Comment from draftazoid
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:51 AM

Let’s go Wizards!

Flip has a choice on Defense tonight.

Play zone defense and hold Brandon Roy to 25 points.
Or
Play Man to Man and watch Brandon Roy score 55 points on Gilbert.

I wonder which one he will pickl.

Comment from crozby
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:51 AM

Gentlemen, I have no idea about what to expect tonight. However, I do expect we will play better, only because we are playing at home.

Draftazoid, I like your starting lineup of:

John Wall
Nick Young
Trevor Booker
Yi Jianlian
Javale McGee

However, I would only hope that Trevor Booker’s offensive skills get better. He plays hard, and that is something a lot of other players are not doing at this point, especially on defense. If I had to tweak your lineup a bit, I would start Gee at the 3. I have no idea why Flip only played him 14 minutes the other night. Again, something that makes no sense with Flip and his rotation.

As for NY, I have been advocating all season that he start. He has shown that he can be a deadly scorer and has gained a starting spot on the team. No matter what anyone else says about him being better coming off of the bench, in the NBA (last I checked) you start your best players.

Lastly, I am also in full agreement of giving Yi a shot at starting over Dray. Dray may score 15-20 points, buts he gives up double that on the defensive end. Yi’s defense is much better and he can shoot just as good as Dray, maybe even better. However, I seriously doubt that will happen.

Comment from tyrone2000
Time December 3, 2010 at 10:24 AM

That starting lineup would win 10 games a season…

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 3, 2010 at 10:42 AM

Blazers in the booth tonight.

Big THUMBS Up for ‘Dray!

Go Wiz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comment from dlts20
Time December 3, 2010 at 10:52 AM

There is no way that Gil guards Roy. Flip will put Gil on Matthews but he’s been lighting it up also.

I still believe that we are good. I think we could win this game and even beat alot of the good teams coming up but its up to Flip.

I finally for the 1st time all year have some hope. Flip made that comment about Kirk’s minutes being too high. I think he was quitely trying to set something up. His assistants probably told him that he has to give up the starting Kirk thing and lets try our real lineup of Wall & Gil with no Kirk. Thats why Flip makes the comment because he plans to start bringing Kirk off the bench. However, he loves Kirk so much that he doesnt want him to think that he’s flat out benching him, moreso that he just wants to watch his minutes and a 6th man role is the easiest way to do it.

The bottom line is that if Wall & Gil start with no Kirk then I think we look like a totally different team & start winning these games. With that being said, Portland’s roster scares me more then the Suns & other teams we have coming up for some reason. Should be an interesting matchup but I expect much better effort from us

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 3, 2010 at 11:05 AM

It doesn’t matter who starts or who rotates in or when they rotate in… I am confident that Saunders will have the wrong combinations in the game at any given time. Team confidence and respect for Saunders is at ZERO. If he isn’t replaced, and quickly, this season is a total waste. The Wizards will be hard pressed to get me to renew my season tickets if they don’t demonstrate that they recognize where the problem is and make a change very soon.

Last year the veterans ignored Saunders and just did what they wanted to do, so EG got rid of them. This year EG is focused on a youth movement, and Saunders has no idea how to deal with a developing team. Saunders couldn’t coach veterans, and Saunders can’t coach young players. At this stage of his career, I don’t think that he can coach anyone.

Saunders lost the respect of the Timberwolves and was fired; Saunders lost the respect of the Pistons and was fired, now Saunders has lost the respect of the Wizards…anyone can finish the sentence it’s only a matter of time.

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 3, 2010 at 11:18 AM

What kind of BS is Saunders going on with now. Hinrich is to be commended for playing the most minutes this season??? Hinrich has played a grand total of 17 minutes (all season) more than Andray Blatche who missed most of the off season with a broken foot and is playing himself back into shape. Hinrich averages 1 minute per game more than Blatche, two minutes per game more than Gil, and two minutes FEWER per game than John Wall. This is not a knock on Hinrich. It is simply one more stupid comment by a coach who has no idea of how to motivate players and seems intent on trying to find some explanation for the team’s lack of success other than accepting responsibility for that lack of success. Saunders is, after all, the head coach. He decides what offense to run; what defense to run; who to play and with whom; and how many minutes each player gets per game.

We need a coach who is willing to step up and be the coach. Give credit to the players when we win and accept responsibility for the losses.

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 3, 2010 at 11:35 AM

The team field goal average is poor. These are professional NBA basketball players who can shoot the ball. So why is the average so low? IMO is it is due to a lack of offensive schemes that place players in the best situations to get decent shots. Too often the Wizards stand around waiting for the man with the ball to create something. That’s not the way to shoot a high average. The offense should be creating the opportunities.

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 3, 2010 at 11:40 AM

If Saunders plays that stupid three-guard offense and then complains about a lack of rebounding he should be fired while the words are still echoing in the room.

Likewise for his zone defense where he plays the big men out front and has the guards defending the basket. The last time I saw that type of “D” was when we had the eighth-grader coaching the sixth grade team.

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 3, 2010 at 12:14 PM

I want Flip to play the young guys that we have contractural control over:

John Wall
Nick Young
Trevor Booker
Kevin Seraphin
Yi Jianlian
Andray Blatche
Javale McGee

These guys are potentially here for a very, very long time.
Gilbert also but I can live with us sacrificing minutes from him this year for the sake of development.

Kirk Hinrich will be the number 1 guard on the trade market in a couple of weeks. I don’t think he will be here on January 1.

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 3, 2010 at 12:22 PM

John Wall Bobblehead Night!
If you haven’t gotten your tickets get on Stubhub or Ticketmaster.

See you all at the game!

Comment from maggicman11
Time December 3, 2010 at 1:53 PM

zoid

Booker is not a SF. He cant dribble and is not a good scorer at all. I’d rather have dray handling the ball and shooting jumpers than Booker. He is a 4. lets get away from playing players out of position. thats what got us where we are now.

Comment from maggicman11
Time December 3, 2010 at 1:56 PM

zoid

however i do like inserting Yi and Nick in the lineup. I’d like to see Yi and Blatche in the game at the same time more also. that seem’d to have some success untill Yi got hurt.

Comment from reddog271
Time December 3, 2010 at 2:26 PM

The wiz have the makings of a very solid team. a pg that can be great. CAN BE not that he is now. A center that can completely dominate on defense. and solid roll players. If they only had a guy that could give you 25 to 30 nightly.

wait thay do… he just can’t shoot now.

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 3, 2010 at 2:39 PM

maggicman,

Booker can play the 3.

You gotta be kidding me with wanting Andray to handle the ball.

Booker is the fastest player on the team. Yes, even faster than John Wall in a sprinting contest.
He can shoot. Just hasn’t had the green light yet.
Booker will be one of the top defenders in the entire NBA sooner than later.
Booker will be our Starting Small Forward next year unless a certain guy named Carmelo Anthony pops up.

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 3, 2010 at 2:43 PM

Believe it or not the Wizards have the 2 main pieces in a rebuilding job.
Superstar Point Guard and Developing Center.

They are the 2 hardest positions to find in the NBA.

How many great Point Guards and Centers were in the free agent market this past summer?
The answer is ZERO. Those two positions never and I mean never open up on the free agent market.

That is why I said Larry Bird should get Executive of the Year (after Pat Riley of course) for trading for Darren Collision, a budding start at the point.

Comment from crozby
Time December 3, 2010 at 3:02 PM

Agree Zoid. We have the two main pieces already (still developing of course). We need to get stronger (and more consistent) at the 2, 3, and 4. Defense is killing us at the 2 and 4.

Whenever you recruit, you need quickness in a player. Dray does not have quickness in his lateral movements, and is therefore often unable to stay with (and in front of) other quicker players in the league. Gil is quick, but does not have the heart to play real lock-down defense on anyone. Again, these players may give you 15-20 points in a game, but they give up double that on the defensive end.

