Washington Wizards Blog

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time December 22, 2008 at 2:26 PM

Guys I do not think I am the only one thinking that we are tired in the 4th qtr, take a look at this quote from Kidd:

From that point, Kidd took over, and he did it with Nowitzki sitting out the final six minutes of the game
“You try to wear them down,” Kidd said of the Wizards. “Those guys play a lot of minutes. They’re a talented group of guys and the ball just hasn’t bounced their way.”

Please see blog posts above relating to this issue, I even called into the Post game show tonight, I have nothing else to say, very sad, you think the advance scouts for other teams also are seeing the same things?

As far as Deshawn it takes a big man to offer to go to the bench, however why should the player have to come to the coach? How come Tap didn’t come to him and discuss this prior? Ibelieve he should go to the bench, I also believe he will be better for it, and when Gil comes back he will get his “swag” back. Also id you can ask coach why he didn’t play Dixon in last night’s game?

Comment from Reuben
Time December 22, 2008 at 2:30 PM

GOOD and Finally, how long did it take until he finally figured that out. Has tap not realized that we have a losing record! Juan, Nick should be the starting guards, not james, yet. critt needs to play more.

Im going on vacation and will not be blogging for a week. LETS GO WIZARDS!!!!!!

Comment from SportzWiz
Time December 22, 2008 at 2:31 PM

jeff, coach talks about why DeShawn has remained the starter in the presser, we are loading it now.

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time December 22, 2008 at 2:53 PM

SportzWiz—Why DNP for Dixon? Maybe if you get a chance to ask I would love to know? And in practice did you see McGee and Blatche playing together, might we see that combo? I heard that Caron is looking to post up guards so if he is going to do that, then move him to the 2 pleaseeeeee.

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time December 22, 2008 at 2:53 PM

Also thank you SportzWiz for the updates

Comment from Bridge
Time December 22, 2008 at 2:58 PM

Thanks SportzWiz .

Caron: “…And, I expressed it all the way out – you know – all the way out, from…from my tummy…”

^LMAO…Just let it all out Caronimo . I guess that that’s what I did yesterday and it kinda continued on today.

I’m just lookin’ forward to this WIN tomorrow…We gotta watch B. Diaw because he’s been pretty hot…

GO WIZARDS!!!!!!!!!!!

Comment from gbkdc
Time December 22, 2008 at 3:10 PM

I HEART Caron!

Yes, I agree, it takes a really BIG man to ask to go to the bench. I do hope DS gets his groove back. We all know he wants to. He’s definitely not a slacker. He is trying out there, it’s just not working out.

I missed most of the game last night, and I’ll miss most of tomorrow’s too, so it’s nice to be able to come here and get the low-down.

GO WIZ!

Comment from Wizards4Life
Time December 22, 2008 at 3:11 PM

u think about D.Steve stepin to the plate tellin coach ok its time i sat down i cant hit my shots i am doing what i can but its not working.. thats a man right there and that why i still like DS.. i would rather have Dom start than Nick IMO he has better D and alot better rebounding and doing the little things but i hope nick gets more time to show us something….

on the other hand last nights game got me POed what is with that huge line up change when we get into the end of the 3rd and the start of the 4th it kills all the work the people who were on the floor did and we lose every time it happens

Comment from neal
Time December 22, 2008 at 4:47 PM

Yes, I gotta hand it to Stevenson. And yes, Tapscott should have made the move before now. Did he not feel confident enough in his position?

I haven’t been watching the games. Has anyone looked good? Just McGuire?

Comment from adnanajanah
Time December 22, 2008 at 5:04 PM

Finally…… i was waiting for the day that stevenson does not start. His streak gave him a lot of leway for not being benched. Hope nick starts and plays good………. Maybe Antawn could come off the bench one game. He has old legs now and I think he is tired in the fourth where we need ours stars.
GO WIZARDS!!!!

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time December 22, 2008 at 5:08 PM

FINALLY..start Nick with Juan in the backcourt..that woul be NICE

Comment from sharpsburg23
Time December 22, 2008 at 5:46 PM

Scoring PG who penetrates and assists(James), SG who can shoot, drive, and is an all-star Caron, D-Mac(Defensive Spur), Jamison(Leader,all-star),Blatche(keep him out of foul trouble and things will b ok)…. This should all equal a WIN. If we dont win 1 of the next 3 games…there is no chance after having this lineup we have any hopes of making the playoffs. I still believe. HibachiDEC25 Returns Wiz Fans! Believe!

Comment from Jason C
Time December 22, 2008 at 6:17 PM

Ok now we’re getting somewhere.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time December 22, 2008 at 6:22 PM

wiz-skins – what I like about the idea of nick and juan as starters is that it would almost certainly assure us of the first pick in next year’s draft.

