Good point about Lee and Balkman vs. Blatche and Pecherov. But if the latter two WERE in the game, they would have been launching 20 footers.

Man, that was a miserable game to watch. Again, the refs made a series of bone-headed charging calls against Arenas on the road, it's almost automatic everytime he tries to drive to the basket.

That's what started it, but then the Wiz just plain gave up when Arenas went to the bench at the end of the third quarter. That was sad. Gil can't play 40 minutes a night, folks, you have to learn to step up!

However, Lee and Balkman were much higher picks than Blatche and Pecherov if I'm not mistaken. I will say that the Wiz should be drafting for need which should be rebounding/hustle players who have some sort of clue on offense ala Lee. I don't think the team needs finesse big men who like to shoot 15 footers.

Why does Thomas completely disappear from games and other times looks like a terror - at least on the boards? Last night he was not boxing out, hustling, blocking, nothing...he looked clueless in NY.

You are right on about the draft picks. Building on a previous post, the "best" player we have on the team who was drafted by the wizards is Hayes. He has had some hard luck, but regardless, that is a pathetic state of affairs. We are still living with the hangover from the Unseld GM years.

As to stats out of context, the big 3 had a decent total between them that was totally misleading given the shooting %, shot selection, and 0-15 from the arc.

Couple of issues I see at this point:

1) as many others have pointed out, the team isn't taking it to the hole when it needs to. I have no issue with taking jump shots to start the game, and if you are hitting them, go with it. When you aren't, you need to post up and drive the lane for a foul or a dish (marbury ate us up on the inside dishes last night).

2) what is up with gilbert? Say what you want about rule changes, beefs with the refs, lack of defensive mentality, etc. What I see missing is the fire for the game this year - you know that look Gilbert has after a win, his eyes intense and bugging as he twirls his shirt prepping to throw it into the crowd? I haven't seen that look. . . Gilbert is immensely talented but what put him on the cusp of greatness was his intensity. Where'd it go, and how can we get it back?

3) I think the close losses to Orlando and Cleveland really hurt the morale of the team, and they have to get over it. The team that played Cleveland and Orlando would have massacred NY last night. Instead we have a team that gets down and gives up easily. The NJ loss was likely further crushing. Particularly disheartening is a miss, turnover, or foul on offense leading to unspirited defense on the opponent's next possession

4) We need someone who we can go to off the bench. Except for Daniels (who is playing very well, but isn't going to score 25, ever), we get nothing consistent from the bench. If Jarvis doesn't come around, I don't see the team making the playoffs.

On the other hand, we are only 3-4, having lost only one game (maybe 2 if you count NJ) that we should have won. Less than 10% of the season on the books. Butler and Arenas WILL come around; hopefully Jarvis hasn't lost it. We are 3-4 - not good - but the team is playing in the collective as bad as it can I believe - we can only improve.

I just heard Ernie G. on Sporttalk 980 and was not impressed with some of his answers to the questions in the interview. BTW, I like Ernie G! After being asked about his thoughts on various players, their intensity, and the future outlook of the team, he continued to say that the season is too new to make judgements. What I'm afraid of is that by the time he and Eddie J. figure it out, it will be too late, the Wiz will be 11-20, and would have dug themselves so deep that they'd be out of the playoff race. At that point it will be time to start thinking about next year. I'm sick of it!

Gilbert needs to stop looking at the refs after every call. Yes, I agree they're not calling fouls on him like they do on other superstars but enough is enough. He needs to keep attacking the rim. Also, I think the entire team needs to concentrate on making short jumpers and layups before launching three pointers? 0 for 15 is horrible.

My last question: why is EJ not staying with the starting lineup after the second quarter? How is Etan going to gain momentum and experience if he starts the game then sits for most of the rest?

Arrrgh, I don't know which team is more frustrating the Skins or the Wiz?

Why don't we go to the hole? Because we are a soft jump-shooting team that will be prone to streaks like this all year long. That is what happens when your power forward wants to play 25 feet from the rim.

We were all lied to.

A big part of playing D is rebounding. We are getting killed this year and there is no end in sight for us getting outrebounded. We can score on some nights (well, a lot of nights) when the jumpers are falling but we'll see a few more like last night before we're all said and done. Bottom line, we should be able to win that game in the high 80s if we want to be a team capable of 'winning the east'.

What a bunch of b*(*#&%(*&^*.

It's like they've never seen basketball before. When the jumpers aren't falling, even in rythm, go inside, attack the rim, do something different! We all learned it when we played freshman year hoops in high school. So frustrating.

I would like a 'Jarvis Hayes Rule' that says the dude must complete a layup/dunk/shot within 10 feet of the rim before attempting an outside jumpshot. This 'walk in the game and pull from 22' is not working and the time for babying a shooter to keep his confidence up is over. Get to the rim. Get to the line or get the h*ll out of town.

"However, Lee and Balkman were much higher picks than Blatche and Pecherov if I'm not mistaken"

Pech was selected before Renaldo Balkman (Pech 18, Balkman 20)
I still wish we drafted Alexander Johnson from Florida State, his style of dunk'n'defense would be great. I trust in EG though.

Lee was a 2nd rounder, but a good 15 spots ahead of Andray I believe.

""Why didn't they take the ball to the basket?" Great question.""

Nothing else to say.

""...Andray Blatche and Oleksiy Pecherov--weren't even in uniform.""

I think those guys could actually help the Wiz right now. I really don't understand what Jordan is doing right now with his rotation. Ernie is clearly looking towards the future....why not start taking offers for Jamison now? I really don't think he'll be here next year.

Pencil me in for a win at Detroit and a loss against Cleveland.

- Ray

I agree with Charles Jones' post above. Gilbert doesn't seem to be playing with any joy right now. You beat guys need to get to the bottom of it. He's also just shooting horribly this year, other than those two early 40-point games. Is it all the charging calls going against him? Is he settling too much for jumpers? Something's up with him. He cost the Bullets the Cleveland opener, and the New Jersey game for sure.

""I would like a 'Jarvis Hayes Rule'""

Lol, BK! :)

That should apply for everyone on the Wiz.

- Ray

If anyone understand what Jordan's been doing with his rotation since he's been in Washington, please tell me. Because from the moment he arrived, I've been wondering. I can't figure it out. What a disappointing team. They should be 6-1 right now. If this thing doesn't turn around soon, they need to start looking at some trade possibilities that involve Antawn, Haywood and maybe someone else for a viable power forward. I'm not talking about those silly KG scenarios, just someone who will do the dirty work. The worst part about this whole thing is that everything the Wizards are doing wrong could be corrected if the right coach were in place.

Hey Ivan, don't forget about Vladimir Veremeenko!

Just speculation, but I think the Wiz problems are a combination of #1 Bad coaching-there is no offense/defense to speak of, just The Trio winging it with the others picking up scraps #2 locker-room problems, perhaps the Etan-Brendan problem is creating tension within the team.#3Gilbert does appear to not have his head in the game, dude seems distracted.

A good coach could make adjustments, this one is flopping around like a fish out-of-water.

Not to beat a dead horse, and this wasn't certainly the key problem last night, but here's an update on the Ruffin at center experiment (his +/- stats when he is in the game as the center):

New York: -11 (came in in the 2nd quarter when the game was tied, left when they were down 8)
New Jersey: -5 (was on the floor during the 4th quarter comeback, but also during overtime)
Milwaukee: -8
Indiana: +2 (he played one minute at center)
Orlando: DNP as center that game
Boston: -7
Cleveland: -6

Regarding the Etan-Brendan feud, one of these days when both guys are on the bench as they often are, with Etan "The Starter" Thomas playing 15 minutes/game, I can imagine them looking at each other and saying, "We fought each other for this?!"

These last two games have felt way too much like last year.

Colin is right on the mark about E Jord's rotation -- or lackthereof. He's showing a lot more trust in Jarvis than Stevenson, and while I like Jarvis, Stevenson brings something to the table that needs to be better put to use.

Also, I will never understand the center rotation. I guess E Jord just goes with whomever he thinks is the best matchup, but he ends up playing Haywood WAY too much. I can't stand that guy, and his lack of coordination always leaves 6-10 points on the floor every night. It's maddening. It seems that E Jord doesn't really like Etan unless he's playing out of his mind (like in Cleveland and Orlando), and that's a shame because he needs to be out there more.

Let's just keep telling ourselves: It's still early. It's still early. It's still early.

one other thought in terms of it being early in the season: what do the following teams have in common - mavs, nuggets, suns, heat, pistons, wizards, and bulls. they are all 3-4 or worse. furthermore, general consensus as i read it was that each of those teams was predicted to finish with a higher seed at the end of the season than the wizards.

the ship must be righted, but how many of the teams above do you think won't make the playoffs?

