Comment from wizardsallday
Time December 16, 2010 at 7:57 AM

Let’s get this win Wizardskids

WOOT!!!

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:52 AM

Lets play all the future kids tonight and get a W.!! It will be.

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 16, 2010 at 9:24 AM

Wizards vs Nets at the Prudential Center tonight.

Big THUMBS Up for ‘Dray! …get that knee healed.

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

Comment from Jaba
Time December 16, 2010 at 9:49 AM

A win would be great. But a high energy game is all I’m asking for!

GO WIZARDS!!!!!

Comment from wizardsallday
Time December 16, 2010 at 9:58 AM

To GrifonRacing on the last post

I just stated that fact on Nick Young because the Wizards in the past have been known to give up something good and not keep that good thing(or player) around to see if they can make something out of it (Chris Webber, Rip, Ben Wallace, Rashard Wallace, etc). I just don’t find it cool to think about trading Nick who is your most consistent player and your best scoring option just because he hot instead of working with him to see if he can continue to improve for another 2-3 years. This has been killing this Ball Club for year and I for one is just getting tire of it.

Comment from maggicman11
Time December 16, 2010 at 10:08 AM

Well I have been saying that we need to start Nick all season long. It seems as if all everybody who liked seeing him come off the bench has come to their senses.. everyone except Flip that is.. Hopefully the light comes on for him tonight. Lets get a win tonight!!

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 16, 2010 at 10:46 AM

THE TWO MOST SOUGHT AFTER WIZARDS

If you take out John Wall the two most sought after players, RIGHT NOW, are:

1. Kirk Hinrich- The Heat and Lakers would love a Kirk Hinrich run the point as well as backup the 2 guard. Would Kirk be an upgrade to Orlando than Jameer Nelson? Maybe. The achilles heal for both the Heat and Lakers is that their point guards are just not very good. The heat does not have one and Fischer is just dang old (John Wall was slamming him).

2. Nick Young- What team can’t use a guy that can get off his own shot and bury it. Shooters are at a premium. How many playoff teams could use a Nick Young to come off the bench for instant offense. Every single one of them.

I would love to find out how many calls Ernie Grunfield has gotten in the past couple days.

Don’t be surprised if one of these two guys is traded real soon and we get some new players (with lots of upside) in here.
These two guys are at a PREMIUM right now. Their value is at an all time high.

I can understand not trading Nick.
But I don’t think Ernie should turn down a GREAT OFFER for Kirk.

Comment from dlts20
Time December 16, 2010 at 11:01 AM

The funny thing is that the NJ players just had a team meeting like Miami did right before we played them so you know they will be motivated.

The bottom line is if Gil plays like this then we will be crap, espically with injuries. If Gil has another one of his games where he either cant or doesnt move, never goes to the rim, and has 0fts again then we will struggle to win. Might as well not be playing if he’s going to do that. We could have Hinrich do that. He cant play that way, espically with NY not starting. He needs to score & be aggressive “if he can”

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 16, 2010 at 11:46 AM

Rumors of Gilbert to Orlando are still alive.
I doubt it will happen “but you never know.”

If Juwan Howard could be traded at the astronomical amount of money left on his contract then anyone can be traded.

I would just rather have the Gilbert from 2006-2007 playing again for us.

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 16, 2010 at 11:57 AM

Watch out for Players on their Contract Year:
Brendan Haywood went from 7 rebounds a game to 9 rebounds a game in the last year of his contract.

Brendan signs a 41million 5 year contract.

GUESS WHAT?
Zero incentive for Brendan to work hard again. He goes back to his soft playing days. That is what a guaranteed contract does to alot of players.

4 Points and 5 rebounds a game so far this year.
PATHETIC!

Comment from millie mill
Time December 16, 2010 at 12:22 PM

wizardsallday

I think Nick is doing good and everyone knows that he can score. I think Nick would be trade bait because the Wizards are building for the future. Trading Nick for a 1st round pick would be the only way I would trade him.

While Nick is here I would like to see him and Wall, Gil, McGee and Booker on to the floor at the same time.

Nick’s not a Small Forward but he has been playing better than Al.

I’m sorry getabigboyoffense but even when healthy your boy Blatche has been playing soft. He is 6-11 and get his shot blocked atleast two to three time a game. Three guards (Gilbert, Wall and Nick) are on pace to average the same or more blocks that Blatche. I think the problem is that he dosen’t jump. It’s like he has weight on his feet.

Team Blocks for the season.
Player BLK

JaVale McGee 53
Yi Jianlian 14
Hilton Armstrong 12
Gilbert Arenas 12
Andray Blatche 10
Kevin Seraphin 8
Nick Young 7
John Wall 7
Trevor Booker 7
Al Thornton 4
Kirk Hinrich 2
Cartier Martin 1
Alonzo Gee 0

Comment from Arthritic
Time December 16, 2010 at 12:53 PM

@milliemill
i think its not that andray “doesnt” jump. its that he CANT jump. im a 6ft asian and i almost have a 30 inch vertical. i highly doubt blatche can jump more than 25 inches. despite his height he can barely dunk flat footed. (not even sure if he can) thats sad.

@draftazoid

i dunno where you come up with your ridiculous ideas like “two most sought after players” i think your overestimating kirk hinrich’s value. theres no way well get a “great offer” for kirk.

if mcgee doesnt look like a legit starting center next season we should get rid of him. hes had more than enough time to develop and being a full time starter this season, theres no excuse for him not to significantly improve next year

Comment from NedScharpf
Time December 16, 2010 at 1:09 PM

Is it just me or did it seems like Gilbert barely broke a sweat in the game against the Lakers? It is like he has just decided to not bother which is fine for him but sucks for us. I realize he is not getting calls when he goes to the hoop, but deal with it! I hate the refs in the NBA more than anyone. I think they take away from the game a lot. However, I still am baffled watching Arenas play lately.

Somebody tell me what’s going on if anything.

Comment from proofofconcept
Time December 16, 2010 at 1:19 PM

arenas always was and always will be a headcase.I will never try to figure out what is going on in his head. I do enjoy watching him play when his game is “on”. I really think he needs to be traded, just to give him an opportunity to “heal”. (As if 60 million reasons isn’t enough, but we are all human) and 35 million isn’t enough for ab to hit the paint on a regular basis…

And why in the world would we trade NY??? I could see anyone else besides him and JWall right now, but NY? And do what, draft another first round pick that’s going to take time to adjust to the game?…..lol…..it’s all good though, gotta start somewhere.

I am no longer dcbutler, because I want someone to come in here with a plan that has been proven to work and build up this team!!!!!

The hardhat stays, because we have a lot of hard work to do, and also to toughen up this team…..anyone else takes a flagrant, i expect to see the team jump up and not just jump up for a cup of gatorade!!!!

Comment from dlts20
Time December 16, 2010 at 1:44 PM

The only hope about Gil is everytime you think he looks done or is tanking it, he always seems to get his confidence back, starts playing more aggressive, and throws up some big games while looking solidly explosive. The Nets roster is perfect for him to do that against if he wants to but IDK if he has it in him, espically mentally. Its up to him.

I would actually start NY at the 2 right now with Gil at the 1, espically since you never know if Gil will just coast again. We need more scoring. It would also be good to keep Wall out even one more game and have NY matched up against Wade. Then Wall, Dray, & Howard all come back for the Bobcats game for us to finally start seeing what we have.

