, I need one for Pech and Darius, don’t I?

5b. I want to see Pech play to the level Darius played to in his first 2 years in the league, when he was with Sacramento, and I want the same for Darius!! (those were by far Darius’s best two years in the NBA)

Comment from gbkdc
Time September 25, 2008 at 3:07 PM

I agree with the 80′s outfits!!! Love them!

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time September 25, 2008 at 3:14 PM

1. I WANT GILBERT BACK 100% HEALTHY
1A I want to see Gilbert come back and hit some game winner’s
2 I want to see our bench have a fantastic year (will be important at playoff time)
3 Would love to see a deep run into the playoffs
4 Would love to see Caron take his game to the next level, and stay healthy
5 Have Twan, avg a double double
6 Have Haywood among the leauge leaders in blocks and rebounds
7 Give a standing ovation to Etan and wish him good health
8 Watch Coach Jordan get the recongnition he deserbes
9 Watch Nick Young and Dom really step up this year
10 Watch the Wizards crush the Cav’s in the playoffs (Deshawn do ya thing)

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time September 25, 2008 at 3:21 PM

#6, 9, 12, and 15 from SportzWiz’s list are the items I care most about. Regarding 15, I’m curious about JaVale because from a Sept. 22, 08 blog posting by SportzWiz (under the Wizard sign Johnson & Johnson + Taj heading),

SportzWiz Says:

September 23rd, 2008 at 3:55 PM
“Eddie talked about JaVale’s role today. he said it probably wouldn’t be very consistent and when asked if he would be in the rotation he said “no”. He did say that a large part of that has to do with being young in the NBA and from his experience young players dont see much playing time because they are more prone to mistakes.

“With that said, Eddie loves his potential, he really likes his size and athleticism and said he is the longest player he’s ever been affiliated with and he runs and jumps very well and he’s got very good hands. He expects him to learn a lot this year and work hard and get spot minutes. My guess is the most you will see of JaVale this season will be in the preseason.”

Thus, with JaVale expecting to get very little to no minutes game in/game out, chances of fans seeing him block someone are not too good. So, #15 is a bit of a reach, no?

#6, 9, and 12 are all about players maturing. Haywood needs to continue providing montra for the Wiz. Andray’s game is about desire and how much he wants it. It is there for the taking – if he works hard and gets focused. With SportzWiz praising almost daily about how good Dom’s jumper has become, I’m very anxious to see it. However, I wonder if he’ll even get a chance to shoot or will his teammates just pigeon-hole him into the role he’s known for doing.

The Arenas comeback is again important (#4), but I can’t worry about him now. There are 14* (after roster finalization) other guys trying to get the team to a fifth consecutive playoff showing.

Comment from SportzWiz
Time September 25, 2008 at 3:35 PM

I dont think he’ll get many minutes, but when he does there’s no question he’s got the ability to make some OOOHHHH and AHHH Plays.

Comment from SportzWiz
Time September 25, 2008 at 3:37 PM

Personally I jsut think Dom has really shown a lot from what I’ve seen. How that translates to games is always the question. I’ve seen Pech look great in practice and I’ve mentioned that and then ive seend him struggle during games, its always hard to predict how guys will play when the “lights go on”, I think a lot of it is confidence, when young players are able to get some positives going their way their confidence increases and so does their productivity.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time September 25, 2008 at 4:51 PM

I am very high on Dominic McGuire — I believe he will be a productive starter in the NBA.

JaVale — if he makes enough OOOOOHHH and AAAHHH plays; he will get himself on the court! Hope so!

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time September 25, 2008 at 5:09 PM

Truthfully the Numba 1 Thing Im Looking Forward To This Season is…

Wizards vs. Lakers NBA Finals Game 7….

GO WIZARDS……..

Comment from SportzWiz
Time September 25, 2008 at 5:27 PM

I like it Wiz-Skins!

Comment from Reuben
Time September 25, 2008 at 6:17 PM

Wizskins you mean game 4 right cause we would SWEEEEEEEP the Lakers

Comment from Reuben
Time September 25, 2008 at 6:18 PM

thats what im looking foward to

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time September 25, 2008 at 6:23 PM

Naw..i want it to be a dramatic ending with Gilby droping 60 on them once again

Comment from GlingGling
Time September 25, 2008 at 6:53 PM

Everything everyone said I’m looking forward to. I’m looking forward to the whole package. I was able to watch 80 of 82 games of the Wizards last regular season and I loved it all. The posters here know it, the Wiz are *interesting* and fun to watch. If I’m watching the Wizards I’m happy.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time September 25, 2008 at 7:02 PM

GlingGling — that’s a good number! Wow.