If we don’t want that, then neither of them can start.

Dominic has been playing great ball all year, and he continues to improve too. It’d be interesting to see what he’d be like as a starter. That’s a big step, however, and Tap may not be willing to take it.

Comment from lenman
Time December 22, 2008 at 7:02 PM

Sharpsburg 23 . Making the playoffs is not in the realm of possibility or quite frankly is it in this teams best interest. Whoever the 6th, 7th or 8th seed in the Eastern Conference has to play Boston, Cleveland or Atlanta. Whatever teams get the fate of playing either one of those teams is 4 and out. Sometimes fate can be kind if you are smart and use it properly.

Lets be honest this team will be lucky to win 20 games (we have not went out west nor have we played Cleveland). But thats not bad, if Management will finally start planning for the future and develp a plan to have a competitive team in the next couple of years.

Folks, we are in a rebuilding process that will include making tough decisons if we want to compete at the highest level. That will mean making a committment to playing and developing young players and parting ways with some veterans that are really good guys but don’t represent your future.

The alternative is the same old band aid approach this franchise always uses. Like deluding yourself about having two All Stars and believing that if they could get better help that you could be competitive. Caron and Antwain are great guys, professionals in every sense, but are strectched into doing things that are reserved for superstars. Niether one of those guys strengths is one on one basketball. Antwain can not defend the 4 spot and Carons defense and floor game has suffered tremendously, especially since Tapscott took over.

Its too damn cold to keep going down to the Verizon Center to watch a bunch of aging veterans jack up jump shots. The reason they don’t get to the rim is because they don’t have the athleticism (they can’t).

The most pressing issue facing this team now is to bite the bullet and find yourself a bonafide basketball coach that can teach and instill defense. Ed Tapscott is a smart decent gut but he has committed the cardinal sin for an interim coach and that is “do no harm”. For the most part, the teams most valuable young players (JaVale and Nick) have regressed noticeably during Tapscotts tenure. Anyone who has watched these kids will notice the difference in the confidence level of these guys over the past 13 games. Niether one of these guys run the court the way they did, they are unsure of where to be on the court and they are playing scared. Since the Chicago game in which McGee had four blocks and four points in two minutes (yet played sparingly the rest of the game), this kid has become a basket case!!
Nick was averaging about 16 points a game early in the season and now ne cant finish a dunk in the open court. So much of this game is mental. Yet at the same token it takes 25 games for the organization to decide that a 7 points per game, 32% field goal shooting 2 guard needs to come off the bench.

Management should not panic or make anymore hasty trades, we relesed our only true point guard and traded the other, bringing in a journeyman shooting guard and an unproven 2nd year player. Lets play our young guys, get a true coach and come up with a strategy for winning, We will have a lottery pick and can be competitive again in a couple of years. There is a month or so before the All Star break will give Management enough time to find a coach and will give us a head start going into the next season.

I believe but I don’t believe in fantasy.

Comment from ChenierFan
Time December 22, 2008 at 7:20 PM

It’s too bad that things got so bad that Deshawn had to pull himself out of the lineup. This should have been done when Tapscott took over. He could have found a way to do it without denigrating the guy.

Now that it is done, this is the perfect time to move Caron to the 2 and put Mcguire at the 3 or insert Javalle and move Andray and Antawn up a spot. Then play the zone trap with the big lineup and stop all the energy draining scrambling on defense.

I don’t think Nick is ready to be a consistant NBA starter yet. Someday he will be but not now.

Comment from neal
Time December 22, 2008 at 8:18 PM

You make good points, lenman, but it will likely take more than a couple of years, unless Arenas becomes more than he’s ever been. Otherwise, we’ve got two more years of Jamison expense and four more years of Arenas expense.

To get the most out of our guys we need a defensive-minded coach with the INTENSITY to get our guys playing team ball. I don’t think STRATEGY is enough. Jordan had enough good strategy, but never could get the guys to implement it consistently. Finally, they lost confidence.

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time December 22, 2008 at 8:43 PM

Side Note: Watching the Lakers vs Grizzlies, and rumor is in Laker Land that the team is looking to move Jordan Farmar, for a big or taller PG….just F.Y.I. I posted it here because J Critt was originally drafted by the Lakers and by all accounts in the trade that sent him to the Grizz they really did not want to include him in that package, also Young and Faramr squared off a lot in HS and in college, not stirring the pot (I don’t think) thought it was interesting that they wanted to move him.