Comment from WE WANT A WINNER
Time December 16, 2010 at 4:40 PM

Go Wizards . If we are ever going to win a road game it will be tonight. Whoever plays just needs to play hard and we need Gil to step up for us.

Did anyone see jamison get dunked on by both wade and bosh last night?… Wow!

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 16, 2010 at 4:57 PM

I love Nick Young.

But if we are not going to utilize him to the fullest then we might as well trade him.

Having him on the bench and then bringing him in after the Starters have put us in a 10 point hole every game really sucks.

If another team knows how to use Nick Young to the best of his abilities then I say go ahead and trade him.

The Wizards do not think he is good enough to be a starter so we might as well trade him to a team that can use his skills to the fullest.

Again, I love Nick and I am glad he is doing great.

Comment from Telvis
Time December 16, 2010 at 5:02 PM

Mr. Sauders,
Its pretty obvious that the most consistant thing that is happening is that your players can’t score!…aside from other things. Being a fan, its killing me that from the bench, Nick Young and probably Cartier Martin are the next best. Esp. when you don’t have any 3 point shooters. You have to work with what you have. Keep C.Martin playing at least for 3 point apportunity. How can you seat players that are making shots???
And why isn’t there any new on J.Howard? For now, I would start off with gil, nick/kirk, c.martin, armstrong, magee.

Comment from Telvis
Time December 16, 2010 at 5:05 PM

Oh and one more thing for Gil….Its time for you to come back! Do what you do best. Its obvious that the players around you can’t support you. The passes you’re making aren’t being accomplished on the board…like the one that Al Thorton tried from ya. Al, you have finese like Jordan…Study is philosphy! practice, practice, practice your shots!

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 16, 2010 at 5:07 PM

Breaking News!

Yao is out (probably done forever). Yi becomes the most popular Chinese basketball player on the planet.
Nothing like having 400 million basketball fans follow you night after night.

Too bad for Yi’s injury because Yi would have been starting until Andray is back.

Comment from gray16
Time December 16, 2010 at 5:36 PM

whats up yall,

telvis, we can score, we are scoring more points per game than orlando and new orleans.

what we can’t seem to do is play good defense.

now we aren’t the scoring team we were 5 years ago, so outscoring teams isn’t going to happen, so if you mean that, no we can’t do that. but if we were a good defensive teams (only 4 teams give up more points, 3 of them being super high pace high scoring teams), we would win games.

unfortunately, we are the third worst team in the league at opponent fg%, so even at our semi slow pace, teams score a lot of points on us. until we learn to defend, the points we score won’t help much.

Comment from Jaba
Time December 16, 2010 at 5:41 PM

Gee, Wizards fans have to adjust to a heck of a lot this season! Injuries, starting lineup shuffles……..and now: dcbutler is not dcbutler anymore.!!!

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time December 16, 2010 at 6:43 PM

How has Nick improved this year?

Well, the biggest thing is his 2point FG%, which is @ 52% — a good deal higher than it’s ever been. What does that indicate? It indicates better control and better shot selection.

The 2d thing that’s made him more productive is shooting more 3s. His 3pt. % is actually *down* a little, but it’s still good enough that going from 4.8 attempts per 40 minutes last year to 6.2 this year helps his overall shooting efficiency.

Nick is finally scoring above 1 point per shot attempt. That’s a first for him in his career.

Nick is also fouling less than ever in his career and turning it over less than ever as well — again, these are both signs of a player who is in better position both on offense and defense. I.e. he is playing smarter basketball.

Comment from dlts20
Time December 16, 2010 at 6:44 PM

The NY thing is overblown to some degree. I think part of the reason why Flip doesnt start him is because he thinks it may screw with his head when he has to go back to the bench when Howard is healthy.

Ive said it a million times, the bigger problem by far is Kirk. I said it after the trade. I dont hate Kirk. I like him but we have too many guys and because of Kirk, we always have to worry about Wall & Gil having the ball enough while also have to worry about always being short.

I said before the season that the perfect thing would be to have the Wall-Gil backcourt with NY as the 3rd guard. Lets say both Wall & Gil play 36min every night. That means they will only play 24min together and the other 12 while the other one is sitting. In those 24min they are seperate NY could be the 3rd guard. Now you have a normal sized lineup for 24min of the game, you have Gil being able to play the PG spot enough to keep him happy while playing the 2. You have scoring & athleticism on the floor at all time. You have Howard at the 3 and if NY plays well then he can even get some backup minutes there. That is the perfect scenerio. Its going to be so jammed up when Howard gets healthy.

To me its just so stupid & counter productive to start Gil or Wall with Kirk. There is no upside to that. Kirk is definitely a very good backup PG except in the rare case that your starting SG is also a PG and you have a bench player who is a tall SG. Then you dont need that backup PG. He shouldnt play when we are healthy and we we arent healthy, he should be on the bench while NY starts

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time December 16, 2010 at 6:51 PM

In what areas has Nick *not* improved?

His steals are @ about his career average.
His assists are *down* — and he was never much of an assist guy.
His rebounding is @ about his career average.
He is getting to the line about @ his career average.

If you ask yourself “what is Nick Young’s ceiling?” How do you answer the question?

He can’t become a *much* better shooter than he is showing this year — a little better maybe, but he is already showing very well.

So, his ceiling is a direct function of his ability to improve in the areas where he *hasn’t* improved. He’s way below league average at the 2 or the 3 in rebounding and getting to the line. Those are the areas where he can most easily raise the level of his game.

If you don’t think he’ll ever improve much in those areas, then you think Nick Young has reached his ceiling. If you think he can and will become a better rebounder and start getting his 81.8% FT percentage to the line more often, then you think he still has significant room to grow.

Which do you think?

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 16, 2010 at 7:25 PM

6:22 PM EST…Dave and Glenn checking in from Prudential Center…home of the Nets until they move to Brooklyn in 2012….As expected no Wall, Blatche or Yi…..look for Trevor Booker to start.

Comment from Rostos
Time December 16, 2010 at 7:30 PM

The Wizards are leaking 113 ppg on the road?

Serious? That is absurd………..how are they gonna win a game on the road with that attitude?

This team needs to get back to basics, slow the tempo and get involved in a half court slog and focus on the defensive end if the court……

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 16, 2010 at 7:43 PM

6:35 PM EST,,,,starters are in,,,,,It will be Hinrich, Arenas, McGee, Booker, and Thornton….The Nets will have Devin Harris and Jordan Farmar at guards…Brook Lopez at center…and Kris Humpgries and Quinton Ross..

Comment from Jaba
Time December 16, 2010 at 7:47 PM

Quinton Ross is starting for the Nets?!

Comment from ChenierFan
Time December 16, 2010 at 7:50 PM

Sad to see John and Andray out for tonight. The medical staff needs to do more blood letting on those two.

Anyhow…it is time for my second poem of the year about the Wizards. This one could have come last year but it came you just yesterday on the drive home from work. I hope you enjoy it.

(Sung to the tune of “Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer”)

You know Andray, and Trevor, and Johnny, and Kevin
Jarvis, and Brendan, and Antawn, and Devin.
But do you recall… the most famous Wizard of all?