Comment from Arthritic
Time December 3, 2010 at 3:43 PM

alot of people can guard broy now
hes not the same guy anymore

his career is in jeopardy if he doesnt adjust the style of his play. they have to watch his minutes and he needs to become a more catch and shoot guy.

i feel bad for him and oden…
oden had so much promise…
odens combine numbers were insane for a 7fter. most athletic 7fter in years

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 3, 2010 at 4:15 PM

I am going to rent a Giant Wall next to the Portland Stadium and put a huge poster of Kevin Durant with the caption “Would you like a do-over?”

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 3, 2010 at 4:18 PM

I have two tickets to the ACELA Club tonight.
Can you see the courts from the club?
I have no clue how the acela club works.

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 3, 2010 at 5:04 PM

DEMARCUS COUSINS

Demarcus gets kicked out of practice on Monday and the Kings fans are blaming the Coach.

Sound Familiar?
Lol
PS- It’s never the primadonna players who are to blame.
It’s always the coach’s fault.

Comment from Wizards4Life
Time December 3, 2010 at 7:22 PM

Cousins was a bad apple to start with thats why people were thinking so hard on draft day about him so thats not a shock but the coach has a job and thats to keep players in line if he acts up then he go’s home don’t see how that would be the coachs falt.. how ever i still think flip has no idea how to use young players and there skills to win games just saying lol

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 7:34 PM

6:32 PM..Dave and Glenn checking in…rebounding will be so important tonight…Yi could be back in the linup and that will be a boost

Comment from Mr. Know it All
Time December 3, 2010 at 7:45 PM

Since this Flip Sanders coaching thing isn’t working out, I’ve figured out a way to relieve Flip of his coaching duties (with a buyout for a significantly smaller severance package rather than paying out the full contract amount) & for Flip to save face as a coach with the possibility of finding another coaching job and end this coaching nightmare.

We have to get Flip to fake an illness, we would call it Pat Riley disease (we’ve all seen Pat bail on his team when times get rough!!!) Flip would have a Press Conference where he would reveal he needs a Coach-ectomy, to remove a benign tumor (that thing behind his ear) It’s causing him to play the 3 PT guard offense & ineffective zone defense. The surgery has a 99.9 % survival rate, and it will take 1 maybe 2 seasons for a full recovery. Therefore relinquishing him of all contact will the team effective immediately (No not even a phone call).

In his vacancy we would promote one of his assistants as interim coach either Sam Cassell or Randy Wittman who will have the remainder of the year to win the job or a coaching search would begin for next season.

Hey it’s the only thing I could think of………… anybody have any better ideas???

Comment from sEanwithabigE11
Time December 3, 2010 at 7:47 PM

Greetings from 408 tonight… Taking up 4 seats tonight with my brother and a couple of bobble heads… Looks like The Big Yi shall be playin.. Need his center presence badly. Wall is warmin up and lookin sharp… Less turnovers tonight is key, and taking smart shots.. Move the ball around the perimeter and force them to come out to us… Ready to roll!

Comment from Wizards4Life
Time December 3, 2010 at 7:49 PM

well guys i am going to try an blog tonight i don’t have to work and my kids sleeping for now so its looking good lol

Comment from dlts20
Time December 3, 2010 at 7:51 PM

no NY tonight. he seemed to get hurt alot last game

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 7:52 PM

6:50 starters are in…it be Wall, Hinrich, Gee, Blatche and McGee….Miller, Roy, Mathews, Aldridge, Camby for the Blazers

Comment from Wizards4Life
Time December 3, 2010 at 7:56 PM

real good line up def rather have Kirk in there over nick and Gil who are 2 gards and not 2 points uhhhh yeah

Comment from sEanwithabigE11
Time December 3, 2010 at 7:56 PM

Nick landed funny last game.I think it’s a back issue

Comment from dlts20
Time December 3, 2010 at 7:56 PM

Wow, I knew it. Flip is an idiot. I bet Gil is even dumb enough to suggest it because he’s never right in the head either. Still, the coach should overide it. Now we have our Max money guy sitting on the bench where his value also gets killed and no way it helps us get wins. I heard Flip say that Kirk has to play because he’s our best perimiter defender. Has he been watching him? This is such a joke. Even if we win & Gil plays well, its still a joke. There is no way you put him on the bench for Kirk Hinrich. No other coach in the league would do that

Comment from Wizards4Life
Time December 3, 2010 at 7:57 PM

well NVM nick is out thats not good at all might need Gil to shoot good off the wood

Comment from dlts20
Time December 3, 2010 at 7:58 PM

We still havent one time yet seen Gil start with Wall without Kirk. The #1 thing everyone in the league wanted to see all Offseason and we refuse to show it. Joke

Comment from Wizards4Life
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:02 PM

i also heard in the post game show that McGee said he wanted to play well and win because he was tired of getting yelled at that is kinda crazy because McGee was the best player every game besides Nick

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:03 PM

Yi is active

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:04 PM

really need this one….with trip west on the way

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:05 PM

we are underway with comments of flip saunders

Comment from maggicman11
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:09 PM

Zoid

When have you seen Booker shoot to know he is a good shooter? have you seen him dribble at all other than taking one dribble towards the basket? have you ever seen him play the 3? have you ever seen him guard the 3 position? do you think being fast in any way makes you a better basketball player? if so can we please go give 100 million to usain bolt… we wud be the best team EVER! My guess is the answer most, if not all, of my questions is no. so what are you talking about?

Comment from Mr. Know it All
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:09 PM

Flip is obviously bias against anyone starting over Hinrich, which is sad because I think Hinrich would be great in the role as back-up PT guard (was’nt he the back-up in Chicago???) Moves like that has caused Flip to lose the team!!!

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:11 PM

uh oh nick young inactive right thing contusion

Comment from Wizards4Life
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:12 PM

well its that time lets go get it

Comment from tyrone2000
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:12 PM

I think some of the bloggers are confused between players that plays well or players putting on a show that is pleasing to watch. A losing team can have players that can put on a show….

Comment from Wizards4Life
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:15 PM

nice Gee taking it right back to the rim love that !

Comment from Wizards4Life
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:16 PM

lol well wall going to play the easy D# just don’t let your man have the ball

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:19 PM

mcgee great on the offensive bioards

Comment from Wizards4Life
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:20 PM

like how McGee pushed it even closer to the basket then going up strong no lay ups

Comment from reddog271
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:22 PM

Wall 0-3 with two turnovers…. not a very good start

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:24 PM

effort there now execution needs to be

Comment from Wizards4Life
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:25 PM

AB need to go back down to tha block

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:26 PM

8 rebinds wizards one good sign

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:27 PM

beed defensive birds and get back on d

Comment from Wizards4Life
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:30 PM

well i don’t see much we could do other than getting out and play some better D# all the rest seems to be going ok would love to see some better passing

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:31 PM

alright better have to stop turniovers

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:32 PM

another to in transition

Comment from Wizards4Life
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:33 PM

wow gil needs to find his shot

Comment from Wizards4Life
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:34 PM

thats what wall can do all the big men should love him

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:35 PM

yi in first time in 9 games

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:38 PM

have to clean up turnovers killing wizards

Comment from gilbertology101
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:39 PM

What would it take to get a new coach or to get Flip out of DC?

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:44 PM

9 turnovers

Comment from gilbertology101
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:46 PM

Is it just me, but why are the playing on top of each other? It seems like noboby knows their place on the court. Get Flip out of here……………………………………………………please

Comment from sEanwithabigE11
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:48 PM

Ok, the last 2 possessions were embarrassing. We need to tighten things up here. Blazers full court press is messin with their heads and they are taking smart shots. Dave, Glenn, three Red Hooks await your presence up in 408!!

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:57 PM

good attch by wall… but need to stay under control as a team

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 8:58 PM

3 guards now in

Comment from sEanwithabigE11
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:00 PM

Starting to hear boos out here…don’t like that

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:02 PM

we should broadcast from there sean

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:08 PM

the problem the wizards with as many turnovers, 13, AS MADE FIELD GOALS

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:12 PM

glenn interview with phil chenier right now

Comment from WE WANT A WINNER
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:21 PM

What’s wrong with my Wizards, our offensive efficiency is horrible. We can not shoot, we throw unnecessary passes, and we turn the ball over at will. We need players with confidence, scoring ability, and we need new plays.