Comment from ChenierFan
Time September 25, 2008 at 7:17 PM

Great Lead-in Topic, SportsWiz!

I am looking forward to:
1) Seeing Etan tighten up that sternum brace and get back out there and bang some bodies under the boards

2) Seeing Gil come back as good as new (in December) and bring the Wiz to a new level

3) Seeing Caron play all 82 cames at full speed.

4) Seeing Antawn continue to be the ultimate pro he is.

5) Seeing Nick’s first 40 point outburst of his career

6) Seeing Andray continue to improve as a pro and Ave 12pts/8rebs/2blocks/1.5assists per game

7) Seeing Eddie get Coach of the Year

Seeing Demarr Johnson make the team (this guy, a former NBA starter, could be a sleeper pick up)

9) Seeing the Wiz develop a deep bench.

10) Seeing the NBA put an end to this constant “back tapping” of rebounds by calling lose ball fouls on those plays like they used to. Every rebound looks like a tip drill nowadays.

11) Seeing NBA.com get rid of all the WNBA features (don’t those ladies have there own site?)

12) Seeing the NBA set some restrictions on noise levels in these arenas – it’s getting to be too much and really takes away from the game itself

13) “Seeing” the ghost of Tim Russert (a great Wizards fan) haunt the Caveliers when they meet the Wiz again this year in the playoffs

14) The day that NBC removes Mike (“Free throw – Knocks it down!!!”) Breen as their lead announcer. He is workable but hardly entertaining at all.

15) The day next June when Abe Pollin is doused with champagne when his Wizards take the title!

Comment from neal
Time September 25, 2008 at 8:08 PM

The things I’m looking forward to:

1. Nick Young being really successful in the regular rotation.
2. Dominic McGuire being really successful in the regular rotation.
3. Dee Brown being really successful in the regular rotation.
4. Andray Blatche playing up to his potential.

If all these kids do this we’ll be in every game and in the conference title fight. If none of them come through we’ll drop in the standings. The starters can’t do it by themselves.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time September 25, 2008 at 11:13 PM

#1. I’d like to see Nick make it all but impossible for Tom Not to shout his “good stats” to the rooftops

#2. I’d like to see the team build on the chemistry they started to really develop 3 years ago.

#3. I’m really looking forward to seeing Etan healthy and back on the floor.

#4. I’m looking forward to any and all Cleveland games.

#5. I’m looking forward to any time I get the chance to see Javale on the court.

#6. I’d like to see Dominic have a very solid season on both sides of the ball.

#8. Gil getting that knee 100% no matter how long that takes so he never has issues with “that” knee again. It’s not worth walking with a cane at age 35 I don’t care what they are paying you. (not very “basketball”, but how I feel)

#9. Seeing the “One Man Fast Break” in action. (I’m thinking the times he and Juan are on the floor on defense are going to look almost like a swarm of bees? I wouldn’t want to be the opposing 1 or 2 in that situation)

#10. This one is special. It isn’t original, but, Chenier Fan’s #15 is my definate TEN.

Comment from GlingGling
Time September 26, 2008 at 12:46 AM

Thanks Tom, though it was only possible with Tivo and unemployment.

Almost everyone wants to see to see the bench develop. This is good, hopefully the more support they get the better they will play.

I’d like to add something specific.

#X. Listening to Phil and Steve. Best announcer combination in the league. I hate when the games aren’t on CSN. Phil and Steve are members of the Wizards too! If I have to hear Reggie Miller say “Never foul a jump shooter” one more time I can’t be held responsible for the consequences.

Comment from TAG FLIP
Time September 26, 2008 at 1:51 AM

what’s good wizards fans. missed being on here during the summer. been following all the offseason stuff with the wiz and here is my top 10 want-to-see’s, in no particular order.

1. 50-win season. come on guys, we’ve been on the brink of it for so long. this is the year.
2. southeast division champions. you can argue orlando’s the team to beat in the southeast, but their only big weapon is howard.
3. home-court advantage. i said no particular order, otherwise this would be at number 1. we have got to start the playoffs at home this year or else we are gonna have a huge uphill fight come round 1.
4. solid production off the bench. with gilbert out for at least 1-2 months, it will be important for our bench to step it up. with the same starting 5 we had last season, our bench is basically the same minus Roger Mason, but with the return of Etan Thomas and the signings of Dee Brown and Juan Dixon (hell yeah who isn’t excited about him coming back), we have more depth and experience on our bench.
5. staying healthy. there really is nothing else to say to this, but i feel the need to say more. play aggressive but not to the point where your going out and hurting yourself. we don’t need another case of gilbert playing 8 games, missing 66, playing 5 of the last 8, then shutting it down right before an elimination game.
6. defense. our defensive numbers improved dramatically in 2007-08. with the entire roster still intact (-mason, +brown and dixon), eddie and his staff will still have the opportunity to use extra practice time to work on defense instead of teaching new guys the offense.
7. development of the younger players. with a year under their belts in the princeton offense, i’d like to see young, dom, and pech get increased minutes at least to start the season
8. agent zero coming back fully healthy. come on man! you signed the big contract and now you gotta miss a month of the season. you seriously shouldn’t have played at all last year.. we still love you tho.
9. all-star years again for caron and antawn. and maybe send nick young to the dunk contest and juan to the 3-point contest.
10. us, the fans. Hands down, DC has the best sports fans ever. end of discussion on this one.

plus seeing buck, phil, and chris miller back on tv. i haven’t really even watched comcast at all since we got knocked out in may.

Comment from TAG FLIP
Time September 26, 2008 at 1:51 AM

oh and listening to dave and glenn online. can’t leave u guys out!

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time September 26, 2008 at 8:17 AM

Great stuff from everyone!

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time September 26, 2008 at 8:36 AM

Two things, both somewhat off-topic:

1. The Knicks signed Ernie’s son Dan Grunfield. Congratulations to Dan and to his Dad too!

2. The Grizzlies signed Quintin Ross to a vet minimum, non-guaranteed deal. Ross is a defensively-oriented swing man; we talked about him for the Wizards here on the blog: anyone think we should have grabbed him instead of Juan?

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time September 26, 2008 at 9:06 AM

I like Juan, but, my first choice would have been Bonzi Wells and my second choice would have been Ross. That being said, I think Juan will also be a good addition especially on the defensive end. Everyone sees him as a shooter. I have always liked his scrappy defense.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time September 26, 2008 at 9:09 AM

An advantage Juan has is coming in knowing the offense

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time September 26, 2008 at 12:10 PM

(Are the rest of you seeing a very different-looking Wizards blog — same people and posts but visually totally different??) (What I see is the default WordPress template, btw — what you get when you first install WordPress)

Bonzi is obviously a much better player, yes — but it’s not clear that he would have been available for a veteran minimum offer, which seems to be where Ernie wants to go and is what Juan got. Ross signed for a veteran minimum offer as well.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time September 26, 2008 at 12:11 PM

(whoaa there — now it’s back to the right visual appearance. Go figure.)

Comment from SportzWiz
Time September 26, 2008 at 2:02 PM

there will be some changes to the blog look coming.

Comment from WizardsDotCom
Time September 26, 2008 at 3:21 PM

Looking forward to Dave’s first “SLAM!” call

Also looking forward to Rob Suller’s on-going battle…er, diet.

Comment from SportzWiz
Time September 26, 2008 at 3:21 PM

WOW! That’s all I have to say.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time September 26, 2008 at 4:39 PM

Whoa — blast from the past!

Comment from ricklevinenyc
Time September 26, 2008 at 5:13 PM

1) Andray Blatche gets 6th man of the year award

2) Caron starts in the All-Star game

3) Jamison avgs another double-double for the season

4) Gil comes back and finishes the season healthy.

Comment from Agent0
Time September 28, 2008 at 1:04 PM

In addition to all that’s been said, I just want to add a couple of things that I think is crucial.

1. Have EQUAL production time from the bench. In the previous season, that has NOT been the case. I think that these guys deserve equal playing time and they have proved themselves time after time. At the moment, I think the roster is looking pretty deep, wouldn’t you say??

2. I want to see Twan average more than he has done in the past. He is a very underrated player, and he is more than capable of doing so. If we want to get far in the season, we will definitely need his help. As for Caron, nothing needs to be said. He is the man, and him along Jamison are going to lead this team where haven’t been able to go for the past 5 years.

3. Good to hear Etan’s back. We have a variety of Big Men now, so there should be absolutely no problem this year…no excuses.

4. We are actually pretty well set at the guard position this year. I think getting back Juan was the smartest decision ever. We needed someone badly, and we got someone who is very talented, and familiar with the offense, so we should fine in that dept. Again, so excuses.

5. All the younger guys have REALLY stepped up their game. I just hope they all actually get playing time.

Now that I think about it, I think this roster is a very talented one, and we are going to do superb this year. All we need is a healthy Gil, but I think we can wait. We did so last year, so take your freakin time rehabbin’ Gilbert. We don’t want you back for only like 5 games each season. You need to come back and STAY healthy.

2008-2009 season, here we come! GO WIZARDS!! We’re definitely going to be re-writing the rules this season!