I said all along before the season that Eddie Jordan should have losted his job after losing to Cleveland in the playoffs last year. To actually have Ruffin D-up LeBron with the series on the line and give up the baseline was pathetic.

Eddie has a great offense put together that has worked well for his players, but he is not going to take this team to the next level with the way he has his team playing defense.

I am forseeing the near future and hoping that I am wrong, but I think we will endure a very long season and finish with about 36 wins, miss the playoffs, fire EJ, and have a shake up in the roster i.e. Jamison.

All of this could have been avoided if we had brought someone in and gave Jordan the BOOT!

BK, love your post above. I agree with you 100%!

Wes, yours it great too! Hilarious, and very true!

Henry, thanks for the stats. Never kept track of the numbers, but I have noticed when he comes in at center the other team goes on a run it seems.

Nothing to add really. Agree with pretty much everyone on here. To many jumpshots, no attacking, no inspiration or energy, no rebounding.

Tired of watching Jamison stand at the 3pt line the whole game. Even on fast breaks with one guy in front of him he pulls up for the j.

Hayes has been disapointing. Just doesn't really seem to be fitting in. Maybe he needs to start? I like Stevenson and the way he has played, and I like him starting, but Jarvis off the bench just isn't working for whatever reason. Maybe they just need to try something else.

Gil seems unhappy about something... I think he really is bothered by the way he is perceived as "quirky", and the lack of calls, like maybe it is dawning on him he'll never be taken seriously or on the same level as Wade etc. I don't know, the whole team USA thing, the missed free throws in the playoffs. Just seems like things aren't happening for him as he'd like, and he really sets high expectations for himself. The offensive fouls he's been getting called for everytime he tries to drive are just unbelievable though. Downright infuriating! Then seems he just starts shooting 3s to try to get himself ontrack, with no rebounders in place. It just seems like the game's not very fun for him right now.

And as a fan, that game was not very fun to watch.

I mean I just don't get it! Aren't the new rules supposed to benefit the offensive player?! I know I am viewing from the slant of a Wizard fan, but am I crazy? Is it me? Everytime my man Gil goes inside they call a charge? The defensive player is moving, he ain't still, how can that be a charge?! And at the other end he will touch somebody and get called for a foul, not hit them, not change their direction or impede their progress, just touch them! He gets hacked on his shots, and he can't move without getting an offensive foul.

I'm sick of all this "new rules" BS! These refs need to wake up and open their eyes cause they must be asleep! And they act so damn arrogant! It makes me want to break things. Someone needs to put a foot up their ass! I hate these new rules. I hate the new ball too. I hate watching this garbage! All these 3pt shooting bigmen, and whiney ass players!

Darnell, I knew you and I could come together on something!

I will never forget when I called my boy, The Governor, and go: 'Turn on ESPN right now. I want this kid.' It was Jarvis Hayes dropping 31 and 9 in the mouth of an SEC rival on the road. I followed him and watched him tear up the SEC. When he fell to us at 10 I declared we had the steal of the draft and had found THE answer at SG for the next 10 years.

Welcome to 20 5 and 5 I said.

He made me look like a d*mned fool. He lied to me. I will never forgive him....

C'mon, BK. You think Jarvis tried to get injured? He's 7 games into a comeback after pretty much two years off. Give him half a season, and judge him on the 2nd half.
I have noticed in the last two games that Jarvis is firing up a shot nearly every time he touches the ball. He seems to be trying too hard to get it going. There seems to be a mindset on this team that the best way to contribute is to score. There are so many other things player can do, and need to do if this team is going to do anything this year.

i wish they would change the name back to Bullets.

bernard king is right. we were lied to. it's the same team as last year, come down and shoot long shot with no one in position to rebound.

and alot of people talk about jamison and i watched him last night and he does really just stand at the 3 point line the entire game.

i still have a hard time not thinking about losing larry hughes. if we had kept him, then made the kwame for caron trade we would have a good team. if they really were serious about trying to go all the way they would of done that.

abe pollin "i don't want to go over the luxury tax. we can spend up to it, but not exceed it"

we will never win

you cannot win like you did in the 70s. it won't happen until abe leaves. we can all stop wishing and hoping.

bernard king is right, we were lied to. we should all listen to him.

If we go to detroit with the attitude of last night, we will be blown out of the arena.

Then Saturday we will lose to the Cavs, again, on our home court, with those rediculous new uniforms.

Did anyone else notice this last night?? When Haywood came out of the game in the second quarter, he walked as he usually does with a stone face towards Jordan and the bench. Jordan came out to meet him and slapped his hand. Brendan didn't really extend his hand out so Jordan would slap it; at most he turned his palm up so Jordan could give him five. And Jordan did. I couldn't believe it! Usually they ignore each other, but it seems Jordan went out of his way to tell Brendan "good job." That was more puzzling than the loss.

From today's article: "Wizards Coach Eddie Jordan, who picked up his first technical foul of the season in the third quarter, tried to shake things up by starting Haywood in the second half. He also used Calvin Booth at power forward and center for stretches, but nothing worked."

Eddie experiments with his line-ups more than I'm comfortable with, varying the minutes of starters (e.g. Thomas and Stevenson) and bench guys (e.g. Haywood, Ruffin, Hayes and Daniels) alike from game to game. He also sacrifices the development of our young guns (e.g. Blatche and Taylor) by rarely giving them minutes, presumably because "they're not ready" and "we want to win now".

Is it a stretch to say that maybe these tendencies are hurting the confidence of the team? Are our boys perhaps playing with less confidence because they don't know what to expect from their coach? Worrying about minutes and line-ups are distractions that players don't need. Some coaches understand this. They know that it is human nature to dislike uncertainty, and so they take as much uncertainty out of the game as they possibly can. Jerry Sloan comes to mind. In the 90s, John Stockton was subbed for Howard Eisley with 2 minutes left in the 1st quarter EVERY SINGLE GAME, regardless of how well he was playing. Why? Stockton got his rest, Eisley got his confidence, and the other players could transition smoothly between the two because they were expecting the substitution.

As for not playing our young guys, how can we expect them to get better if we don't give them solid minutes (and not just in garbage time)? Aren't these investments for the future of the organisation? Guys like Andrew Bynum are getting lots of attention for their play...is he really that much more talented than Andray Blatche? Or do the Lakers simply know how to get more of their young guys than the Wizards do?

Win or lose tonight, or Saturday, or any other day, this team won't ever take that crucial step forward unless roles are created and defined for every player, and every player understands, accepts and thrives in his role.

...like the Championship Pistons, Spurs, Lakers, Bulls, Rockets and perhaps even Heat all did.

Looks like Etan has lost his energy after great first 3 games; the excitement of starting has tapered off I suppose?

Wizards have been out rebounded, and what does coach do? Let's play small ball!

Well, sometime I feel that Jordan is just trying different combination lineup for the fun of it. He has been with this team for several years and the core players remain intact; this is supposed be the year to "get to the next step," why is he still experimenting with the lineup?

The team's lineup decisions are a significant issue. Etan does put on a better show of playing hard than Haywood does, but we have at least 3 seasons worth of data showing that the team is better when Haywood is on the floor -- especially on the defensive end. I've done extreme tracking of the team's defense over the past couple seasons, and it's clear why that is -- a) the opponent is more likely to miss when challenges a shot; and b) Haywood is more likely to challenge the shot. Haywood tends to put his hand in the shooter's face -- whereas if Etan doesn't think he can get the block, he tends to do this sort of "flex and glare" thing. The hand in the face is a more effective technique.

The other big issue is Stevenson. He's not a good player, and he should not be starting or playing significant minutes. He hasn't hurt the team a great deal yet, but it's coming. The team would be much better off with Daniels in the lineup for many of Stevenson's minutes.

TSW: if Etan doesn't think he can get the block, he tends to do this sort of "flex and glare" thing.

LOL, that is soo funny! And it's true.

Jamison does similat does similar D, he kind of does this little jump into a pose like he's getting ready for something... as his man runs by him with no resistance.

Agree with you that Daniels is better than Stevenson. The offense runs smoother with him in control, and his driving the lane ability is something we really need.

Not impressed with Stevenson at all... I would even be up for starting Mason. He has shown good handle and defense combined with good shooting, takes good shots and seems to make good decisions. Why doesn't he play more?

The Thomas vs. Haywood debate really isn't that important -- they are both going to play. The important debate is whether Thomas and Haywood are going to play a collective 48 minutes a game at center, or substantially less. Right now they are averaging a collective 39 minutes a game.

