No place for guns in Washington posted by Andy Charles

As if things weren’t bad enough for the Washington Wizards, Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton have now apparently decided that the locker room is the right place to show off their guns.

No, I am not talking about the size of their respective biceps, but I am referring to the weapons pulled in the locker room after an argument over a gambling debt got out of hand.

Guns? Gambling? Sounds like Arenas and Crittenton are trying to break all of the NBA’s strict rules in one fell swoop.

Although many of the reports last week made it sound like the new version of Gunfight At The OK Corral, and may well have been over-playing it, the fact that both players seemingly had unloaded firearms in their lockers is bad enough.

Only just over a year after Plaxico Burress managed to shoot himself in the thigh, firearms are back on the sports pages and both players may find themselves having to explain their actions to David Stern, with the chance of heavy fines and suspensions possibly following.

The incident could also be the perfect way for Washington to get out of the $100m+ deal they signed Arenas to before his two injury-plagued seasons.

But at least Agent Zero appears to be contrite, as he said: “Joke or not, I now recognize that what I did was a mistake and was wrong. I should not have brought the guns to DC in the first place, and I now realize that there’s no such thing as joking around when it comes to guns, even if unloaded.”

Is an apology going to work though? Seems strange to think it’s been so long since the brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills, but this incident could be just as damaging to the sport – if the players escape lengthy bans they can definitely consider themselves a touch lucky.

Thoughts on the Wizards: Are They Good? posted by Chase Hughes

   On Wednesday night I attended the Wizards game vs. Cleveland and it was great to see Washington come away with a win, especially in front of a legion of Cavalier fans (where they came from I don’t know).  While the Wizards were able to seize a victory against one of the best teams in the East and an immanent rival, it is still hard to ascertain whether this team is any good.  After a dreadful first half by just about every player on the team I was absolutely fuming in my seat.  It didn’t help to be transplanted in between a Cleveland fan who would say “terrible shot” during all of Antawn Jamison’s trick hooks and a Ohio family of six that probably amassed a total of 3,000 pounds.  The father of that Lebron-rooting herd fittingly donned a t-shirt with the slogan “I’m not going to call you stupid, but I’m thinking about it.” 
    The reality of this win is that without Antawn Jamison’s incredible shooting display in the first half, the Wizards would have never been in the game by the third quarter.  It’s also fact that the Cavaliers fell flat in the second half in an away game which they traveled following a game the night before.  Gilbert looked like he has no business running the offense and Caron didn’t seem himself until late in the game.  To be trite, it was a rollercoaster of emotions, that game, to go from the verge of catching a case to celebrating a win over Cleveland was a sweet turn of events. 
    There are some sincere positive areas to be observed from the Wizards at this point in the season, however, they did get their third win.  It looks like Earl Boykins is the true point guard they had been missing all along.  At this juncture it doesn’t look like either Gilbert or Randy Foye can be trusted to run the offense.  Gilbert still takes the long three sometimes before passing the ball once on a possession and Foye is struggling offensively in general. 

How Can the Washington Wizards Improve to Contender Status? posted by Chase Hughes

Last night I was listening to an interview with former NBA head coach P.J. Carlesimo on 106.7 The Fan.  He was commenting on the opening days of the NBA regular season, specifically about the Eastern Conference and his thoughts on who were the better teams.  Not surprisingly he named the top three teams as the “factors,” those being Cleveland, Boston, and Orlando.  He said that there are not any teams even close to those three but on the outside looking in is the Washington Wizards.  The Wizards were the only team he mentioned as the fourth best team and he said this about three times.  These comments got me thinking about what the Wizards need to do this regular season to take the next step and breach that label, in what areas can they improve to develop into the fourth Eastern Conference power? 
First of all, this piece is not in discussion of anything to do with the playoffs, I am not assuming that the Wizards are clearly the fourth best team or that they will even make the playoffs at all.  What I am saying is that the Wiz are in that second tier bunch that follows the top three, which in my opinion also includes the Toronto Raptors, Atlanta Hawks, and the Philadelphia 76’ers (3rd tier: MIA, CHI, NJ, DET).  Carlesimo added that this is the way the East is presently, that come December we could be talking about another team that has emerged or perhaps a top team will regress and make way for one that is on the brink.  We know that this is Gilbert Arenas’ team but what pieces need to fall into place for Washington to make that jump?  I offer several possibilities, some more plausible than others for how the Wizards can materialize into a contender:

Washington Wizards Preseason Analysis/Season Outlook posted by Chase Hughes

After it has ended, it is fairly unclear how much stock can be taken out of this year’s Washington Wizards preseason.  As usual in preseason games the stars generally saw limited minutes, particularly at the end of the game.  When the Wiz played the Cleveland Cavaliers they did not have to deal with Lebron James and the Wizards had to cope with a “swine-flu backcourt” for several games.  It was ironically against those same Cavaliers that workhorse power forward Antawn Jamison endured a shoulder injury that could prove onerous in the beginning of the season.  Flip Saunders remarked that Jamison’s injury is better to occur at the beginning of the regular season rather than the end.  That’s a glass-half-full perspective but far from appeasing for a fanbase that is sick and tired of injuries plaguing promising seasons.  As fans we could revert to what’s become an old adage, that “at least it will give time for the young players to develop,” but after three essentially lost seasons, that contrived positivity has run its course.  It is hard to believe that the trio of Arenas, Butler, and Jamison hasn’t played a regular season game together since April 1, 2007. 

It’s understood that if Jamison is to be integral on a team that contends there is little time to waste.  Each year the circumstances become more and more exigent, if you were watching when Gilbert Arenas hit the game winner against the Chicago Bulls in the 2005 playoffs then you understand why.  If you were a “witness” of Lebron crab-dribble his way past Michael Ruffin in 2006, you understand why. 

Why the Washington Wizards Will be a Top 10 Defense posted by Chase Hughes

With the Washington Wizards’ season set to get underway, there remain questions about the team’s chances to compete in the Eastern Conference.  Will Gilbert Arenas stay healthy and be his old self?  Will Andray Blatche fulfill his potential and be the player he can be?  Will the Wizards regret getting rid of Oleksiy Pecherov? (just kidding).  One major concern that will be definitive of the Wizards’ season is whether they can play defense, especially against teams of the East’s top tier such as Boston, Orlando, and Cleveland.  Upon taking a closer look at the Wizards’ personnel, there are several reasons to believe that they can. 

Throughout the Grunfeld era, the Wizards have enjoyed much success scoring points.
It has provided for some entertaining regular season games, but little success in the playoffs.  Year after year the knock on this squad is that they can’t defend well enough to compete for a title, this is the year that it stops. 

I have put together 5 reasons why I believe the Washington Wizards will surprise their critics and emerge an improved team defensively:

1. They Weren’t That Bad in the First Place – The last season that can objectively be evaluated for the Washington Wizards was two years ago, the 2007-08 season.  I am going to go ahead and say that last season was an aberration skewed by the freak occurrence of three starters missing significant time due to injury.  It was not a true measure for the current roster mainly because Gilbert Arenas played in only two regular season games.  What people don’t realize is that the Wizards had the 12th best defense in the NBA in 2008, according to opponent’s points-per-game averages.   By allowing only 99.2 points-a-night the Wizards made an improvement from being ranked 28th overall in that category the year before.  This is an astounding stat considering that their best player, Gilbert Arenas, was out of the line-up and Caron Butler was also injured.  There is sound evidence that with a healthy Gilbert and Caron, this team will be even more imposing defensively.