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time December 22, 2008 at 9:05 PM

For all of the Dee Brown fans and of course slwiz

When the Arizona Republic announced over the weekend the Phoenix Suns would hold a workout Monday for the 13th roster spot by bringing in a number of free agent point guards, one thought came to mind: what took so long?

Maybe Dee Brown, Damon Stoudamire, Troy Hudson, Darrell Armstrong, Eddie Gill and Walker Russell Jr. – who will all participate in the workout – are wondering the same thing.

While Steve Nash remains a fixture in Phoenix, the back-up point guard role has been a concern the past few weeks, particularly with the departure of Sean Singletary to Charlotte Bobcats. Rookie Goran Dragic is struggling to grasp head coach Terry Porter’s system, leaving shooting guard Leandro Barbosa as the quick solution to relieve Nash. And although Barbosa can easily run the point for the Suns, management is eager to plug a hole that must be filled by Wednesday.

It should be a manic Monday in Phoenix with a handful of point guards vying for a single roster spot….

Dee Brown: It’s already been a long season for Dee Brown. The 6-0, 185 pound point guard was starting for the Washington Wizards until he was waived last week after a three-way trade between the Wizards, Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Hornets sent him packing. On the season, Brown was averaging 2.4 points, 1.9 assists in 13.7 minutes per game while starting 11 of 17 games for Washington. But earning a spot is nothing new for the former second-rounder (46th overall in 2006 by Utah). After a stint with the Jazz, Brown played over in Turkey before signing with Washington in July. Could he find a new home in Phoenix?

The early advantage could go to Dee Brown, perhaps the most NBA “game ready” of the bunch. But Suns fans should also keep an eye on Walker Russell Jr. Much like Brown, Russell Jr. would give Phoenix a younger look and more athletic feel in the backcourt – that is easily be the case on Monday during workouts

Comment from Rick
Time December 22, 2008 at 9:05 PM

I would start Dominic or JaVale. Either way, it’s a bigger, better rebounding and better defensive lineup. Andray is still out of position if you go with Dominic, but if you go with JaVale then Jamison is out of position. If only Antawn could defend the 3.

by the way… i would take farmar for crittendon in heartbeat. farmar is a legitimate starter.

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time December 22, 2008 at 9:25 PM

Rick-I am watching the Grizzlies, and they start Gasol, Gay, Darko, Mayo and Lowry, and they are leading at the half on the lakers by 8, the reason I bring this up looking at there HUGE front line, I would love for the home team to be a copy cat and play Blatche and McGee, it is a match up nightmare. Also they are blocking shots and rebounding and getting out on the break, we should try this line up at least once this year.

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time December 22, 2008 at 9:31 PM

Guys what ever happend to DJ Strawberry?

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time December 22, 2008 at 9:34 PM

got it, he was waived by the Rockets in October, wish we could have had him in for a look, I am sure he will catch on he really improved since his days at Maryland (Strawberry)

Comment from justgetanoffense
Time December 22, 2008 at 10:35 PM

Tom M. I like McGuire as much as the next fan, but with the current Wizards offense he is not going to put up numbers that would support his being a starter. He is a spot player and will be so until he develops an offense OR can get the Rodman-like 15+ rebounds night-in and night-out.

I guess that you will go to your grave with the belief that James and Critt was not a good trade for a tired AD. James provides just what the doctor ordered for the Wiz, a point guard who can penetrate and score. Critt provides potential. Ad provided tired legs with a non-scoring body.

As I have said before, statistics are determined after the game has been played. They are a good window into the PROBABILIY of what might happen, but they still are after-the-fact. The game is played on the court. If statistics were fact, we wouldn’t bother playing; we’d know the result.

The Wiz need to get an offense that provides the big players an opportunity to score without throwing up a prayer from 25 feet. The triangle is a NBA offense and is VERY APPROPRIATE for a team that has good outside scorers (CB, AJ, NY, MJ) who will succeed if they don’t have the constant pressure of trying to go one-on-one every time. The Triangle is also VERY APPROPRIATE when you have two potentially high-scoring BIG inside players (think MeGee and Blatche). Imagine one of them on each side of the low post…one a scoring threat, the other a weak-side rebounder…for that matter, imagine McGuire as the weak-side rebounder.

Blatche has already established that he can find the cutter. Give him the ball in the post and run people off him.

I’d love to see: James, Butler, Jamison, Blatche, Mcgee as the starting team. VERY POTENT!

Comment from slwiz
Time December 22, 2008 at 10:40 PM

Jeff – I’ve been watching the internet most of the day for news of the 6 player audition with the Phoenix Suns. As of tonight I hear a “rumor” that Dee was the Suns choice. Now I’m reading ““All of the guys look like they are in great shape, they competed hard and each one brings a little something different in terms of skill,” Kerr said. “We just have to make a decision on who is best-fitted for that role.”