Comment from Mr. Know it All
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:27 PM

In the past I’ve said Wall reminds me of Jason Kidd but as I continue watch him with his all over the floor style, he reminds me of D. Wade…. as soon as I was thinking that Chenier said he’s like a Flash!!!

As for the game we have no flow offensively, nobody can knock down a jumper. I think Cartier should get more minutes maybe he can come in and fill the void of not having NY available.

Comment from sEanwithabigE11
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:29 PM

Come on up!! Remote broadcasting is more than welcome here!! Wow, 13-4 turnovers… Do the Blazers have 20 PTA off our turnovers? How many fastbreak points do they have?

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:31 PM

wizards not playing well but still in it

Comment from WE WANT A WINNER
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:31 PM

I did not catch earlier why Arenas and Wall did not start together and why Kirk has started EVERY game this season?

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:33 PM

asleep on not hat aldridge slam

Comment from WE WANT A WINNER
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:36 PM

Blatche is way too lazy on the defensive boards.

Comment from Mr. Know it All
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:39 PM

Just tuned into the radio, low scoring game but wow DJ you sound excited!!!

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:40 PM

ouch wizards missing opportunities had chance to make it four point game

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:40 PM

blazers only 2 free throws

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:44 PM

wow

Comment from Mr. Know it All
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:44 PM

DJ now u have reason to be excited!!!

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:48 PM

3rd foul arenas

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:50 PM

indeed mr know it all

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:51 PM

fast breask pts got us back in

Comment from Mr. Know it All
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:51 PM

Thanks 4 the shout out!!!

Comment from Mr. Know it All
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:53 PM

Good hustle by Cartier!!!

Comment from dcbutler357
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:54 PM

Great halftime show with Gil the other day, OUTSTANDING halftime show with Phil Chenier. Way to tell it like it is Glen

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:55 PM

wall and martin making a couple of tough shots

Comment from sEanwithabigE11
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:55 PM

Alright guys…we are taking control right now.. Gonna win this one…

Comment from dcbutler357
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:55 PM

Gil and Jwall are penetrating, that should open up the floor from everyone else

Comment from dcbutler357
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:57 PM

Ok lets run the o through gil

Comment from sEanwithabigE11
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:58 PM

Gotta say, there is a guy up here in 408 wearin a Kwame Brown jersey… Talk about bad memories…!!!

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:58 PM

i will tel gllen

Comment from dcbutler357
Time December 3, 2010 at 9:59 PM

lol…he should get free tickets just for having the courage to wear it, or a brain scan

Comment from WE WANT A WINNER
Time December 3, 2010 at 10:00 PM

Ill, kwame was a terrible player, I need to stop criticizing blatche if we are going to talk about Brown.

Comment from dcbutler357
Time December 3, 2010 at 10:00 PM

three guard????

Comment from dcbutler357
Time December 3, 2010 at 10:01 PM

i hope this three guard pays off…

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 10:01 PM

4rthg foul arenas

Comment from dcbutler357
Time December 3, 2010 at 10:03 PM

thanks for the shoutout guys

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 10:07 PM

arenas 5th foul

Comment from sEanwithabigE11
Time December 3, 2010 at 10:08 PM

Refs really got it in for Gil tonight. If he coughs, he fouls out

Comment from Mr. Know it All
Time December 3, 2010 at 10:10 PM

I’ve been in the 400′s before no offense sEanwithabigE11 but there are a lot of weirdo’s up there!!! At halftime i went back out side to the scalpers and made them give me a better seat. True story

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 10:10 PM

alright better need to sopped the tempo of this game

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 10:16 PM

great hustle now

Comment from Mr. Know it All
Time December 3, 2010 at 10:16 PM

Wall…….. the new Flash!!! (since D. wade doesn’t want the nic name anymore!!!)

Comment from WE WANT A WINNER
Time December 3, 2010 at 10:21 PM

Lets grind this game out.

Comment from sEanwithabigE11
Time December 3, 2010 at 10:22 PM

Mr know it all… It’s all good. We are havin a blast up here though. I’ve seen the wierdos a few times… No matter for me.. Here for the game… I try to make a party of it each night.

Comment from wtop
Time December 3, 2010 at 10:26 PM

Go Wizards lets get this win tonight D time to step up and time for a post game interview tonight on the csn side with who is filling in for Chris Miller tonight with the wizards win

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 10:27 PM

have to make free throws

Comment from Mr. Know it All
Time December 3, 2010 at 10:29 PM

@ sEanwithabigE11, No dout hommie!!!

Comment from sEanwithabigE11
Time December 3, 2010 at 10:30 PM

Clutch FT by Blatche and great D … No rebounding these last few up and downs but we were killin the clock while playin volleyball… Feels good knowin we are gonna win this!!!

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 10:31 PM

only 4 turnovers s second half

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 3, 2010 at 10:33 PM

got it done….1 800 636 1067 post game

Comment from Mr. Know it All
Time December 3, 2010 at 10:34 PM

It wasn’t pretty but it feels good to get the win!!!

Comment from WE WANT A WINNER
Time December 3, 2010 at 10:34 PM

Good win but we will need more to compete with Phoenix.

Comment from dlts20
Time December 3, 2010 at 10:51 PM

Good Win, But……..

you already know what Im going to talk about. I just dont get why Kirk has to start over Gil. Kirk is the perfect backup PG. Look at our starting lineup tonight. We dont have 1 consistent scorer on the floor. Our 2 most money scorers are Gil & NY and Flip wants to bring both off the bench. We have to depend on guys like Wall or McGee or Kirk or Gee or Dray to score for us? Just start Gil. It makes so much more sense. I also think its becoming clearer that Gil & Wall “can” play together like I said. Wall just needs to get his timing back & Gil just needs his J to start falling again.

The thing Im most upset about is the sked. We are going out West right now. If youve followed the Wiz then you know Gil always finds his rythm out West. You going to put him on the bench against a running team like the Suns who has Nash or either Gil’s boy Richardson to guard him? He always goes off in situations like that. Then going back home to LA to play the Lakers? Thats 2 places he dropped 54 & 60pts and we bring him off the bench. No PG the Lakers have can guard a motivated Gil and Kobe is too big to guard him.

Then we go to Sac? That sked has the Arenas takeover written all over it. He could single handily keep us in those games or win those games but we want him on the bench for Kirk and we want us to start off looking like crap every game. Starting every game with Wall wanting to pass but having no go to scorer to pass it to. Then he has to be the go to scorer which he is not. Then we end up bringing Gil in anyways because we havent gotten anything going. Just start the normal lineup Flip, you idiot.

I just could see Gil & Wall looking great out West in uptempo games. We could start looking like a different team. Look at that lineup & rotations tonight. We arent going to win hardly any games like that and if we do, it will all be stressful dog fights. We already have NY for the bench scoring. NY & Kirk are a great match on the bench together. I just dont get it. Its just setting everything back. Then by time he switches it up, everything will be too far gone. We will already be in suck mode.

I mean, are we seriously going to have Gil benched for Hinrich? Again, this isnt a Hinrich diss. He can play but his role on this team is the backup PG, not the starting 2 you fool, espically when we have no consistent scorers in the starting unit. I could see us being explosive if Wall & Gil get going at the same time with guys like Dray & McGee in the frontcourt. It sholdnt even be for debate. Gil’s playing very well right now except his J is way off. You know one of these games he’s going to get it back and we are going to waste that. It doesnt make sense.

Gil can do things like Lebron did the other night as far as having a 20pt quarter. Kirk isnt capable of that. Why Flip? Ive said all along that its going to take a Hinrich injury for him to be put in his proper role and I dont want to wish injuries on anyone but thats just how dumb Flip is right now. It makes no sense. Gil starting with Kirk & NY on the bench is just the perfect mix. Our team would look night & day with that group but maybe Flip is just tanking it or something. If youre going to tank, it would help to build up Gil’s stock in the process though

Comment from dlts20
Time December 3, 2010 at 11:00 PM

lol, did you hear what Flip just said? He’s such a tool. He talked about how Gil talked with Sam before the season about wanting to come off the bench and how it would be best for the team but when it came around to really doing it, I dont know if he still felt that way.