Gilbert the blackballed Wizard
Had a thousand ways to score
And if you tried to guard him
He would light you up for more

All of the other Wizards
They would tolerate his pranks
They always let our Gilbert
Have his fun and say “Yeah, Thanks”

Then one foggy day last year
David Stern did say:
“Gilbert, with your pranks so queer
You must sit throughout the year.”

Then how the league did hate him
They used him just to make a case.
Gilbert the blackballed Wizard
You had to be put in your place.

Comment from proofofconcept
Time December 16, 2010 at 7:57 PM

LOL….Wow, you just destroyed the spirit…LOL

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:07 PM

broadcast underway comments of flip saunders

Comment from proofofconcept
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:07 PM

listening to the interview, DOES this coach have any type of motivational skills?

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:09 PM

yes ross starting for the negts

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:13 PM

For those of you interested in how this year’s draft picks are doing, keep an eye on Damion James who was taken right after Trevor Booker and is probably the guy I would have taken at #23 (rightly or wrongly).

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:14 PM

good to start

Comment from dlts20
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:17 PM

Why does Flip have Gil guarding Harris? Should have Hinrich on him & Gil on Farmer so Gil can rest for Offense. Gil is also in all pass mode again so far. If he’s going to pass all days to guys like Kirk off of curls then why not start NY at the 2?

Its so dumb for Gil to pass to Kirk and he’s not a scorer and wont go up with it. Gil is making me sick. We have no scorers out there and he wont be aggressive at all. Flip should tell him to be aggressive or you will be benched

Comment from dlts20
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:19 PM

Gil is playing so dumb. He’s not going to make any shots like that. Even if he’s wide open he will miss because there is no rythm or emotion behind it. He has to play more aggressive then that. He’s actually playing worst by trying to do less. He has to do more. It will help everything, including his shooting believe it or not

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:20 PM

wizards running on wizards

Comment from Rostos
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:20 PM

Nets shooting 67% in the early going ……..

Looks like Saunders focused on D during the week……NOT…lol

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:22 PM

Nets running on wizards

Comment from proofofconcept
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:22 PM

Needs to get someoffense in the game…..

Comment from gray16
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:24 PM

i swear this team plays up or down to the talent level of the team they are facing

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:25 PM

Armstrong now 2 fouls

Comment from proofofconcept
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:27 PM

LOL….we are playing DOWN to the Nets level?….they are beating us by over 10 pts

Comment from proofofconcept
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:29 PM

any questions why lopez is better than javale, just watch the first five minutes again….

Comment from gray16
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:29 PM

one game we can play the lakers and stick with them through the first half.

the next game we are getting blown out by the nets in the first quarter.

yes, we play down to the level of the team we are facing. we play better against good teams, and worse against bad teams.

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:31 PM

good to have young in the gamer

Comment from Telvis
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:31 PM

Scoring??

Gray16…I don’t know what games you’ve been watching but if you’re watching the game tonite, my point has been proven…

Comment from gray16
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:31 PM

we need to start starting nick in the first quarter.

gilbert arenas is about as offensively useful as kevin seraphin at this point, he’s not agressive and not making shots. thorton is not a good offensive player, neither is kirk on most nights, and javale and booker are energy clean up guys.

if gilbert doesn’t want to score, we need to have nick in the starting line up.

Comment from proofofconcept
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:31 PM

i think the lakers were playing down to our level….lol….is the glass half full or half empty….

Comment from proofofconcept
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:32 PM

its more like, if gil is playing the point, he needs a REAL 2 on the floor with him….

Comment from gray16
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:33 PM

telvis, samples aren’t to be taken off of one game…

the wizards have been scoring this season, this game is just a horrid scoring effort by them. this isn’t the norm, so don’t act like it is, we don’t even have two of our starters out there…

like i said, this team can score, and has scored, but they have been struggling with defense all year, especially on the road.

Comment from proofofconcept
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:33 PM

as a matter of fact, he is making nice passes, that i have seen both seraphin and booker unable to handle….

Comment from gray16
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:36 PM

proof of concept, then that must mean that the orlando magic, miami heat, lakers (for two games), new york (in the second game), portland, all played down to our level when they faced us… seems more than a coincidence, we are playing better against better teams.

Comment from gray16
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:36 PM

proof of concept, he also had a wide open layup on that pass to booker, totally unnecessary, booker expected a shot taken, as did I

Comment from Rostos
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:39 PM

Conceeding over 30 points to one of the worst teams but also one of the worst offenses in the NBA is one of the biggest lows this Wiz team has encountered…..

Until Saunders goes, everyone here will continue to have heart ache……

he lost this team a long time ago…….

All what this team does is come out dis interested, gets blown out and plays the rest of the game for there stats……..

Thats what this teams identity

Comment from proofofconcept
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:39 PM

we had other starters on the floor against those teams, this team had no offense on the floor to start. Gil isn’t superman. he had four players on the floor who aren’t known for lighting it up and we haven’t had defense all year, why act surprised.

hope ndiaye has a career night. who’s teaching this players, all these big men and all of them do the same mistakes?

Comment from proofofconcept
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:41 PM

lol…as a matter of fact, the bench (mostly NY) is the one that came in most games and kept the wiz in the game….

Comment from proofofconcept
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:42 PM

at the end of the day, we are losing, so what’s the point?

Comment from Rostos
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:42 PM

EVeryone in here is talking about scoring, scoring, scoring and scoring………..Maybe the other end of the court is the problem…..just maybe…….

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:42 PM

Alright work to do.

Comment from gray16
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:43 PM

lol, rostos, can’t believe i’m saying this, but i agree, defense is the problem

tonight both offense and defense are the problem

Comment from proofofconcept
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:46 PM

once again, who is teaching the basics? can’t set a pick….REALLY?

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:47 PM

Great drive by young

Comment from Rostos
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:51 PM

This team is a mess…………Give up offensive boards (effort areas)……..cant defend full stop…..

They dont know what tempo to play with…….

A real mess…..

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:52 PM

need to ake the nets play d stop quick shots

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:54 PM

21-8 reb edge nets

Comment from dlts20
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:54 PM

I blame this all on Flip. This team is 6-17 or whatever and still plays with the worst effort in the league. Flip’s lineups & rotations are the worst in the league. His playbook is horrible and worst of all he lets Gil get away with coasting. If I was Flip or any other player on that team I would tell Gil if he’s going to coast then dont even play. Just sit on the bench. I would never let him get away with not being aggressive as a coach, espically when we have 2 injuried scorers out.

We start Hinrich, Booker, Al, & McGee and Gil is the most passive one on the court? It makes no sense. Id bench him for that crap. Then when he does shoot its always horribly lifeless shots. The same way our team plays as a whole. Horribly coached right now and Flip accepts it. Ill be so glad when Wall comes back. Gil atleast cant just stand at the top passing to cutters all day when Wall has the rock

Comment from proofofconcept
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:56 PM

Rookies, bench players, whatever. This is the NBA, get somebody on this staff to get maximum effort out of these players. Drop the “back to basics” line and actually teach back to basics on this team

Comment from proofofconcept
Time December 16, 2010 at 8:58 PM

a quarter and a half and we don’t even have 25 points….i hope we don’t set any records, but the way this is going…..

Comment from proofofconcept
Time December 16, 2010 at 9:01 PM

farmer is like 5 inches smaller than gil, while flip has some deficiencies, the players also should recognize the advantage and send gil on the block. Just going through the motions.