As soon as anyone can substantiate the choice ya all know I’m rooting for “our boy, Dee Brown”!! SportzWiz can you find us any solid info. I think I’ll go nuts waiting till Wednesday, but in the meantime….

http://phoenix.fanster.com/2008/12/22/suns-work-out-backup-point-guards/

IMO James will start; either Nick or Dom will join him; same starters of Blatche, Jamison, and Caron to start. I’d like to see other changes, too, like Blatche and McGee together but he seems to be staying with Darius and Andray. JC should get some more minutes. Juan and Nick together won’t happen if Nick is a starter; from his past rotations IMO. Even if Dom starts we’ve not seen much of Juan and Nick together. DSS is going to be given minutes off the bench out of respect to his veteran play; I’m basing that on the presser and Ed’s viewpoint of him helping the team in the past.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time December 22, 2008 at 10:44 PM

Jeff I’m glad Dee may land with the Suns. Very good news. I wish him the best. And (lol) I think we will see Andray and JaVale on the court together even if it’s by accident. At this point it seems like that is almost what it’s going to take? What seems so reasonable to us for some reason isn’t management’s thought. At least not so far. If the Lakers are even remotely interested in that (I have no idea if the salaries match – I doubt it) I’m with Rick. Crittenton for Farmar is a no brainer. If we would plan to throw anyone else into the mix I’d say NO. Cause it would probably be Dominic. Who else would they want? If that was the case I’ll stick with Crittenton and see how he develops.

Good points Lenman. I don’t know that we are rebuilding as much as we just have a lot of young players and a core of veterans. Now that they traded Antonio only Antawn is a little old(er). I haven’t seen him lose a step though. He never could defend. I think when Haywood comes back (this year or next) we will get our swag back. What we are missing this season is our anchor in the middle. Especially on defense. We are just too inexperienced, undersized, and skinny in the post this year.

I commend Deshawn. That is a man dedicated to his team. I truely hope coming off the bench is the mental spark he needs to get himself going. We all know he can play. From making more three pointers last season than in his entire career combined leading up to last season is a pretty remarkable accomplishment.

Comment from justgetanoffense
Time December 22, 2008 at 10:51 PM

Once Deshawn does not start, his minutes will dwindle until he finds himself at the end of the bench with ET. While I REALLY like DeShawn’s fortitude, I’m afraid that is where he belongs.

Tom M. (you’re the guide here) is there any chance to bundle ET and DeShawn for anyone or anything without adding anyone else to the package??? I’d just like us to shed any salary obligations.

Comment from justgetanoffense
Time December 22, 2008 at 10:56 PM

Bobcats, watch out…the Wizards are planning some pre-Christmas magic in your house.

GO WIZ!!!

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time December 22, 2008 at 11:04 PM

Justget Deshawn is having a rough start to the season as is the whole team really. Deshawn is really a bargain at 3.8mil per. We know he can play. I don’t know if he is hurt. More hurt than last year? Who knows but we know he can play. Etan’s contract is up in 2010. He may be marketable this off season, but, probably not now. He makes almost 7mil a year by the way. Depending on what happens the rest of this year it may not be the worst idea for us to hang onto him and dump his contract ourselves in 2010?

Comment from justgetanoffense
Time December 22, 2008 at 11:11 PM

AB…I know you read the blogs…

Keep your chin UP; talent will prevail.
Hustle up and down the court EVERY TIME.
Stay alert.
Think positive.
Go to the basket HARD every time; create the contact.
Think Gilbert…create contact to the side, not head-on.
If you’re not balanced, don’t shoot…pass.
Box out.
Create a lane for a driving teammate.
Be the boss on the court.

Comment from justgetanoffense
Time December 22, 2008 at 11:16 PM

Thanks for the salary info GrifonRacing. We’re probably stuck this year. If DS ends up at the end of the bench with ET, I’d consider 3.8 million not so good a bargain. Ouch, 10+million for two non-productive basketball players. Think about that…

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time December 22, 2008 at 11:30 PM

Etan is a wash, but, if Deshawn gets his game going? Since he has been a Wizard Deshawn has had his best years. I consider his start to the season a fluke. He came out of high school so he is still young.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time December 23, 2008 at 8:06 AM

justgetan… — statistics are a *guide* to what happened in the game, and over time they are a guide to what teams and players have shown themselves capable of. I will remind you that *final score* is a statistic. They don’t give the win to the team that played with more “heart” or “hustle”.