Basically its just what I thought. Gil was saying that stuff just to be a good team guy but didnt think Flip was dumb enough to really do it, espically after he had been in the starting lineup all this time now and has had some big games. Atleast bench him for a star or a guy like Wall but you dont bench him for Hinrich.

He could play well out West but it still wont be what it couldve been if starting. If he gets 30 off the bench against the Suns, that is a game where he wouldve got 45 if he was starting but Flip will be too dumb to even realize that

Comment from neal
Time December 3, 2010 at 11:04 PM

I’m not as big an Arenas as you dlts20. He still makes a lot of bad judgments, and his shooting % isn’t any better than it’s always been it seems.

We looked good, and I love the spirit shown by coming from behind.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time December 3, 2010 at 11:41 PM

First game I had to miss . I’m in Chicago….

Glad to see a win. Must have been a heck of a 3d quarter! Looking at the performances of Gil and Wall via the box score, we seem to have won despite them!

First win in December — lets get a bunch more!!

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time December 3, 2010 at 11:45 PM

Glbert’s FG% is *worse* than it’s ever been, neal — not just no better than before but significantly worse.

I love the idea that Gil is a “star” so how could you play someone ahead of him…. Guess what, dlts20: Gil stinks right now. He’s playing terrible. Any average guard in the NBA plays better ball than Gil is playing right now. 6-16 w/ 5 turnovers, no steals, and 6 fouls is AWFUL. Got it?

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 4, 2010 at 12:19 AM

We’re all happy because the Wizards got a “W”. Great, but it could just as easily had been another “L”. A couple of shots don’t fall for the Wizards, or do fall for the Blazers and we had a better chance of Flip heading back to Minnesota earlier than he anticipated.

Gilbert is shooting terribly. The legs are the most important part of a shot and Gil’s basketball legs are just not there yet. Gilbert never could play defense and he still can’t. His problem with defense is he’s always thinking offense. His weight distribution is always forward in attack mode which is completely wrong on defense so he can’t react to the opponent. However, Gilbert is an invaluable part of this team. Gilbert is the only player on the team who can breakdown a defense consistently and create a good shot for himself. This is critical on a team that has absolutely no offensive continuity.

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 4, 2010 at 12:36 AM

The players overcame Saunders’s horrific coaching to win the game despite him. The Wizards offense consists of two options: (1) whoever is playing the 4-spot, sets a series of high screens in an attempt to free a guard for a 20-foot jump shot or a drive to the basket; or, (2) the guards pass the ball to whoever is playing the 4-spot about 15 feet from the basket in the vicinity of the low post…then everyone stands around to see what might happen. As Woody Woodpecker used to say, “That’s All Folks”.

Coach Saunders played a lot of his porous zone defense tonight frequently accompanied by his 3-guard offense. The Blazers loved the combination, and it almost led to the dreaded “L”.

I don’t know how much Ted L. actually knows about basketball, but I do know that he is a very good businessman. As a businessman, he will understand that the better the team, the more fans; the more fans, the more revenue. I believe that Saunders is trying to convince everyone that any game that the Wizards might win this year is proof that he is a great coach succeeding with inferior talent, but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, he is a poor coach who has lost the respect of his team and he deserves to be replaced by someone competent…Sam “I Am” is my choice.

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 4, 2010 at 12:40 AM

I hope that Ernie invites Saunders to make the return trip from the west coast only as far as Minnesota while everyone else returns to DC.

Comment from gray16
Time December 4, 2010 at 12:45 AM

back from the game tonight, it was a win, but didn’t really feel like won, felt like we got away with one.

i think the biggest factor was aldridge getting into foul trouble, that really helped us out.

i checked out hinrich gabbo, and he didn’t do bad at all. his defense on roy was great, the shots roy was hitting were all contested superstar plays that roy just has a tendency of being able to make. but overall, his defense was great. his offense wasn’t bad either, although he did have times where he was dribbling too much.

as for gil, he had negatives and positives tonight. he was doing a good job of finding people at times, and did have a stretch where he was making shots, but overall he didn’t do too good. his offensive fouls (one which was bogus) and bad passes made him have a lot of turnovers. overall, glad he didn’t start tonight. he couldn’t defend roy to save his life and his offense wasn’t that great, so the less minutes from him was better.

john wall also had a pretty bad game. his shot was just off all night long, and it affected his play. he had a lot of times where he got in the lane but just was out of control or didn’t know what play to make from there. just a bad game from him, but his defense definitely helped.

and finally blatche. in the end, blatche didn’t do too bad, that fourth quarter was great. but i wish he would stop waiting until the fourth to start really doing good. and he needs to stop pulling up with that jumper and passing the ball if that’s all he can get. his shot off the dribble is just bad, and he doesn’t realize it. unless it’s a wide open set shot, he needs to either take it inside, or post up. in the end though, not a bad game from mr. blatche.

Comment from gray16
Time December 4, 2010 at 12:49 AM

overall, tonight the team just played bad. too many turnovers, and not a lot of hustle.

it was all about that third quarter where the blazers just disappeared (big thanks to la’s foul trouble), and the wizards were able to take advantage.

then the defense and drays offense to close it out sealed the deal. ugly win, but a win is a win.

Comment from Wizards4Life
Time December 4, 2010 at 12:58 AM

wow i just found the key to this blog:
“GABBO is to AB” as “Tom is to kirk” its all so clear now lol but as bad as tom hates Gil when someone bashes kirk i have to say Kirk played some good D# tonight! other than that idk much my kid woke up and floped into my lap and the game is all fuzy from there but a W is a W

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 4, 2010 at 12:59 AM

Hey gray16, glad you made it to the game.

I agree that Hinrich played a much better defensive game tonight. I watched as he actually fought over picks to stay with his man. He was also active fighting for possessions and scrapping for loose balls.

Sorry to say that John Wall was Nathan Wall tonight…come on, he had to take the ball around his back on a breakaway only to have it blocked…hot doggie. John has missed a number of games and has to recover his legs and his timing, but I believe that he will be okay after a few games.

When in a pinch Saunders starts to call Andray’s number in the low post which somewhat accounts for Andray’s 4th Q performance. However, I agree with your assessment about Andray’s choice of shots. He’s pressing…but then so are all of the other players as they try to make something happen in Flip’s horrible offensive scheme.

Comment from gray16
Time December 4, 2010 at 1:03 AM

as for the offense, the main problem i saw tonight was people off the ball weren’t moving enough. people aren’t trying to come to the ball or move to get offensive rebounds enough. i think flip and his staff needs to address this (this isn’t just flip’s fault, sam i am could do this just as well) and get players to be more active off the ball.

the only other problem is the amount of shooting we have. we don’t have a lot of great shooters, so even when wall or hinrich get in the lane, the defense is quick to collapse since they don’t respect the wizards jump shooting. but this isn’t a problem with the playbook, this is a talent issue. but this also goes back to the moving off the ball issue. if your man is going in the paint, and your not the person who’s supposed to get back on defense, go inside as well to give wall an extra pass and be there for a possible offensive rebound.

basically it all comes back to the movement off the ball, there isn’t enough of it, unless there are curl plays being run.

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 4, 2010 at 1:03 AM

@Wizards4life – Comparing Tom M.’s allegiance to Kirk Hinrich to my allegiance to Andray Blatche is like comparing Rock Creek to the Pacific Ocean…and that’s not a knock on Tom M.

Comment from WE WANT A WINNER
Time December 4, 2010 at 1:08 AM

Just start the five best players on the team and live with the results.

Comment from gray16
Time December 4, 2010 at 1:12 AM

two more things:

really missed nick young tonight, he seems to provide a spark off the bench that we were definitely missing. gilbert tried to be that spark, but he’s not a good bench player imo, and hasn’t proven he can play without controlling the ball yet.

was annoyed to see what i said come true; as soon as yi and thornton were back, goodbye booker and seraphin. it was interesting while it lasted, hope to see them again in the future.