5 Predictions for the 2009-10 Washington Wizards posted by Chase Hughes

  1. Gilbert Arenas will average over 8 assists per game –            It is quite obvious that with all the new offensive weapons and a healthy roster, Gilbert Arenas’ scoring average is going to go down.  He isn’t going to be able to keep up a 29.3 ppg season like he did in 2005-06.  My guess is that his numbers will drop down to around his career average of 22 ppg.  Maybe even a little bit lower as there are going to be plenty of guys begging for the rock.  Scoring averages aside, with Gilbert Arenas back in the line-up everyone will benefit.  Gil still gets respect for his scoring capabilities, as evidenced in the two games last year in which he tallied 20 assists and no turnovers.  He has the ability to draw the double team and help defense, much like Kobe, Dwyane, and Lebron, giving him opportunities to pass the ball off to the open man.  In the two games he played last year, you could see that Gilbert still has a quick first step but is more cautious with it.  That hesitancy makes opponents play on their heels which allows Gilbert to blow by them on a drive and get the basket or draw the foul.             What is going to happen is Gilbert will come out this season as a type of player we aren’t used to seeing wear number “0.”  His essentially two years away from the game have undoubtedly changed his perspective as a floor general.  What will emerge is a Gilbert Arenas that involves his teammates while still showcasing the killer instinct that makes him the great scorer he is.             Gilbert’s career assist average is 5.5 apg, a great figure for a small forward but not up to par with the best point guards in the league.  Here are his assist averages over a few seasons:
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The New Look Wizards and What it Means for Their Chances in 09-10 posted by Chase Hughes

The 2009-10 Washington Wizards’ roster seems to finally be shaping up as the addition of Fabricio Oberto solidifies their frontcourt with a viable back-up who has significant playoff experience.  Oberto made his name with the San Antonio Spurs, complimenting Tim Duncan and fulfilling that role admirably.  His statistics are unimpressive but he will essentially be asked to fill the Shrek-sized hole left by the departure of Michael Ruffin.  Let’s just hope his number isn’t called to guard a Lebron crab-dribble on the baseline at the end of a playoff game.
Oberto will find his niche grabbing rebounds and providing spotty offense but basically his purpose will be to absorb personal fouls.  Barring an injury, which given the Wizards history it should be expected, he probably won’t see extended minutes considering that Saunders is known for a short rotation.  It would be ideal for Andray Blatche and/or Javale McGee to step up and be ready to be relied on but again, a seven-man rotation, or whatever he plans on utilizing, won’t allow for them to make many mistakes.  Regardless, competing against Dwight Howard and Shaq requires depth down low for the purpose of fouling.  The Celtics have both Kevin Garnett and Rasheed Wallace now so depth at the forward and center positions is extremely important. 

The Wizards roster as it currently stands looks like this:

-         Gilbert Arenas

-         Nick Young

Analysis of Washington Wizards Draft (or lacktherof) posted by Chase Hughes

Thursday, June the 25th has officially passed as the Washington Wizards remain in a state that few could have foreseen a week ago.  After months of speculation and a calamitous draft lottery, Wizards fans can relax and look at back at what has happened.  No Blake Griffin, no Ricky Rubio, no 5th overall pick, no 2nd round pick.  It was fun but you kind of wish Ernie Grunfeld could have let us know that all of our mock drafts and trade scenarios would be obsolete.  What’s left of the Wizards roster seems to be an incomplete project… still. 
You have to think that the Wizards’ brass has something else up their sleeve, another maneuver that will balance the Wizards and give its fans the expectations of a great season.  I still think that the team is improved but there seem to still linger significant holes.  One large void to fill down low still remains and it is perplexing why the Wizards didn’t plug it with the “largest” plug in the draft.  I am talking of course about Dejaun Blair.  My friend and I were contemplating the possibility of the big man from Pitt slipping to the second round.  It seemed impossible and then it happened.  He was sitting there, all 270 pounds of him, just waiting for the Wizards to pick him and enable him to thrive in a reserved role on a playoff team.  Apparently, we weren’t the only ones.  The Washington Post covered the draft later in the night, with Michael Lee acknowledging the experts were in on it to:



“When Pitt forward DeJuan Blair was still on the board after the first round, some of us reporters were fascinated by the possibility of the Wizards adding a rugged but undersized offensive rebounding machine. I still cannot believe that dude slipped all the way to San Antonio at No. 37 after he manhandled Thabeet in Big East play.”
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posted by Chase Hughes