Whether flip is the problem or not, the lack of focus, desire, basic dos and don’ts on a court don’t even exist. I would say start all the rookies if the vets can’t get it down….

thanks for the shoutout guys

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 16, 2010 at 9:03 PM

Nets own the paint

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 16, 2010 at 9:07 PM

Thornton showing some life and so is booker

Comment from gray16
Time December 16, 2010 at 9:08 PM

i think the wizards are starting to show some life all together dj, let’s hope they can continue

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time December 16, 2010 at 9:14 PM

Sorry slow on replies internet problems

Comment from WE WANT A WINNER
Time December 16, 2010 at 9:17 PM

Another disappointing season we thought was going to include a young team fighting hard every night. We should think about making some trades and coaching/medical staff changed

Comment from gray16
Time December 16, 2010 at 9:19 PM

watch out for a third quarter run by the wiz, they seem to do that every now then after having bad first halfs, let’s hope it happens again tonight

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time December 16, 2010 at 9:29 PM

Boy, we really came ready to play tonight, huh?

Booker looks good. Nick getting to the line but playing sloppy defense. And in 17 1/2 minutes, he has ONE rebound. Quintin Ross has 7 in the same minutes.

Gil goes 1-8, but hey at least he has 3 turnovers. Kirk is looking like he’s 120 tonight.

Total regression by JaVale too. Bah, what a mess!

Comment from dlts20
Time December 16, 2010 at 9:34 PM

The funniest thing of all is that NJ sucks. There starting lineup tonight was the worst starting lineup Ive ever seen & yet they make us look like a HS team. Gil is still getting payed 20mil a year and acts like he doesnt owe us anything. You still have to play hard and atleast “try” to be an elite player.

You cant just say that you just want to pass and are content with that role. If thats the case then give us 16mil back and take Kirk Hinrich’s contract because right now you are just a role player like him. He thinks that crap is ok and Flip lets him get away with it like an idiot. Id be all on his butt telling him to play harder or sit down.

I swear Sam Cassell could do what he’s doing right now. He’s just standing at the top of the key & passing it to guys off the curl or going around & pick and immediatly throwing it right back. Anyone could do that. Those assist arent even real if thats all youre doing

Comment from Mr. Know it All
Time December 16, 2010 at 9:43 PM

Nothing to really blog about tonight (unless we make a comeback). Just wanted to say Wuz up to all the Wizard faithful out there!!!

Comment from gray16
Time December 16, 2010 at 9:47 PM

kirk hinrich sparking the predictable 3rd quarter comeback lol

re-run

Comment from Mr. Know it All
Time December 16, 2010 at 9:47 PM

O.K. now it’s a game!!!

Comment from tyrone2000
Time December 16, 2010 at 9:48 PM

If the Wizards fire Flip they should fire everyone on his staff too.

Comment from maggicman11
Time December 16, 2010 at 9:49 PM

this game is awful. i dont know who is less interested, the fans at the game, the players in the game, or me watching the game..

Comment from gray16
Time December 16, 2010 at 10:11 PM

booker is having an amazing night, really like what i’m seeing from him, haven’t seen this much confidence from his since his college days

Comment from gray16
Time December 16, 2010 at 10:13 PM

we always talk about motivation from flip, but someone has to be talking to this team after these horrid first halfs

i can’t keep track of how many times we did this, fall flat in the first half just to come out energized in the second and put ourselves right back into it.

someone’s in that locker room getting this team to step it up.

Comment from gray16
Time December 16, 2010 at 10:44 PM

didn’t have the energy the entire game, if we had played the entire game the way we did the second half, this would’ve been a win for sure.

gotta learn from this, get the energy going for saturday.

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time December 16, 2010 at 10:47 PM

I want a blog member to make an argument on why we should not change the coach?

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time December 16, 2010 at 11:02 PM

Glenn thank you for taking my call on the post game

Comment from gray16
Time December 16, 2010 at 11:09 PM

jeff,

i’ll say this. i wouldn’t mind seeing a new coach, but i also don’t think a lot of the problems wrong with this team are because of the coach.

but in the end, there’s only 2 seasons left on his contract after this season, and by that time wall will only be in his 3rd going into 4th season. so that would be a great time to switch coaches if we felt flip wasn’t up to the task. wall will have learned a lot about the game by then, we should have gotten some other youth we want to proceed with, and we could start building a system with the team.

but for right now, whether you like it or not, i think we are stuck with flip. but as long as he helps to progress our players, while i hate losses when they happen, overall, he will have done a good enough job in his time here.

and at this point, yes, i think flip will be gone when his contract is up.

Comment from WE WANT A WINNER
Time December 16, 2010 at 11:13 PM

Congratulations Wizards. We are officially the worst team in the Eastern Conference.

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 16, 2010 at 11:13 PM

The Wizards have one offensive play..high pick for the point guard, unless Slick is in the game, then the Wizards have TWO offensive plays. The second involves Slick running around dow low trying to get some separation from the man guarding high so that he can get the ball. Other than for those two plays, NO ONE EVER MOVES!!!!!!!!!!!! What the heck does Suanders get paid to do?

Comment from Arthritic
Time December 16, 2010 at 11:21 PM

since im not going to watch any more games this season i didnt watch the game… but i figured wed lose.

checked the box score from time to time… looks like we were down about 20, made a run and still lost. lol

soooooooooooooooo horribad.

worst record in the east but still 4th best record in the league. lose the rest and increase our chances for the first pick!

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 16, 2010 at 11:24 PM

So Ross starts for the Nets even though he was the 12th man, and a throw-away in a trade, for the Saunders-led Wizards. Ross got 5 points and 9 boards in 30:35 while the player who (I guess) replaced him, N’Diaye gets ZERO in 2:49. That is not a knock on N’Diaye. It is an observation of how a good coach can get the best out of a player by putting him in a position to succeed while a lousy coach leaves him at the end of the bench to rot away. I’m certain that Ross thanks his lucky stars daily that he got away from Saunders.

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time December 16, 2010 at 11:26 PM

We have the talent to win and be competitive, and believe me you can coach energy and effort! How you may ask, by cutting minutes!!!!!! As a fan, relieve the coach and pay him for the remainder of the contract and insert Cassell on an interim basis for the rest of the year.

Wall or no Wall, the Wizards will not win until Arenas is once again the focal part of the offense. Young is having a consistent year because it is a contract year!!

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time December 16, 2010 at 11:28 PM

Gee and Martin deserve to get more run, and Kirk needs to play less not more…….Young should start with Arenas in the back court with Blatche and McGee and Booker. Kirk, Wall and Thorton should come off the bench…….

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time December 16, 2010 at 11:29 PM

We can change the name for next year, but we need more changes than that to be good, and it should start this year…

Comment from dlts20
Time December 16, 2010 at 11:30 PM

Did McGee Just Get Benched?

it sounded kinda like that coming from Flip after the game. He was talking about injuries & guys showing there true colors or something and he said that maybe right now McGee is just not a starter. He said anytime we play someone good, he either gets schooled or gets in foul trouble.

Im actually starting to come around with those who say that McGee & Dray may not be the best mix, atleast not right now while Dray is soft & injuried & McGee is still a little too thin. I think Flip will start HA but I may like to see what we look like with Dray & Seraphin together. Im a McGee fan but he’s regressed a ton lately. I could see him doing better coming off the bench with his energy and I think he dominates all the backup bigs in the league, espically with his new experience. I dont mind HA for now for a defensive presence but if he sucks then I hope we give Seraphin a look. Him & Dray together could be a nice duo

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time December 16, 2010 at 11:33 PM

How in the world could the coach come out and say McGee is not a starter right now?

McGee is a starter for this team please Flip do not mess with his confidence! What are we doing with this franchise?

Comment from tyrone2000
Time December 16, 2010 at 11:37 PM

I believe the Wizards have the talent to win now too, but something is wrong. I believe Flip needs to rely more on what veterans he has and sub for energy. I don’t believe this retards the growth of the talented yougsters. Not in favor of Martin getting more playing time and I am starting to sour on McGee.

Comment from WE WANT A WINNER
Time December 16, 2010 at 11:41 PM

Wall, Blatche, and Howard please come back soon. I want to see interesting games. Flip please resign, you’re hurting your reputation.

Comment from dlts20
Time December 16, 2010 at 11:43 PM

I definetly wouldnt be upset if McGee kept his job though, atleast for awhile because he probably looks alot better with a healthy Wall pushing the rock and he will also look better when we get fully healthy in a few games and he is the last option who doesnt get any attention

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 16, 2010 at 11:47 PM

I don’t want to hear anything about wait until we have all of our players healthy. Every team has injuries. This is no longer a matter of which players are available to play. It is a matter of how do we coach the available players.

The Wizards CAN NOT afford to waste the remainder of this season on Saunders. The man demonstrates NO offensive coaching skills (other than to use Larry Brown’s series of low picks to free Slick for a shot like Larry did for Rip). NO defensive coaching skills – Flip’s match-up zone defense works for about two trips down the floor, and then the opponents start to pick it apart.

The Wizards need a NEW LOOK, a NEW IMAGE, a WELCOME TO MY BRAND OF THE NBA face. The Wizards need Sam Cassell, and the Wizards need him NOW! I understand that the Wizards want to promote the #1 pick in order to sell season tickets, but having the #1 pick who is coached by the #30 coach is bad for everyone. Believe me, season ticket holders who buy the high-priced lower-level tickets know what is going on. Those season ticket holders will only tolerate so much. The guy who sits in front of me only comes to games against high-profile opponents…he sells his tickets otherwise. Those tickets are bought by people who root for our opponents. I hate it! I will not tolerate it for next season.

Sam Cassell is energetic. He understands the NBA game. He can relate to the players. The players respect him. Ted, please bite the bullet. Fire Saunders and make Sam the coach. Otherwise, I know that, as of this moment, I am not renewing my tickets for next season.

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time December 16, 2010 at 11:49 PM

@tyrone-sour on McGee? Please explain? And trust Flip to play the vet’s more????

Something is wrong is true, and the answer is…..(take a guess)

We are not good on offense, defense, transition, rotations, you name it..

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time December 16, 2010 at 11:51 PM

As a fan and proud supporter of this franchise, this may be one of the LOWEST points…As long as make excuses and take ZERO responsibility for the product of the floor, we will never be a good or elite team in the NBA….

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 16, 2010 at 11:56 PM

You’ve got it right again, Charles. If we swapped the entire team out for different players and kept the same head coach, the result would be the same. If we swapped the head coach and kept the players the same, the result would be a much better W/L record and a more promising future.

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 17, 2010 at 12:04 AM

While, it is, of course important, the Wizards Win-Loss record is not really the issue. Do we want to win more games, sure, but we all understand that the Wizards management looks upon this year as a rebuilding season. The real issue is do we believe that the Wizards can become a winning franchise with the current head coach running the show? I think not; and I believe that many other Wizards fans think not also. That is the real rub.

Comment from tyrone2000
Time December 17, 2010 at 12:19 AM

Mc Gee is frequently pushed out of position or just being out of position. Other than the ocassional out of control plays, I like the way he plays but he is not a starter. He plays hard, blocks a few shots, and he hustles which makes it hard to believe he is not a starter. He is a talented young and serviceable backup at the most. He simple does not use positioning for anything. I don’t believe he understands the importance of getting position. He still wants to rely on his athletics which gets him by against most backups. As a fan it is hard to see this when he swats a shot but veteran teams have consistently picked him a part by making that extra past after he moves out of position. Sometimes you have to take a charge or when he knows he will block a shot instead of blocking it out of bounds aim the block to get a fast break going. I thought Paul Gasol was playing with him and kind of thought the same with Lopez and others. Right now I believe he and Wall could develope a game playing against other teams backups. If his ego is that fragile if he gets demoted than I would look for a trade! Right now McGee is just a highlight on ESPN and has very little to do with winning!

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time December 17, 2010 at 12:47 AM

@tyrone-McGee will only get better by allowing him to start and playu major minutes and work through whatever mistakes he may have..The good far outweighs the bad in his case…

Getabig-I also agree with you, it is the rub can this coaching staff lead us through a rebuilding process? I am with you, NO and that is the real question and answer..

Comment from tyrone2000
Time December 17, 2010 at 1:34 AM

…and expect the same results as far as winning and losing…

Comment from proofofconcept
Time December 17, 2010 at 8:03 AM

winning and losing isn’t an issue with me right now, because it really isn’t expected with the roster that we have. But if this past training camp was “back to basics” and the only man that can set a pick is the rookie that missed most of training camp, then what is going on here? We are seeing this team unable to do the basic fundamentals. Yes, the zone isn’t doing a thing to help and the play calling or lack thereof is astounding, but some of the basic fundamentals are seriously lacking. Outside of an individual’s skills, there is nothing else happening on this team.

Honestly, the assistants are just as good as the head coach. they are supposed to aid the head coach in performing their duties. The assistants should be helping get back to basics also, so if the whole team is bad, then the assistants are just as much to blame as the head coach.

I really don’t understand McGEE. His choices are minor league when it comes to fouling. He’s really not a center, all of the centers muscle him, he’s more of a power forward. I can’t blame him for the rebounds, etc, because he’s always bailing a beat wizard out of trouble, then his man roams free for offensive boards (no team help on d)

Unfortunately, the only changes that can be made right now are the coach and gm. theres really nothing else to get rid of, outside of gil’s contract. unless we take out someone else’s garbage, only one or two players can get us a first round pick.

Comment from proofofconcept
Time December 17, 2010 at 8:08 AM

another thing, why can other teams break down the good and bad about our team, but the only thing flip can say about the other team is we (as in the wiz), can only win if we hustle? does he know the weakspots of the other teams. Is there something that we can attack on another team?

Kudos to ross for getting nine rebounds…lol…there goes that small forward that we’ve been looking for all year?….lol….and he was only 1 million towards our cap room?…….but hindsight is 20/20…..

#canigetaHomerSimpson….”D’oh!” !!!!!!

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time December 17, 2010 at 8:49 AM

In a sense, I wish we would change coaches just so you all could move on to another subject!!

@ Getabig — Ross was traded for Yi, who is injured; it’s a little unfair to compare a veteran to “H”, who is a raw late round 2 pick. Unfair to “H” I mean.

No one mentions the outstanding performance Kris Humphries had. I’ve always thought he was a good player, an under-rated player.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time December 17, 2010 at 8:54 AM

Someone said Kirk should play less. He shot 50% last night and had 4 steals. Who you want to play in his place? One of the D Leaguers?

Last night Seraphin came in for 4+ minutes in the 2d quarter. He had 2 boards, made his only shot and had a steal. He never got back in. Why? Yes, he also had a TO and 2 fouls, but still….

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time December 17, 2010 at 9:12 AM

Btw, someone said NJ is a terrible team, but I don’t see where they are much different from the Wizards — similar in a lot of ways.

They have some extremely promising rookies and young players — especially Lopez and Derrick Favors who reminds me of John Wall in having a tremendous ceiling, playing extraordinarily well at times, and making dumb rookie errors other times. Damion James, out with a broken leg or something, is another one.

Like us, they have some end-of-career players who’ll be there short term and then free up cap room for more growth through youth — Troy Murphy, Ross, Graham come to mind.

And they have some up and down players, just as we do. Travis Outlaw, Devin Harris, Farmar.

Like us, they are oriented towards the future. Like us they have an old-style GM (Billy King) who may not be able to execute that kind of strategy. And like us, they have a coach who was successful with a good team and is being unsuccessful with their bad team.

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 17, 2010 at 9:24 AM

Regarding Ross, I stated that my comment wasn’t a knock on a player, it was a observation about how a guy who couldn’t get two minutes per game from Saunders became a starter for another coach. Some coaches can get the best out of their players, others can’t.

Comment from dlts20
Time December 17, 2010 at 9:53 AM

yeah, McGee’s stats are crazy good per 36 and Flip definitely has it out for him. Its always Javalle’s fault and he has by far the shortest leash on the team. With that being said, if he’s not going to get major minutes then maybe its best for him to come off the bench. If he’s only going to get 28mpg then his numbers would probably be even better against backups and give us a much needed energy boost. Him & NY together with Kirk could be a very good 2nd unit for now, if our starters can get it together when healthy. This is just one of those things that could go either way

Comment from proofofconcept
Time December 17, 2010 at 10:02 AM

But it is up to Javale to perform once he is on the floor. 20+ minutes, 5 fouls….cmon son, you are better than that (droid, don’t ever say lopez is worse than javale, he owned the whole team last night).

Javale is a backup right now, no excuse, all from his performances or he is a starting PF?

Comment from gray16
Time December 17, 2010 at 10:38 AM

flip has to do with javale what he did with nick. break him out of his current mindset of just jumping jumping jumping and get him to play smarter defense.

i swear it seemed like flip told mcgee not to get a paper’s width of air under his shoes in the fourth, and it worked, mcgee was playing much smarter, better defense. but the damage had already been done since he had already had 4 fouls, so once he got the next one, he was pretty much done.

the coaching staff just has to tell mcgee to play under control, don’t go for the blocks, just try to stop the man. i know javale loves to block the ball, but highlight plays aren’t what leads to wins. it’s ok to go for a block sometimes, but going for it all the time just leaves you out of position and fouling a lot, and that’s where dray is now.

if the staff can get him to play smarter (he can do this coming off the bench or starting, his mistakes are so big he’ll make them in 4 minutes of play or 20) then he will be a much better player.

Comment from gray16
Time December 17, 2010 at 10:45 AM

gabbo, if you give flip a talented roster, you don’t think he would win games?… is that why he won with minnesota and detroit… just coincidence…

as for flip, like i said, i don’t care if we get rid of him, i don’t really think we are going anywhere without him at this point either. like tom, i wish we would switch coaches just so i could stop hearing about it. we aren’t a talented team, especially with three of our best players hurt (wall, blatche, howard), so i’m kinda annoyed that people are acting like a “good” coach would lead us to the promise land.

like tom said, look at what avery johnson is doing right now, look at where larry brown had the knicks, look how the rockets are doing for rick adelman, look where the celtics were under doc rivers before the big three.. the list goes on, even “good” coaches can’t win without good talent.

Comment from gray16
Time December 17, 2010 at 10:54 AM

and now people are talking about quinton ross?

yay he got 9 rebounds… that’s a tad better than his 1.2 per game this season… and he got 30+ minutes… just a smidgit over his 10.7 per game this season, which is a heck of a lot better than his 10.4 per game with the wizards…

9 rebounds, amazing, our small forward problems would be solved… let’s totally forget that yi has done that this season, booker has done that this season, etc. i’m pretty sure if ross was on the team now, he would be getting 9 rebounds per game and all our problems would be solved!

1.2 ppg, 1.2 rpg, .3 apg, 1.1 fpg, all in 10 mpg for the nets… an amazing player he is, can’t believe we let him slip through our fingers…

Comment from gray16
Time December 17, 2010 at 11:00 AM

jeff,

make gilbert the focal point of this team? didn’t we try this already… it got us to the second round once, and three first round exits after that.

and now, he’s no where near as good as he used to be, he’s a shell of his former self with a contract eating up most of our salary cap.

the only thing gil should be a focal point of is getting rid of imo.

Comment from dlts20
Time December 17, 2010 at 11:06 AM

Gil said this after the game about lineup changes and it made me mad:

Gilbert Arenas, who overcame a rough start to score 19 points, agreed with Saunders’s general assessment that something has to change with this team, especially with this road losing streak causing the Wizards to sink deeper into irrelevance. “You never thought it would get this far, but we lost to one of the teams that was with us, but we’ve got to keep fighting,” he said. “I feel that some of these players do need to sit and watch the game and they’ll learn, because they are not learning by playing. We’re 20-something games and we’re not learning. Some players need to learn, sit, watch what veterans do, then go in. When everyone’s young, there’s no sitting.”
———————————————————-

Im not saying he’s wrong overall but Arenas needs to shut up with his Jason Campbell “its not my fault” act. I was a Campbell fan but soured on him when it was never his fault for anything. Thats how Gil sounds now. He’s been worst then most of the young guys half the time and Im the biggest Gil fan there is. When is he going to say something about himself needing to do better? Its easy to pick on the young guys just like AJ did but play like crap yourself. Hopefully he realized in that 2nd half that he needs to be more aggressive. 0ft attempts in the last 3 games isnt going to cut it

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 17, 2010 at 11:17 AM

dlts,

That’s hilarious!

Gilbert should be sitting. He is a $80million jump shooter.
Stop giving minutes to Gilbert and give it to Nick Young who has proven this year that he should be our starting Big Guard.

When John Wall comes back and our starting back court is not John Wall and Nick Young then I would say FIRE Flip Saunders for being incompetent.

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 17, 2010 at 11:19 AM

What in Sam Cassells Resume says that he should be our Head Coach?

He is a guard and obviously cannot Coach UP Gilbert and Kirk.

What has he done to deserve being a Head Coach?

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 17, 2010 at 11:22 AM

Sam Cassell is Flip Saunders.
They have been together for so long that Sam will probably Coach the exact same way.

Sam’s next job is to be an assistant with another head coach so that he can get another coaching perspective.

Then he “may” get a shot at being a Head Coach.
MAY is a big word.

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 17, 2010 at 11:25 AM

99% sure that if Flip gets fired, very unlikely, that Randy Wittman takes over as interim Head Coach. Sorry, no Sam Cassell in this mix for Head Coach.
PS- Sam probably gets fired or quits if Flip is released.

Comment from gray16
Time December 17, 2010 at 12:36 PM

if we need the young guys to sit, let’s pay for a field trip to la and let them sit on the lakers bench every game…

might as well let them watch good veterans play the game.

and yes, gilbert isn’t playing well either, he’s making mistakes too.

it takes more than 20 games to learn. yes, some guys should be making more progress in some things such as javale’s dumb mistakes, but you still have to be patient.

i don’t think gil wants to be here any more than management wants him here. i think this is a situation where he’s stuck here. i don’t think he’s giving his all out there, i think he’s trying to a part of this team rather than the leader. he is going to help wall while he’s here (i believe) but other than that, i don’t think he has much connection to this team. i believe he wants out, he wants to be somewhere where he’s the main guy with the keys in his hands.

and while i have great love for what gil did for this team in previous years, i don’t want him here if he doesn’t want to be here. unfortunately, we are stuck with him. good thing is, he isn’t doing the worst he could be doing here. he’s not being disruptive, too much at least anyway. he is seeming to try to teach the young guys some stuff.

but he’s not going out there trying to win games for this team, he’s trying to teach the young guys how to win games. but if he’s going to do that by being a different player and not his usual scoring self, he needs to be patient with the young guys for the remaining time he is here. i know you’re frustrated gil, but hang in there and just try to help this team a little longer.

Comment from dlts20
Time December 17, 2010 at 1:02 PM

Man I made a post about an hour ago but it must didnt come up. I dont feel like retyping it but I said something to the effect that I wouldnt go as far as zoid because Gil still has the biggest upside of anyone on our team for “this” season. Gil is just a headcase that you have to get right but if he gets right then he can completely change how we look as a team. Sometimes Gil goes through these mental flows but bounces back when you least expect it. Lets hope thats the case this time

Comment from ericw
Time December 17, 2010 at 1:36 PM

Thought Arenas looked like crap last night. Like someone else said, it just seemed like he would stand at the top of the key and throw the ball around.. maybe throw a shot up every couple possessions. I don’t think he penetrated at all in the first half.

Armstrong looked like crap (which is what I expect). What did he have like 2 offensive fouls in his first minute? Give me a break.

Last night it was like McGee’s feet only went up and down, not side-to-side.

Thornton can be very effective if he plays within himself. He is excellent when he stays with the SHORT jumper, taking it to the hole, and playing with energy. He often deviates from that though and then he ends up looking bad as well.

Comment from Arthritic
Time December 17, 2010 at 1:40 PM

For the first time ever, I will write a blog post with proper punctuation.

If you guys don’t agree with things I list here, you either don’t know basketball or are blinded by your love for the team. I love this team, but I know why we’re bad.

The reasons why the Wizards are horrible:

1. Gilbert Arenas: He is fat. He makes hundreds of millions of dollars and he can’t get in shape? The reason why he is playing horrendously is due to the lack of speed. He is not Ray Allen, his jump shot isn’t good enough to make that his entire offensive repertoire. Get in shape or sit on the bench.

2. JaVale McGee: He has no game. Period. He should quit basketball the next time he shoots an ugly jump shot from outside of 10 feet. Once he can shoot 80% from the free throw line he will be eligible to take one or two jump shots, but until then, never again. Words can’t describe how bad he is on offense. He has absolutely no offensive moves. This is his 3rd year in the league and he still hasn’t improved offensively? How is that even possible? When he gets the ball he’ll either dunk or jump from 8+ feet away from the basket and run over someone in the process; resulting in an offensive foul. He needs to learn some foot work, develop post moves, learn how to defend (instead of purposely letting the guy shoot so he can get a block 30% of the time or end up getting called for goaltending/let the guy score/foul 70% of the time) and learn the game from the basics because I honestly don’t think he knows what he’s doing on the court.

3. Nick Young: Right now, he is BY FAR our best offensive player. No one even comes close.
“He attempted 10 free throws in a game for just the third time in his career. “I went to the line 10 times today? I just wanted to attack more. Last game, I settled for jumpers. I’m used to Lopez, I dealt with him in the Pac-10.”
I have a better idea. Why not attack “more” EVERY GAME instead of one specific game.
“Oh, I used to play against this guy (Lopez) in college so I think I should say hello down low and attack tonight.”
Don’t just do it one game, do it every game. He needs to mix up his offense with jump shots and penetrations. Why not do it when he’s fully capable of doing so? AND when he shoots a high percentage from the free throw line?
I honestly don’t have much to complain about Nick Young since he’s been the teams best player so far this season. I just think if he mixes up his offense he’ll be even better than he is now.

4. Kirk Hinrich: He is not the best ball handler in the world. I’ve seen him get the ball stolen so many times while he was dribbling. If he is on the floor with Arenas or Wall, he should not be the one handling the ball. In my opinion, Kirk does have the best looking shooting form. He should try to get open and shoot instead of trying to handle the ball.

5. Yi Jian Lian: He has a pretty decent jump shot. He is probably the most athletic big man we have other than JaVale. We all know he has absolutely no moves in the post. I think he should concentrate on his strengths rather than forcing himself to do things he is not used to doing. You can’t force a guy to work in the post when his natural strength is to play facing the basket from 15+ feet. He should concentrate on perfecting his jump shot so he can make it with consistency. He should watch how Dirk plays and try to play like he does.

6. Andray Blatche: He is very skilled. He is basically like Lamar Odom without the athleticism. Around the basket, Andray Blatche probably has more offensive moves than Lamar does, but he lacks the explosiveness to finish strong. I can’t really blame him for not being athletic, but you can get more athletic by working out. Andray, ever since he came into the league, had no muscle definition. He still doesn’t. Hit the gym.

7. Trevor Booker: I am actually pretty happy that we drafted him. Insanely athletic and strong. His jump shot needs a little more work and he needs to get better offensively, but I think we have a pretty bright future with him.

8. John Wall: My favorite player. http://www.nbadraft.net/players/john-wall
I completely agree with everything stated in the above link. He’s still a rookie so he’ll learn, but he really needs to take care of his body if he is going to be the face of this franchise.

9. Josh Howard: Come back. Easily our best player at the SF position. He definitely won’t be as good as he used to be in Dallas, but I still think he’s good enough to be better than Thornton.

10. Kevin Seraphin: Extremely HUGE and athletic for his size. I hope he develops soon and reaches his potential.

11. Everyone else is not worth mentioning.

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time December 17, 2010 at 2:40 PM

Per Tom Mandel-”Someone said Kirk should play less. He shot 50% last night and had 4 steals. Who you want to play in his place? One of the D Leaguers?”

@Tom-are you again just looking at the stats, you ask the question who I would like to play in his place? Give me Young and his contract year to start and go with a more conventional starting line up of Arenas and Young in the backcourt, Dray, (Martin/Gee/Booker/take your pick..and McGee….

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 17, 2010 at 11:19 AM

What in Sam Cassells Resume says that he should be our Head Coach?

He is a guard and obviously cannot Coach UP Gilbert and Kirk.

What has he done to deserve being a Head Coach?

@draftzoid-Sam’s resume is one of a proven NBA player who can relate to the players of today, and would bring energy and respect to the locker room. He is not Flip, he is on his staff and that is where the similarities end. Sam also won a championship and numerous playoff appearances and ties to the area, Sam needs to be named the Coach on an interim basis. I trust a former player in the NBA to get a shot, not to mention one who was also a PG..