Comment from AUNDRA
Time December 4, 2010 at 1:27 AM

Good Evening Wizards Fans
We have a special guest tonight by way of Bowie Maryland.
He is world renowned hypnotist Dr. Dre!

What he will be doing is hypnotising the team so that they feel at home when there on the road! The first thing I would like everyone to do is help me say to the team when on the plane going to the next game!

THERES NO PLACE LIKE HOME!

LOUDER

THERES NO PLACE LIKE HOME!

LOUDER

THERES NO PLACE LIKE HOME!

SAY THIS EVERYTIME YOU MAKE A BASKET,
SAY THIS EVERY TIME YOU MAKE A STEAL.
SAY THIS EVERY TIME YOU MAKE A REBOUND.
SAY THIS EVERY TIME YOUR ON A FAST BREAK.

I WANT YOU TO SAY IT UNTIL ITS PART OF YOUR MINDSET! THE GOAL IS TO SAY IT UNTIL YOU WIN YOUR FIRST 12 AWAY GAMES . WHEN THIS TASK IS DONE YOU WILL HAVE ANOTHER ASSIGNMENT!

Comment from dcbutler357
Time December 4, 2010 at 5:26 AM

Closing with that three guard mess could have cost the game. They literally got killed on the boards down the stretch. Yes, the players have to overcome weird decisions to win games, which have shown, lead to losses moreso than wins. While talent level is a necessity, these are NBA players, and can win, with the proper system.

On this team, starting makes a huge difference. unless you are javale or a first year player(or in foul trouble), you literally stay in the game for the whole first/third quarters. If the owner says Gil is your best player, why are you not starting him?

The detroit situation is coming into fruition in Washinton, indeed.

btw-for those that didn’t hear Chenier during halftime…..it was so on point, I wouldn’t even mind chenier coaching this team

Comment from dlts20
Time December 4, 2010 at 5:44 AM

Tom, you cant judge anything by looking at the box score. Anyone would tell you that Gil had a great impact on that win. More then anyone on the team

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time December 4, 2010 at 8:20 AM

Anyone who thinks I have an “allegiance” to Kirk Hinrich isn’t paying much attention. Kirk’s a solid veteran who’s had a pretty good career and is on the downslope of his productivity, but I doubt he’ll be here next year, and I wouldn’t be surprised or upset if he was traded around the deadline.

He was a good pickup for us, exactly because he is so dependable — and remember, we didn’t really know what Gil’s future was when we made the deal back then. Not to mention that he cost us *nothing*; we’re not even paying all his salary! And he came with a mid first round pick at no cost. That’s effective dealing!

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time December 4, 2010 at 8:37 AM

@dlts20 — *Of course* you can’t judge a game from the box score, although that’s not to say that you can’t learn *something* about it that way.

One thing is for sure — anyone who thinks that a guy going 6-16, committing 6 fouls, and turning it over 5 times has helped his team *win* a game has lost all rational perspective.

Gilbert Arenas is *not* “back”, he is *not* playing well, and it’s time to look reality in the face.

I’ll tell you who *did* help us win — and yes you can figure it out from the box score — Hilton Armstrong is who. In 12 minutes, he went 3-3 and grabbed 3 boards.

Armstrong is having by far his best season as a pro, and if he plays at this level all year he’ll be worth keeping but will be a lot more expensive than the veteran minimum salary we gave him. So far he is making Ernie look smart for signing him.

Comment from ChenierFan
Time December 4, 2010 at 8:38 AM

A few random thoughts…

1) Congrats to the Wiz on their weekly win
2) That was the best pick and roll defense the Wiz played all year. Give Kirk a lot of credit.
3) I would start Cartier over Gee. Cartier can make shots and spred the floor. The starting lineup the Wiz used had only two shot makers in the line-up.
4) Just to correct a factual mistake in Gabbo’s post at 12:36 AM, I believe it was Porky Pig who says “That’s all folks” not Woody Woodpecker.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time December 4, 2010 at 8:44 AM

Armstrong is shooting 58% on the season, and he’s grabbing almost 12 rebounds every 40 minutes. That’s good work.

Then there’s McGee who has become a man this year. I can’t think of another big man playing this well who was taken outside the top 5, can you?

If JaVale pans out at the level he’s at now, and especially if he continues to grow, I’ll have to radically revise my opinion of Ernie’s work in the draft.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time December 4, 2010 at 8:47 AM

I believe Chenier Fan is correct on the “That’s All, Folks” issue. I think all the Loony Tunes cartoons used to end w/ him signing off that way. Love that stuff! Bugs Bunny especially.

As for you young bloggers snickering right now — don’t knock it if you haven’t seen it! You can’t judge a cartoon from the box score!!

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 4, 2010 at 9:43 AM

Being at the game here is what I saw last night:

1. Hinrich is the floor leader. John Wall is the point guard but there is no doubt who runs the floor. Kirk tells the Wiz where to go and when he wants the ball they give it to him. He is defeinitely in charge out there.
2. Gilbert has ZERO respect from the referees. That is very, very bad news. The way he has played the last 6 games he should not start.
3. My eyes are glued on 2 people during the game, John Wall and Javale McGEE. They are entertaining and exciting.
4. I cringe everytime Andray takes an 18 footer. He is a momentum killer when he shoots jump shots. Once again, the wizards are on a run and Andray takes a long jump shot, the other team comes down and scores.
5. Despite the low score it was a fun game to watch.

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 4, 2010 at 9:50 AM

I feel bad for all our fellow bloggers who wants us to lose so Flip can get fired.
We win BUT………..

Flip did a great job getting a win tonight despite not having our most productive Shooting guard (and who should be starting) in Nick Young.
I guess Gilbert can try to fill in and take Nicks place until he gets back.
At least Gilbert improved his shooting from 10% to 37% last night.

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 4, 2010 at 9:52 AM

@CheinerFan – You are absolutely right…It was Petunia’s boy friend who said “That’s All Folks”. Woody Woodpecker never stuttered.

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 4, 2010 at 9:59 AM

@draftazoid, if you really thought that Flip had a positive impact on the game last night, you definetly spent too much time at the Acela Club.

Comment from gray16
Time December 4, 2010 at 11:02 AM

thinking back on last nights game,

we really are a running team, we thrive in the open court. but we have to get stops, rebounds, and turnovers to start those opportunities.

last night in the third quarter we came back with our defense and especially the fast break. without that defense we lose games. and this is where i think john wall helps us most. his tenacious defense and ball hawking skills help us speed the tempo up. hinrich’s defense helps as well. then when you add the shot blocking of javale and yi in there, this team has something going for itself.

we just have to find ways to keep the offense flowing, the more we do that the better. the only guy who has looked real comfortable in the half court is nick young. but if we can just play decent in the half court, but mainly keep our defense going, our offense will go as well, and we will win a lot of games that way. just have to get stops and turn them into something.

Comment from gray16
Time December 4, 2010 at 11:06 AM

as for flip saunders, i definitely can’t say he didn’t help us win last night.

remember last season, when we seemed to play bad in the first half all the time, but would just come out with energy in that third quarter and get right back into the game. well the same thing happened last night. imo, it takes a coach who knows what he’s doing to get a team to come back out with energy and hustle and willingness to fight back into a game. that first half was awful, turnovers galore, and poor offensive play. but flip got us turned around, and that third quarter was a completely different game. the energy picked up, and the team took over. i give flip credit for this, as well as the players for coming out with good energy in the second half.

Comment from dcbutler357
Time December 4, 2010 at 11:15 AM

what i saw last night is that gil is still our best player, regardless of his turnovers, i saw him initiating a lot of the fast breaks and initiating the pass to get the break off and running.

some things a coach can not coach and that separates all-stars and big money players from the rest of the pack…not having a whole gil back is worth more than having an avg player. Ted isn’t just talking for PR purposes, so if the coach seems to think he should play Heinrich more than the person that the owner calls his best player right now, that is an early sign of not being on the same page….