Thursday, June the 25th has officially passed as the Washington Wizards remain in a state that few could have foreseen a week ago. After months of speculation and a calamitous draft lottery, Wizards fans can relax and look at back at what has happened. No Blake Griffin, no Ricky Rubio, no 5th overall pick, no 2nd round pick. It was fun but you kind of wish Ernie Grunfeld could have let us know that all of our mock drafts and trade scenarios would be obsolete. What’s left of the Wizards roster seems to be an incomplete project… still.
You have to think that the Wizards’ brass has something else up their sleeve, another maneuver that will balance the Wizards and give its fans the expectations of a great season. I still think that the team is improved but there seem to still linger significant holes. One large void to fill down low still remains and it is perplexing why the Wizards didn’t plug it with the “largest” plug in the draft. I am talking of course about Dejaun Blair. My friend and I were contemplating the possibility of the big man from Pitt slipping to the second round. It seemed impossible and then it happened. He was sitting there, all 270 pounds of him, just waiting for the Wizards to pick him and enable him to thrive in a reserved role on a playoff team. Apparently, we weren’t the only ones. The Washington Post covered the draft later in the night, with Michael Lee acknowledging the experts were in on it to:



“When Pitt forward DeJuan Blair was still on the board after the first round, some of us reporters were fascinated by the possibility of the Wizards adding a rugged but undersized offensive rebounding machine. I still cannot believe that dude slipped all the way to San Antonio at No. 37 after he manhandled Thabeet in Big East play.”


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Washington Wizards make a bold move--is it the right one? posted by john howard

Washington traded away it's 6th pick in the draft along with Darius Songalia, Etan Thomas, and Oleksey Pecherov to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Randy Foye and Mike Miller.  Two years ago the Wizards were an up and coming team.  That changed last year when Gilbert Arenas was injured and out all year.  Brendon Haywood was also out most of the year  With Arenas back, there will be ample fire power.  The roster all of the sudden looks really good.

pg--Gilbert Arenas, Javaris Crittendon, Mike James

sg--Randy Foye, Mike Miller, DeShaun Stevenson

sf--Caron Butler, Nick Young, Dominic McGuire

pf--Antawn Jamison, Andray Blatch

c--Brendon Haywood, JaVale McGee

Arenas has had 50 point games while Butler and Jamison averaged over 20 points a game last year.  Add to that Foye's 16 he averaged last year and the 3 point bombs that Miller is known for and you have a lot of fire power.  Yound and Blatch averaged 10 points each off the bench last year as did Mike James.  So, the seocnd unit is going to be able to score.  This is going to be a fast tempo fun group.  Will Haywood and McGee be enough inside?  That remains to be seen. The question of "was this a good trade" is yes.  The 5th pick has produced 10 starters in the past 14 years with 5 of them being all-stars.  So, there was almost a 1/3 chance to land an all-star or land a bust.  The team got a young, guaranteed starter who can score along with an experienced sharp shooter.  That is a good move. Boston, Cleveland, Orlando, then Washington?

Hawks-Wizards rescheduled for March 11 (AP)

The snowed-out game between the Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards has been rescheduled for March 11. The game was supposed to be played Saturday but was postponed because of a blizzard that dumped 2 feet of snow onthe nation's capital. Both teams played in other cities Friday night, and the storm prevented them from traveling to the area. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Hawks-Wizards postponed due to blizzard (AP)

The game between the Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards has been postponed because of the blizzard that battered the Mid-Atlantic region. The NBA said on Saturday that neither the Hawks or Wizards could fly to Washington after their games Friday night. The Wizards played at Orlando and the Hawks hosted the Bulls. [read full article]

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Down 21, Wizards top Magic on late hoop (AP)

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Butler's jumper caps Wizards' big rally (AP)

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From Yahoo! Sports

Pierce hopes to return Sunday vs. Magic (AP)

Boston Celtics scoring leader Paul Pierce hopes to return from an injured left foot Sunday against the Magic. Pierce, who was hurt in Monday in a 99-88 win at the Washington Wizards, could return against Orlando after missing just two games with a strained left foot. Pierce watched from the bench in street clothes Wednesday night as the Celtics beat the Miami Heat 107-102. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports