Comment from doclinkin
Time September 27, 2008 at 6:22 PM

Hey DJ great to have you back on the blog job.

If you get a chance ask Ayers or Eddie what changes they expect to make to shore up perimeter defense. For all the accolades in our improved defense the team set some records for futility in defending the three point shot. I wonder if there’s any adjustment they hope to make or if they think health and depth (reduced fatigue) will take care of the problem.

Pech looks bigger? Hows’ that manifest. Is he better able to hold his ground in the post? I like to hear DMac actually jammed the ball, he has seemed tentative around the basket int he past like he wants to finesse everything into the hoop.

I love the level of detail you’re able to give on the blog, we’ve been begging for eyewitness input around here, but aside from one scrimmage, it’s rare to get the info. It’s been a loooong time without basketball, some of us need a mainline transfusion…

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time September 27, 2008 at 6:22 PM

A couple of notes..Antawn Jamison is not practicing tonight because of a hip flexor…no big deal….Gilbert Arenas did talk after the AM practice…he said he did not talk at media day on Friday at Verizon Center because he did not want to take attention away from the other guys….Arenas is here and very active..Arenas brought players over to the Siegel Center about 9 am for shooting ahead of the 10:45 practice and then brought guys over at 4 PM ahead of this practice remember to check out the video and pictures..Sunday a feature on Arenas…

Comment from Jason C
Time September 27, 2008 at 6:26 PM

Darn no ones gonna see my steve buckhantz comment from practice 1…oh well…good to see Gil showing some leadership and being involved.

Comment from slwiz
Time September 27, 2008 at 6:26 PM

any opening pictures for practice 2 yet? Nice shot of you and Steve, by the way. You talked about Ernies son making 22 jumpers. Was that him in photo gallery #6?

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time September 27, 2008 at 6:28 PM

doclinkin great to have you on board..good question about pech will..have to wait and see how the added strength helps.. and i will bring that up about the perimeter defense…you are right when you look at the overall number defense was much better last year..and as Eddie even pointed out this AM…the emphasis on defense probabaly hurt the Wizards on offense in the early part of last year…..

Comment from GlingGling
Time September 27, 2008 at 6:29 PM

It’s good to hear Gil is so active. I love that he’s trying to encourage the other players while he’s out. I hope to hear more of this so I can be more and more confident to tell people to “p**s off” when they talk s**t about Arenas. Maybe nicer than that though. Keep the faith.

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time September 27, 2008 at 6:29 PM

It would have been Eddie’s son in the gallery and it was neat watching him shoot with Gilbert at the end of the early practcie

Comment from slwiz
Time September 27, 2008 at 6:29 PM

sorry I mean Eddies son Jackson Jordan. sorry

Comment from slwiz
Time September 27, 2008 at 6:30 PM

DJ-WizardsRadio Says:

September 27th, 2008 at 12:30 PM
i will pass it on.. he was sitting on the bench.. now standing like he wants to jump in

talking about Gil supporting the team earlier today

Comment from GlingGling
Time September 27, 2008 at 6:32 PM

I think Eddie knows that offense has to follow defense and not the other way round. If it hurts a little in the beginning… that’s just growing pains. Love the dedication to defense.

Is everything moving much smoother with most players being comfortable with the system? Has everyone hit the ground running for the most part?

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time September 27, 2008 at 6:33 PM

6:10 PM…great to see people jumping on the blog…doclinkin brought up a good point about perimeter defense.. and Eddie Jordan noted that while they are again stressing defense in the early practice..more offense in that practice than there was last year and yes the Honor Role is back….capatains Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler. made it before the first practice and Javale McGee was one of the players who made it for his off season work..there will be a new Honor Role Sunday…based on today’s performances

Comment from Jason C
Time September 27, 2008 at 6:34 PM

Hey DJ how does Dee Brown look? Being an Illini alum i’m happy to have him here. Not so much worried about his ability more so his grasping of the offense. Though we did run a motion type back in ’05 so I imagine its got some similarities with the princeton.

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time September 27, 2008 at 6:34 PM

and again there will be new picture from tonight as my partner Will Fan clicks away

Comment from slwiz
Time September 27, 2008 at 6:38 PM

They base the honor role on effort and communication and what other criteria? Glad to hear JaVale got on for his off season work. He’s got such talent just needs to gain confidence and proper swagger. Antawn and CB3 keep up the workin’ hard!!

Comment from doclinkin
Time September 27, 2008 at 6:38 PM

Just to back up the point on the three pointer defense:

http://www.nba.com/statistics/sortable_team_statistics/sortable1.html#top

We were tied for dead last in opponent three point percentage, they hit nearly 40% on us last year. So the emphasis on packing the middle meant we gave up unchallenged open shots on the perimeter.

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time September 27, 2008 at 6:39 PM

Jason C…it was I think Eddie who said that Dee Brown is a “lightning bolt” or maybe it was Gilbert..but either way he seemed to really impress…his speed and aggressiveness jumped out at me..but nobody has asked me to coach a team….a year away in Europe can help players gain a new perspective

Comment from slwiz
Time September 27, 2008 at 6:41 PM

Thank you Will Fan for the photography!! Cool pics of the coaching staff out there demonstrating how to defend; loved Nicks jumper; and I still need to look at them over and over!!

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time September 27, 2008 at 6:41 PM

ouch always hurts to see those bad numbers..having said that at the end of the day the overall number of points given up were down so that is a plus…but as the 3 point stat illustrates .work is never done….

Comment from slwiz
Time September 27, 2008 at 6:42 PM

Dee repeatedly has said he went over there (to Turkey) for the experience and to get better and improve. Jason C did you get to Night of Legends?

Comment from Jason C
Time September 27, 2008 at 6:43 PM

Cool, thanks for the quick response. Gotta jet, looking forward to seeing vids and pics though.

Comment from doclinkin
Time September 27, 2008 at 6:43 PM

Eddie mentioned he wanted Andray to defend big SF’s like TMac and LeBron this year.

Last year Andray’s defensive fundamentals were lacking, he’s too upright in his stance, doesn’t create a wide base to force his man to drive around him. And he was a bit slow in reaction, laterally. We’ve been hearing he looks bigger. Does he look quicker? Are the coaches emphasizing fundamentals like low stance, footwork, keeping active hands, etc?

Was Flip Saunders teaching Zone defense (his specialty)?

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time September 27, 2008 at 6:44 PM

Another tod bit I foudn interesting from the AM..With Flip Saunders as a guest head coach it is perspective of a coach who was just coaching against the Wizards….Caron Butler said the first thing he asked Flip was about the Pistons scouting report against him.. Flip said they (Pistons) used to just hope Caron had a bad night….caron smiled and noted that he appreciated that respect

Comment from Jason C
Time September 27, 2008 at 6:44 PM

Oh slwiz, I’ve moved back here to the DC area about 4 years ago, haven’t been able to visit campus since graduation unfortunately.

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time September 27, 2008 at 6:47 PM

apologies for typos

Comment from slwiz
Time September 27, 2008 at 6:49 PM

DJ-WizardsRadio Says:

September 27th, 2008 at 11:39 AM
11:15 AM Change things up…Strength coach Drew Cleary leading the team through ladders for footwork

He says they all did great. Nobody stumbled!

Jason C. They hope to do more alumni events at U of I. Hope you can get back. I sure wish I could get to Verizon Center to see all these great players!! Dreaming on!! LOL

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time September 27, 2008 at 6:51 PM

doclinkin….there were no zone defene drills this AM…all the Flip Saunders had a drill that I can’t even begin to describe that stressed communication in loud environments..players had fun with it… and to your point about fundamentals…YES…indeed they do..I can still picture Eddie Jordan demonstrating to players to stay in a low defensive stance and slide..and there were footwork drills this AM with strength coach Drew Cleary

Comment from 7dcfan4
Time September 27, 2008 at 6:55 PM

Good evening, DJ. Which player has been the biggest surprise for you from both of today’s sessions? Does Juan still have that nice outside shot?

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time September 27, 2008 at 6:56 PM

6:34 PM Just occured to me that we like to call days like today two-a-days but the reality is …..it is one long day….Most of the guys start shooting around 9 AM. with Gilbert leading the way.then there is the practice form 10:45 to 1 and then once guys are done shooting and stretching..it is closer to 2… and then alot of the giys back here at 4 for the 6PM practice…

Comment from Charli B
Time September 27, 2008 at 6:57 PM

Hey wiz Fans…

Aye DJ How Do etan Look out there

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time September 27, 2008 at 6:58 PM

7dcfan 4 welcome… must admit I was impressed watching Dee Brown in the first practice…i think he makes a nice addition especially in light of Gilbert’s situation… and Juan still has the shot.. but I talked to him this afternoon….and he is just so HAPPY to be back and eager to work…he is going to live downtown just so he can be close to the gym

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time September 27, 2008 at 7:01 PM

also worth noting Juan said he apprecaites the Wizards situation even more .. as he says the grass is not always greener..Dixon also says he really likes the way Eddie Jordan makes it clear what a players role is..he says everyone received a packet outlining their individual expectatiions when they arrived at camp…

Comment from doclinkin
Time September 27, 2008 at 7:03 PM

Just a note on Defense, not to beat up on the team, but the total points were down because the pace was slower, not necessarily because the defense was improved.

Having Gil in the game means the team is quicker up court and quicker to take a shot, we don’t have to rely on ball movement so much to find an open shot.

If you look at points per 100 possessions the Wiz don’t look quite as good as they may seem in ‘points per game’. But that’s overall– the first half of the year they were definitely improved in pretty much all measures of defensive efficiency before injuries and fatigue started kicking their collective butt.

Comment from slwiz
Time September 27, 2008 at 7:04 PM

So it sounds like the coaches are setting the example of communication by letting the players know their roles? Any way to get more details or tidbit of these packets up on the blog!! LOL

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time September 27, 2008 at 7:14 PM

funny moment…Gilbert at free throw line… Eddie said if he missed players would have to run… so Gil missed on purpose.

Comment from Wizards4Life
Time September 27, 2008 at 7:14 PM

nice i remeber last year or the one b4 that it was AD trying to find his spot and was lost about what the team needed from him…
how dose AB look i hear he hit the summer hard is he bigger? and is he still gettin pushed around?

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time September 27, 2008 at 7:15 PM

Antawn Jamison just made two free throws to prevent running and to end practice…

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time September 27, 2008 at 7:18 PM

players now stretching….Antawn Jamison who did not participate in practice..now shooting….hip bothering him from the AM

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time September 27, 2008 at 7:19 PM

spread the word…we are here for every practice…this is the place for Wizards fans to get into it

Comment from Phemy
Time September 27, 2008 at 9:23 PM

meh, once me from germany got time…the action is over, damn ;>
But yeah, keep it up you guys. i really like the time you put into this blog during training camp, it’s alot to read for us fans, and thats hella’nice!

And man, i’m looking forward for us to beat the hornets in berlin at oct. 14th, at least then some guys here will realize what power we wizards got, and they will understand whay i’m always wearin’ a wizards shirt
greetz,
Phemy

Comment from wizbulletman0
Time September 27, 2008 at 10:42 PM

is there video up??? i saw the photo gallery of the practice but no video.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time September 28, 2008 at 3:59 PM

The video links don’t work. Error.