Comment from dcbutler357
Time December 4, 2010 at 11:19 AM

BTW-KG went all of last year not being healthy (in game shape) and he was an impact player, and now he’s basically totally back, i think. I don’t know if it’s the same type of injury or not, but it could take nearly the whole season to get Gils “whole” game back…..and he’s still an impact player, so whether we like him or love him, he’ll be worth the money if he can stay on the court. He was worth it before the injury.

Comment from dcbutler357
Time December 4, 2010 at 11:20 AM

meant to say “hate” him or love him

Comment from tyrone2000
Time December 4, 2010 at 11:31 AM

Arenas defense has improved tremendously. No player in the NBA actually stops another without team help. The reason why Arenas still impacted the game is because of his calming influence he has and there is no doubt who the real leader on the basketball floor is…Arenas is not getting the calls when he drives…The 6 fouls are not an indication of how well he actually played defense. Hate to write it but Yi, Armstrong, Howard, Hinrich, and Arenas would be my starters to win games. Wall, Arenas, Blatche, Gee, McGee for the show…

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 4, 2010 at 11:48 AM

Gilbert is not even good enough to Start (witness last night).
Gilbert cannot play defense period. Massive liability

We are still living in 2006.
Time to move on.

Where can I buy Gilberts shoe?
Not even payless will give him a shoe deal.

Comment from gray16
Time December 4, 2010 at 12:04 PM

we can say gil is our best player all we want, but he did not play better than hinrich last night imo. he did play better than wall on offense, but foul trouble kept him from getting more minutes, even though he still got 30.

but hinrich could be argued as to the reason we won last night. brandon roy was making some incredible shots, and if he was going against someone like gil who can’t defend him, that would’ve only made him make more shots. against gil, he could’ve gone off for 30+. hinrich held him to 20 points on 21 shots and NO ft attempts. that’s about as good as you can do against roy.

defense won us the game last night, perimeter players were having a HARD time getting to the rim, if they got there at all due to the wall/hinrich back court. the only times guys were getting shots in the paint were fast breaks and when they were getting offensive rebounds. but keeping the perimeter players out of the paint and the foul trouble on aldridge allowed our defense to stop the blazers from doing much of anything.

so a big credit goes to hinrich for last night, and a big credit to flip for starting the best defensive backcourt and having our defense look good again.

Comment from dcbutler357
Time December 4, 2010 at 12:08 PM

lol…droid is gonna be droid…LOL

Ummmmmmmm if we start howard, that would be like a 4 vs 5 right now.

Comment from dcbutler357
Time December 4, 2010 at 12:11 PM

they are on the same team(gil and heinrich), so it’s not whether one is better than the other, it’s who’s better for the team right now…..the point is Flip plays heinrich more minutes regardless if he’s having a good game or not. The wiz always break out when gil and wall are on the floor together, then the flop puts heinrich out there with them or replaces one with heinrich and messes up the groove. fortunately we survived last night’s game.

Comment from dcbutler357
Time December 4, 2010 at 12:12 PM

I would encourage everyone to listen to chenier’s interview with Glen at yesterday’s halftime….he knocked it out of the park with his analysis…some of us have been saying it all along, but he nailed it….so for those that have thin skin, grab your tissue….

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 4, 2010 at 12:16 PM

Look. I want Gilbert to do well.
I want him to start when he has proven on the court that he deserves to start.
He has proven that he should come off the bench so far. I have absolutely zero sympathy toward him for what he did to the team last year.
When Gilbert is 100% back from all the injuries and rust from the suspension AND plays like it then he should start. Until then I really don’t care for his play.

PLAY THE BEST! PLAY TO WIN! ALL THE TIME!

Comment from Arthritic
Time December 4, 2010 at 12:19 PM

i feel like offensively our team’s glaring weakness is the lack of good shooters.

arenas is a pretty decent shooter.
so is hinrich, young, howard (injured…), yi ( a little) and cartier (but he doesn’t count since he can’t do much else and gets no playing time)

alonzo gee has absolutely no shot. its not that hes trying to be aggressive 100% of the time but its because he has no outside shot that he decides to penetrate every time he gets the ball. his role with the team should be to provide energy off the bench.

al thornton is an athletic guy who earlier in the season played great until the injury. hes another average / below average shooter. his shot mechanics are pretty bad. elbows stick out to his right and he shoots from the side of his head. definitely not good enough to be a starting sf in this league.

for a team like the wiz that has only a couple of guys with reliable jump shots, opponents don’t really have to guard as tightly on players, other than the aforementioned players above, when playing defense. then again we also don’t have a guy with strong post moves other than blatche (even though he doesn’t have enough hops to just catch and dunk from around the basket. he always needs a running start to be able to dunk but he is by far our best post player)

honestly we need to trade for a defender who has a solid jumpshot to spread the floor.

and we DEFINITELY need howard back to be semi competitive.

wall, arenas, howard, blatche, mcgee
is a pretty decent starting 5

Comment from gray16
Time December 4, 2010 at 12:19 PM

actually, gil and wall really haven’t shown they can play together yet, they definitely didn’t show it last night. they both need the ball to be effective, and one is going to have to give it up. wall can’t spot up shoot so he’s almost useless off ball, and gil hasn’t shown a consistent shot off of screens so he’s not great off ball either. so putting them in there together really isn’t going to change much imo.

hinrich and arenas together works, since hinrich can play off ball. it’s not the best thing in the world offensively, but it has worked when gil has it going, since hinrich will let gil take over the ball handling duties. but this lineup has sucked defensively on the perimeter, and hasn’t shown much success starting imo. it makes the team because a team trying to outscore opponent with points rather than defense, and we don’t have enough offense to do that yet.

then there is hinrich and wall. this is probably the worst of them offensively. hinrich scores in spurts, but with wall out there, he’s gonna be relied on to score more since wall is a pass first pg. this puts more pressure on hinrich to score, and while it works at times, it doesn’t at others. he usually has a quarter or a half where he’s on, and the rest is either off or just so so. offensively, this lineup relies on defense for offense. it’s the fast break lineup, which gets stops and runs the other direction. it’s also the best defensive backcourt, and gives opposing backcourts trouble a lot of times. this is when the team usually doesn’t have a problem stopping the other team on defense, but will struggle on offense at times. so it also has its problems, but i agree with flip for starting it last night since we needed defense against that great backcourt.

Comment from gray16
Time December 4, 2010 at 12:23 PM

dc, could you post that halftime interview, i’d love to hear what phil had to say, whether i will agree with it or not.

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 4, 2010 at 12:25 PM

Didn’t you guys watch the opening tip.
Kirk is the starter and Gilbert is a bench warmer.
Pretty obvious.

Flip loves Kirk. No chance if it’s between them that Gilbert will start.

Didn’t you recall that Flip said the good thing about John Wall missing all those games was that he had a chance to watch Kirk Hinrich play. (He didn’t mention watching Gilbert play).
As long as Alonzo Gee or Al Thornton or Josh Howard is playing then Gilbert will come off the bench.

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 4, 2010 at 12:27 PM

The game after Ted Leonsis says that Gilbert will not be traded because he is our best player right now Flip Benches Gilbert.
Gotta love it!

Comment from dcbutler357
Time December 4, 2010 at 12:35 PM

LOL…Which means if Flip keeps it up, he’s writing his own resignation…LOL…YES, I love it….

btw-from the time that gil and wall are on the court together, they do have a nice chemistry…speed and IQ appreciates speed and IQ.

i will look and see if the interview is somewhere, you may have to ask sportswiz

Comment from gray16
Time December 4, 2010 at 12:40 PM

this is the game after ted said that? so the game before ted said that gilbert went 1 for 10, had 7 points, and we got blown out by the RAPTORS?

does this say that ted is an idiot…

no it doesn’t. just like gilbert coming off of the bench says nothing about flip’s response to ted’s quote. all it says is that flip felt more comfortable starting wall and hinrich. mabye he wanted offense off the bench since nick young was out. mabye he wanted defense since gilbert seems to have none. or mabye gil’s comments about coming off the bench led him to it.

but if anyone thinks ted leonsis is feeling bad about gil not starting in yesterdays WIN, in a game where hinrich did well, imo is wrong.

Comment from gray16
Time December 4, 2010 at 12:44 PM

dc, from being at the game last, i can tell you that gil and wall don’t play well together yet. gil just hasn’t shown the ability to play off ball yet, he has only done pretty well in the games wall was out and he was able to control the ball all game.

even gil doesn’t feel they are gelling yet:

We were out there. Y’know we were out there .You know right now we are trying to find a rhythm that fits us right now.

- gilbert arenas on john wall

Comment from Mr. Know it All
Time December 4, 2010 at 12:55 PM

@ Tom, I know you didn’t direct this at me but…………
Haven’t you learned that stats don’t tell the whole story. A player could shoot 1-20, but if that 1 shot’s the game winner he’s the hero!!!
It’s all about making timely plays, Gil & Wall were key in helping the team make it’s comeback and for holding on to the victory.
BTW you failed to mention Gil lead the team with 6 assist and was second in scoring with 15 points………. I’m just saying!!!

Comment from tyrone2000
Time December 4, 2010 at 1:06 PM

draftzoid, I hope Flip plays that squad that you put out there for a lengthy period so that you can see how weak that team is. Sure they’ll have ESPN highlights but Wall, Young, McGee, Booker, and Jianlian right now can not sustain a winning team. I’d like to see the Wizards win now cause they have the veterans to do it minus 1 low post player that could be Armstrong if given the chance. I really like this team to win now but if they waste it on major minutes to the talented youngsters than we might make it to 20 win season. At my age, I am tired of that type of record. People on this blog act as though this is the first time the Wizards have attempted to rebuild. It never happens because they trade away their best players once they get into their prime and it happens over and over again. draftzoid, I can tell you that I know you are a youngster because of your shoe deal reference. All I want to see is a winner not the ESPN highlights unless it comes with the win!

Comment from Mr. Know it All
Time December 4, 2010 at 1:15 PM

Man my computer must be on a lunch break. When I wrote that comment to Tom, the last thing on the blog was Gabbo saying “That’s all Folks”!!!

Comment from ChenierFan
Time December 4, 2010 at 1:19 PM

Its good we got that Looney Tunes cartoon issue behind us.

I have acouple of questions…
1) What is the status of Josh Howard? When is he due back?
2) When are we going to see Flip go big with Javalle, Andray and (The Big) Yi? Still waiting to see that. YOu would think a coach as imaginative as Flip would have tried that already. A zone defense with all that length might just work. I bet Sam is eager to try that.

Comment from dcbutler357
Time December 4, 2010 at 1:35 PM

gray, that is your opinion and that is fine, i’m not concerned about starting, starting doesn’t mean that you play the bulk of the minutes. BUT in flips system, he leaves starters on the court, for the most part, a whole quarter almost, so it does impact the game.

at the game, watching the game, there is no difference when we are looking at the game. I’m not talking about if they are joking around or talking on the sidelines….i have seen gil and wall work well together, in the brief time that they have played together. When NY is on the court and jwall and gil are with him, the ball moves more, not a lot of dribbling (heinrich). I’m sure you have your examples and that is fine.

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 4, 2010 at 2:31 PM

The zone that Flip plays is a “match-up zone” which means that our defensive players have to defend against the offensive man closest to the defender’s zone area. If more than one offensive player is in a given zone, then there are two defenders there also (in theory). A match-up zone defense is much more difficult to play effectively because it requires constant adjustment. A match-up zone works pretty well in high school and against a lot of college teams simply because they don’t have the caliber of shooters that you find on a NBA team. Using a “match-up” zone in the NBA requires the defenders to be constantly adjusting to activity, or lack of activity, in their zone. That is why you frequently see Wizards players looking as though they have no idea where they are supposed to be on “D’ and other Wizard defenders telling them where to go. It also accounts for the many, many open shots the Wizards give up from the outside and for the frequent easy baskets the Wizards give up in the paint. The NBA is no place for a zone defense, let alone, a match-up zone defense. For the Wizards to win using the match-up zone defense, the opposition has to have a bad shooting night. The Blazers shot 33% and lost. The Raptors shot 58% and murdered us.

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 4, 2010 at 3:25 PM

How do we get better if Trevor Booker, Kevin Seraphin, Nick Young and Yi Jinlian do not play alot of minutes.

We don’t.
Those guys are our future along with John Wall, Javale McGee (who still does not get enough minutes) and Andray Blatche (who gets too many).

Rental players Alonzo Gee, Cartier Martin and Hilton Armstrong (All gone next year) take up alot of minutes that we should be using on the young players we have contract control over.
Josh Howard is a one year rental player also when he decides he can play ball.

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 4, 2010 at 3:28 PM

Did you know we are only 1.5 games back from the #8 playoff spot?

Don’t laugh now but we have a shot at the playoffs.
Go Wizards!

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 4, 2010 at 3:39 PM

Blake Griffin and Tyreke Evans were offered in a trade for Gilbert Arenas but Ted Leonsis said that Gilbert will not be traded because he is our best player right now.

Mr. Ted really shouldn’t say idiotic statements.
If that offer was actually offered how many people think that the Wizards would reject that offer.

Just to prove a point that Ted Leonsis thinks that us Wizards fans are idiots for not knowing why Gilbert is untradeable right now.

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 4, 2010 at 4:06 PM

draftazoid – where did you get the trade info?

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 4, 2010 at 4:07 PM

I’m certain that if Ted L. looks at this blog, he does think that some of us are idiots.

Comment from dcbutler357
Time December 4, 2010 at 4:37 PM

hilarious

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2010/12/2/1851252/team-defense-are-we-lacking-effort-aptitude-or-coaching

#dontjudgeme

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 4, 2010 at 5:04 PM

I swear that I didn’t write the article for which dcb provided the link, but they could have gotten the material from some of the posts on this blog.

Comment from dcbutler357
Time December 4, 2010 at 5:05 PM

the comments at the end of this are good

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2010/12/wizards-prove-to-be-a-complica.html#more

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 4, 2010 at 5:34 PM

@dcbutler357 – Thanks for the bulletsforever link. You’re right. It is hilarious…and sadly, true.

Comment from dcbutler357
Time December 4, 2010 at 5:39 PM

LOL…Don’t give me any credit, I have haters on here…lol…

btw-one of the commenters on michael lee’s article seem to write just like you…lol….but I didn’t have to figure out dlts, because he used the same sign on, just didn’t type as much

BTW-how do you acknowledge quoting yourself dlts?

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 4, 2010 at 6:18 PM

Well the one part that I agree is true from Michael Lee’s article:

“Saunders didn’t have a problem moving on with Hinrich, who was one of the best players in camp and remains the best perimeter defender on the team.”

True. Keep him as a starter. Leave the $18million dollar man on the bench. He can guard the towels because he can’t guard anything else. Lol

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 4, 2010 at 6:22 PM

Getabig,

That trade was hypothetical.
Ted Leonsis shouldn’t flat out lie when he says Gilbert will not be traded because he is the best player right now.
If a team offers him a player like Blake Griffin for Gilbert and he doesn’t jump at it then he’s an idiot.
We all know why Gilbert is untradeable right now. He shouldn’t think that all the Wizard fans are naive.

Comment from WE WANT A WINNER
Time December 4, 2010 at 7:10 PM

Our best and most used line up + or – wise is Arenas, Hinrich, Blatche, Thornton, and McGee. It is +15 through 72 minutes and 6 games. Hinrich is our worst player + or – wise, -112. John Wall is obviously a starter for us, so he should replace Hinrich in this line up. I am fine with Gee or Thornton starting but for now Gee seems more athletic and in game shape.

Comment from dcbutler357
Time December 4, 2010 at 7:56 PM

1)
“This team was constructed to fail.

Grunfeld drafted a PG with the no. 1 overall pick. He already had the highest paid PG in the league on his roster. He traded for yet another expensive PG who is really a backup at this point in his career.