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 17, 2010 at 2:58 PM

Flip hired Sam. Flip is Fired then Sam is Fired.

Sorry JeffMalone,

Sam just finished playing ball.
He might try to be the players friends.
Players may try to run over Sam.

No one really knows if Sam will be a good coach. Maybe one day. But not today.

Having ties to the area means squat on the bench.

If you Fire Flip then you get rid of the whole system which includes Sam Cassell.

Besides, my wife like Barkleys bald head better than Sam’s bald head (she says Barkley has the best bald head in the history of bald heads).

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time December 17, 2010 at 3:02 PM

@Draftzoid-how can you be so sure that Sam would have the same philosophy as Flip? I would like to rebuild w\ Sam given a chance this season to do just that, and I like his acumen as it relates to basketball. So I say give him a chance….

Whittman however would be a clone of Flip, so I as a fan do not want to see him as Coach…

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 17, 2010 at 3:06 PM

I love the descriptions for Andray Blatche from our Bloggers.

1. First it was Andray is just as good as Amare Stoudemire.
2. Now it’s Andray is just as good as Lamar Odom.
3. Next month we will say he is just as good as Kwame Brown.
It just gets lower and lower and lower.

The sad part is that if Andray ever wants to be a great Power Forward he has the ability to do it.
The problem is that when you have played so many years with a soft player like Brendan Haywaood you start to play soft just like him.

Come on Andray. Get down low. Get Nasty. Decide that you own the Paint and GO DO IT!

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 17, 2010 at 3:17 PM

Saunders does not pay Sam’s salary, the Wizards pay it. Firing Saunders does not mean that Sam is fired also. There is plenty of precedence for an assistant coach replacing a head coach. In fact, that is usually what happens if a head coach is fired mid-season.

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 17, 2010 at 3:22 PM

@drafty – You have season tickets. Have you paid any attention to Sam on the sidelines? Does it look as though he might be influenced in his decisions by friendship toward any particular player(s)? The man’s a competitor. If anyone didn’t play like he expected them to play, they’d hear about it.

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 17, 2010 at 3:25 PM

I’m certain that MJ would take exception to the fact that your wife thinks that the “Round-mound” has the best bald head.

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 17, 2010 at 3:36 PM

“and now people are talking about quinton ross?” -gray16

No one was advocating for Ross. The comment had to do with a coach’s ability to get the best from his players. Obviously, Avery Johnson is able to get more out of Ross than Saunders was able to get. I’m really surprised by that. NOT.

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 17, 2010 at 3:37 PM

Sam would be “at least” 5th in line to be the Interim Head Coach.

1. Randy Wittman- top assistant. Former NBA Head Coach
2. Gene Banks- 20+ years coaching. College head coach
3. Mike Wells- 4 years Assistant Coach under Greg Popovich plus 1 year Assistant Coach under Rudy Tomjanovich.
4. Wes Unseld Jr.- 5 years assistant coach with the Wizards
5. Sam Cassell- First year Assistant Coach.

No Chance Sam gets to the front of the line. Heck, Mike Wells was under Popovich with the Spurs for 4 years.

Comment from gray16
Time December 17, 2010 at 3:46 PM

gabbo,

ross’s stats (w/ respected teams)

wizards: 1.5 ppg, .9 rpg, .2 apg, .2 spg, 30% fg, 10.4 mpg
nets: 1.2 ppg. 1.2 rpg., .3 apg, .2 spg, 33% fg, 10.7 mpg

yeah, avery johnson is getting so much more out of ross…

Comment from draftazoid
Time December 17, 2010 at 3:49 PM

Whose Quintin Ross?

SCRUB

Comment from gray16
Time December 17, 2010 at 3:51 PM

charles and kenny were talking about john wall’s tendonitus last night, saying you can’t miss games with that, if they missed games because of it, they would’ve never played a game

i guess john’s gonna have to toughen up, sounds like flip was right about john never being completely healthy from it. john’s gonna have to learn how to score and be effective even when he’s not 100, but since he relies on his athleticism so much, it’s gonna take some time. but i think he will do it, he has a lot of competitiveness and will. but he’ll have to learn how to play with the pain, as many players do.

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 17, 2010 at 3:51 PM

Wittman or Wells gives us more of the same. I think that Gene Banks could do a good job. I believe that the best coaches have been in the trenches themselves and Wes Jr. never played in the NBA. IMHO, Sam is the right man at this time.

Comment from neal
Time December 17, 2010 at 4:40 PM

draftazoid, you seem to think we should have some basis in reason for saying something on this site. I deon’t know about others but I don’t intend to be so restricted.

We lost to the nets because:
1) they put better players on the floor, and
2) they were better at executing
Same story, all over again.

There are about three weeks left before the trade deadline. I trust if by then Arenas and Young are still playing as they are now there will be a change in our starting lineup.

Comment from getabigboyoffense
Time December 17, 2010 at 4:53 PM

Wittman, Banks and Cassell are the only Wizards coaches who played in the NBA. I can’t find anything in their bios that indicated that either Wells or Zierden even played in college.

Comment from WE WANT A WINNER
Time December 17, 2010 at 5:00 PM

Josh Howard seems like he is really close to his return. We really need a spark in the line up.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time December 17, 2010 at 6:16 PM

@ Jeffmalone — well at the top of the previous thread I *did* say that I wanted to see Nick starting at the 2, , so I can’t argue with that idea.

My point about Kirk is that he is playing pretty well. And, no, I didn’t just look at the stats; I watch the games and see him playing well. Of course, that’s mirrored in his numbers! Duh.

Comment from proofofconcept
Time December 17, 2010 at 6:41 PM

ummmmmm, look at sam’s resume?

are you kidding? you will get your feelings hurt. Do you understand the number of GREAT coaches that this man has played for??????

#sometimespeopletypejusttouseuptheirink

in other news:

ted’s philosophy:

Ted tells @sportsguy33 “in theory,” it should be easier to rebuild an NBA team than an NHL team because NBA players play more.

Ted on his drafting philosophy: “It’s very infrequent that it’s just the players you draft that get you home, but you gotta start somewhere”

Ted Leonsis tells @sportsguy33 that he wouldn’t have traded the 5th pick if he was owner. “It’s just wrong for what my belief is.” #wizards

RT @sportsguy33: BS Report: Ted Leonsis on life as an owner and what it’s like to own 2 teams in the same city. http://es.pn/efXfXM

hear it for yourself…..

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time December 18, 2010 at 9:03 AM

Avery Johnson is getting “so much more” out of his players, Getabig??

The Nets have more or less the same record as we do. If the coach is a big influence on his team’s success — as you have claimed repeatedly — then why don’t you think Avery Johnson is doing a bad job of getting the best out of his players?

Johnson has a team full of lottery draft choices, btw — i.e. players who showed a lot of talent in college, etc.

Comment from proofofconcept
Time December 18, 2010 at 9:30 AM

RAPTORS 98, NETS 92: A tired script repeated itself once again as the Nets lost for the ninth time in 10 games and fell to 7-20 on the season. Up six points with just under nine-and-a-half minutes left, the Nets crumbled at both ends. They failed to get key stops and that took away their ability to run and once again their shooting woes kicked in. Brook Lopez scored 20 points in defeat.

Our team being up in the fourth quarter isn’t a reality this season. Our team being up in any quarter isn’t a reality this season….