As to trading Crittenton for Farmar — the salaries are both low; Farmar’s is (weirdly) a little lower than Critt’s this year. I don’t know whether they are close enough for the trade to be legal, but I don’t think it’s going to happen anyway. Ernie likes Crittenton.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time December 23, 2008 at 8:09 AM

Packaging Etan and DeShawn — it’s rare that you can put together a bag of spare parts and trade it for an engine. Anyone who took those 2 guys would do it because there was someone they wanted to shed. I can’t see it happening.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time December 23, 2008 at 8:13 AM

grifonracing — in principle, I agree about DeShawn, but I have the feeling that his body is out of whack. He seems to move in a more herky jerky way than he did.

On the other hand, even at his best DeShawn is not all that good a player.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time December 23, 2008 at 8:45 AM

I have no idea what’s up with him this season. He usually starts out slow, but, this is getting ridiculous. I’ve noticed that too. He just isn’t moving well this year. He used to get down into that linebacker stance and not let the guy he was defending get by him. Everyone is running around him this year? His shot is one thing, but, where is the “defensive” Deshawn? This year they are talking about Dominic as our defensive stopper. It was always Deshawn before. He has to be hurting in one way shape or form.

Comment from genekirby3324
Time December 23, 2008 at 10:14 AM

Hey guys farmar is injured and team doctors have suggested knee surgery.I dont think we should trade crittenton for him as of right now….

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time December 23, 2008 at 12:23 PM

Thank You Genekirby. I hadn’t heard that.

Comment from genekirby3324
Time December 23, 2008 at 2:48 PM

I did a little research and found out that stevenson in having problems with a hamstring and a pinched nerve witch is causing numbness.He has tried to play through it but thinks its best for the team for him to come off of the bench until he gets healthy and gets his swag back…..

Comment from Agent0
Time December 23, 2008 at 4:23 PM

It doesn’t matter what he has, he deserves to be benched. He has done nothing for this team all season long. It’s about time we get someone else up there.

Comment from zbp18
Time December 23, 2008 at 6:25 PM

Big props to DeShawn for being unselfish & recognizing that his struggles were to much for this team to over come with him in the starting line-up. I think this will help D-Steve and the team. For him it will take off some of the pressure of trying to score while he’s in his shooting slump. My advice to D-Steve is ,grow the beard back, do the “you can’t see me” hand wave & buy Soulja Boy season tickets. All jokes aside I’m pullin’ for ya’.

For the team, it should give other guys the opportunity too see if they can be more productive in a starting role.
IMO we need to go big with McGee, Songaila or D-Mac. Nick is also a possibility depending on weather we want to play a more up-tempo style. Since everyone gives their suggestions on line-ups, I’ll give mine.

If McGee:
PG James/ Dixon/ Critt
SG Butler/ Nick/ Stevenson
SF Jamison/ D-Mac
PF Blatche/ Songaila
C McGee/ Pech/ Etan

If Songaila:
PG James/ Juan/Critt
SG Butler/ Nick/ Stevenson
SF Jamison/ D-Mac
PF Songaila/ Pech
C Blatche/ McGee/ Etan

If D-Mac:
PG James/ Juan/ Critt
SG Butler/ Nick/ Stevenson
SF D-Mac/ alternate between Butler & Jamison
PF Jamison/ Songaila/ Pech
C Blatche/ McGee/ Etan

If Nick:
PG James/ Juan/ Critt
SG Nick/ Stevenson
SF Butler/ D-Mac
PF Jamison/ Songaila/ Pech
C Blatche/ McGee/ Etan

The inactive player would be between Critt, Pech or Etan

Juan didn’t get any playing time against the Mavs which seems like a big mistake to me. I think James & Juan would be a nice 1-2 punch at the PG spot. It’s funny Juan who’s played decent ball has 4 or 5 DNP’s under coach Tap but D-Steve who’s been strugglin’ all year, has to ask too be sat down. My advice to Tap is just play the guys who are playing well & you should get some wins.

Comment from gee wiz
Time December 23, 2008 at 8:26 PM

i am so proud of stevenson for doing what he did. this man his had many injuries people and unlike our superstars he has played through every single one of them. the man was second in the NBA longest starting streak currently. so he gave that up also. it takes a man to admit his faults. but wiz fans dont run this man out of town cause he can go somewhere else where he will be appreciated and do more! we…… gave away rasheed, rip went to be an all star, stackhouse went to the finals, ben wallace won a championship, roger mason has it good right now! appreciate those players who put in a effort for the game and not the paycheck! Good luck stevo! and im not to thrilled with caron wanting to make it a permanent thing! he is jacking up shots like crazy and some nights he is a all star other nights he cant be found