That’s just too much money tied up on one position when there were so many other holes to fill on this team. Now Flip is coming up with creative yet misguided ways to get them all lots of playing time or on the court together.

This team is a hot mess.”

2)
“Good GM’s aren’t supposed to be in the lottery after being on the job for 7 years…unless he’s made a lot of mistakes in the draft, signing free agents and trading for players.”

#otherblogsthoughts

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 4, 2010 at 9:12 PM

We shouldn’t underestimate the real value that Gil brings to every game. Gil is one of the best players in the NBA at creating a scoring opportunity. When Gil is not on the floor the Wizards are static. Gil makes things happen. Some of us can remember when 98% of the things that Gil made happen on the court were positive. Right now that number is around 50%. I’ll guarantee that as the season progresses, the number will rise. Ted has it correct…Gil is the best player on the team.

Comment from gray16
Time December 4, 2010 at 9:14 PM

lol, if anyone is thinking that this is the team we are trying to build around, they need to get their heads checked. gil is only here because we couldn’t get rid of him, hinrich is here to help teach wall, and wall is here because the players we got rid of underachieved and landed us with the 1st pick.

the whole 3 pg thing is a little bit of a cluster, but hinrich is here for a reason, wall is here for a bigger reason. gil is here because he has no where else to go. ernie wasn’t trying to build a team to compete this year, he was trying to get a player who he felt could have a good impact on wall’s growth.

the bulls had a similar situation with rose, hinrich, and gordon, and only one of them is left on the team (we all know who that is). we’ll be singing a similar tune in the near future imo.

as for the “7 year rule” that guy came up with, hindsight is 20/20. going into last season, would we all be thinking we were going to be a lottery team last season?

ironically all those traded and free agent pickups weren’t looking bad when we were winning… now they do… and even more ironically, ernie’s drafting hasn’t looked to bad lately either, seeing as nick young, javale, blatche, and of course wall are all playing up to their drafted position at the moment.

so while i’m not the biggest fan of ernie, i do think bashing him for our current situation is wrong and a little ignorant.

Comment from dcbutler357
Time December 4, 2010 at 9:58 PM

its kind of good to go to other blogs to see what other fans are thinking and others point of view. a lot of opinions pretty much mirror ours,and there are some that think out of the box.

Of course there were also bloggers that start throwing darts if someone gave a view that hurt their feelings, but hey, everyone can’t articulate “nicely” all the time…..good stuff

“Wise men never argue with fools, because people from a distance can’t tell who is who”

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 4, 2010 at 10:45 PM

Gil is a Wizard because he is one of the premier players in the NBA and Ted L. is smart enough to recognize that.

However, I do agree that the three-guard offense is a piece of dung…not only offensively, but from a defensive perspective also. The three-guard offense leads to the Jr. high zone defense because we can’t afford to have a guard defending a forward.

Time for a coaching change!!!!!!!!!!

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 4, 2010 at 11:36 PM

Actually, the Wizards are hoping that John Wall can develop into an assists-first point guard rather than the highlight-first Nathan that he has become. If John can concentrate on assist-first, Gil will show why he was one of the premier scorers in the NBA amd the Wizards might show some dividends from the #1 pick.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time December 5, 2010 at 1:40 AM

The “That’s All Folks” and the Bugs Bunny thing really took me back. Thanks Everyone

Got a tattoo of Yosemite Sam with the NASCAR logo across his hat before my very first race at a NASCAR sanctioned track… many, many years ago.

I have a 12 x 24 water color… prior to cell production in the short “play it again sam”. Signed by Fritz Freeling The painting has Bugs on the piano while Sam plays the piano.

Fun factoid… Bugs Bunny’s character was based on Groucho Marx. Yes I loved and love Looney tunes lol.

Thanks for the memories guys

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time December 5, 2010 at 1:45 AM

I think John Wall it going to be the bee’s knees once he gets some time under his belt. He is going to be a great asset to rebuild around. I think it was in his 6th NBA game he had a triple double.. then the minor/multiple injuries hit. I think he is a very bright spot for our future.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time December 5, 2010 at 1:47 AM

I also agree that maybe the biggest surprise so far is the production from Hilton. Who expected that? Once Yi gets his court legs back I’m hoping he continues on the path he was going down this summer.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time December 5, 2010 at 1:50 AM

Like many have said…. Get rid of that stupid ZONE !

Comment from AUNDRA
Time December 5, 2010 at 1:50 AM

BLOGGERS CAN ANYONE ANSWER THIS QUESTION – HOW COME WE ALWAYS HAVE THE MOST LAME DUCKS ON OUR TEAM EVERY YEAR. WE HAVE THE MOST INJURY PRONE PLAYERS IN THE NBA! HOW MANY HOURS OF INJURIED RESERVE WILL JOSH HOWARD AND CREW CHEW UP THIS YEAR!

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time December 5, 2010 at 2:05 AM

I was ok with Flip until Dayle posted part of a Washington Post article where he told the team he had lost faith in them… BEFORE the game. What coach does that? How is that motivational with a young team?

I don’t care about his rotations, offensive sets, defensive sets… if he says things like that to the team prior to a game why even play the game… we have already lost as every ounce of energy the team may have had was sucked dry by a comment like that to a young team.

Ok.. I’m with you guys. Let’s give Sam his chance.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time December 5, 2010 at 2:14 AM

I won’t see the Phoenix game tomorrow night so cheer extra hard for me. I’ll be watching and hoping Mr. Rothlisberger’s foot holds up so the Steelers can gain the top spot in our division over Baltimore.

Go Steelers/ Go Wizards

Comment from dcbutler357
Time December 5, 2010 at 2:17 AM

The funny part of the whole drama is that they asked Byron Scott the same question after LeBron totally blew up cleveland the other night and Byron said, “I will NEVER lose faith in this team”…..

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time December 5, 2010 at 2:18 AM

I think that will be the first time in over 20 years I’ve missed two Bullits/Wizards game in a row

Comment from dcbutler357
Time December 5, 2010 at 2:18 AM

Ted is going to get rid of Flip, just for his remarks alone….like it or not…..

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time December 5, 2010 at 2:19 AM

DCB… Good for Byron. That’s the least I’d expect from “our coach”.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time December 5, 2010 at 2:21 AM

At this point I want Sam

Comment from dayle
Time December 5, 2010 at 2:43 AM

Grifon, In fairness, the faith part was the way Wall took
it. flip said something about how they’d perform with the
Raptors… I think he was just frustrated with the practice. And he must have said something right at half-
time the last game because they really came out and
played defense in the second half.

Comment from dayle
Time December 5, 2010 at 2:46 AM

All you Gilbert bashers, maybe we can have dinner
sometime so I can watch you eat your words.

Comment from dayle
Time December 5, 2010 at 2:54 AM

“That’s All Folks” is on the grave marker of Mel Blanc,
the voice of Porky Pig, FYI.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time December 5, 2010 at 3:01 AM

Mel Blank was the voice of most of them May he rest in peace. A personal hero of mine.

Yes I knew about “that’s all folks”. How fitting for him

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time December 5, 2010 at 3:09 AM

Perfect point Dayle. No reason on Earth to become frustrated with a young team the includes other teams discards. Flip should motivate. As a coach that is his primary job. Flip doesn’t seem to be able to to coach a weed to grow.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time December 5, 2010 at 3:10 AM

that … not the

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time December 5, 2010 at 3:22 AM

LOL… ask me anything about Looney Tunes or the Marx Brothers and I’ll probably be able to render whatever line verbatim LOL.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time December 5, 2010 at 3:24 AM

Gabbo…. 5th Marx Brother?

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time December 5, 2010 at 3:29 AM

Nite all. Hail Fredonia

Comment from dcbutler357
Time December 5, 2010 at 12:08 PM

did Wile E Coyote ever say a word in all the years he was on the big screen…lol

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time December 6, 2010 at 1:41 AM

DCB… yes. Voiced by Mel Blank Wile E Coyote proffeses himself to be and Superl Genius He was voiced by a few others in a few other shorts…. usually as I recall with a British accent?