And if you start Daniels, who provides some scoring off the bench? Stevenson may look great this year, but he's already hit some jumpers, so I like him exponentially more than Jared Jeffries.

The problem is this team is just too small. Our starting lineup is 6-2, 6-5, 6-7, 6-9, 6-10.

That is small. Then we come in with Ruffin 6-8 at center?!

Then we bring in Daniels and play Gil at SG so the backcourt is 6-2 and 6-2?

Hayes comes in at SF, he has some size but plays like a SG.

Jamison our PF plays like a SG w/o handle.

Haywood plays 10 min a game, and never gets the ball when he does. Plus he is tall but weak.

We could get by with Jamison when we had Jeffries at 6-11 in there, or even with Kwame.

Team is too small and too perimeter oriented. We are overmatched everynight, especially in the road.

This is why we are bad rebounding team and bad on the road. It is why we are reliant on the jumpshot. This is not a team built for success in the playoffs. Why don't you all wake up and stop sucking that big can of cheeze wiz?!

Darnell makes a good point about Jeffries and Jamison. I always viewed them as a matching set -- having the versatile Jeffries allowed Jamison to defend whatever player he could handle, and Jeffries would take the other guy. Without Jeffries, Jamison's shortcomings are more exposed.
Again, I would like to see Jordan try a lineup from time to time that includes both Haywood and Thomas so that we are not always so small.

jeff you are right.

with jj the thing was him and twan could both switch back and forth. if team had a pf like bosh or kg, you could guard them with jj. With caron you cannot do that, we are stuck with jamison guarding the pf regardless and they are killing him. it is really a major weakness in our team now.

caron is good on sf like paul pierce, but he is too short to defend pf. jj and twan were interchangable and you could hide it. caron is not interchangable. stevenson is not interchangable.

our team is not as versatile as in past two years. we had jj and twan interchangable and gil and hughes were also. hughes would take point sometimes, stevenson can't do it.

I will tell you what also, we should never let go of my boy Juan Dixon! Tell me we couldn't use him off the bench now! Fans would go berzerk when he came in! And he would attack on offense, and he brought energy. He went and signed with Portland for next to nothing, we didn't even makehim an offer. Why not, because we had Hayes?! He'd come in and play some point, he'd get steals and make stuff happen.

You all think Songaila is gonna come and save this team?! He is a bum. We are a sinking ship, and we got a big bum for a life boat! Why don't you all stop drinking that cough syrup and open your eyes cause if you think it's gonna change you must believe in the easter bunny!

Darnell, I'm thinking you haven't had a cough for years, if you know what I'm saying.

""...you must believe in the easter bunny!""

I believe in the Easter Bunny. :(

I think Ivan posted about the Jeffries thing back before the season about what the GM he talked with said and how it would definately affect the Wiz.

I would love the Wiz every game, but I still think they are a year of two away. Saying that they really need to make some moves for some defensive people.

I'm sure Ernie knows this, he has too. But it's not like the guy can come out and say "We really suck on defense."

- Ray

I don't think there are a lot of people here "sucking the cheese wiz." I think we all realize the problems this team has, and we think we all know that Songalia would help this team a great deal if he were healthy. He's not the guy who makes the Wizards a championship team, but he is someone would give this team a boost off the bench. That said, let's not start all this glowing JJ talk because he's just not a very good ball player. And comments about his versatility are just not true. He could guard a three, and that's pretty much it. He couldn't guard a two because he wasn't quick enough, and he couldn't guard a four because he wasn't strong enough. Jeffries wasn't a huge factor for this team. Had he been, he would've played more than 25-30 minutes a game. The bigger problem here, as I see it, is Gilbert isn't ready to be a leader and Jordan isn't doing a very good job coaching these guys. Those two things need to be fixed.

I'm a Wiz fan out here in Portland so I get to see Juan Dixon a lot. I only see the Wiz occasionally, like last night on ESPN.

Juan, while he provides a punch, is a defensive liability. Not for lack of trying, but the guy is slight and gets peeled of his man by screens. He also tends to dribble at the perimeter for a few seconds before trying a move or shooting over his (usually taller) man, leading to a pretty poor shots and low percentages.

But what alarmed me after watching the Wiz-Pistons game last night is I could say many of the same things about Gilbert. He got taken baseline by Linsday Hunter in the fourth. Lindsay Hunter! He broke down in a stance, pretended to play defense, and LH shot past him for a nice layup. Somebody on this board talked about footwork on defense being crucial at this level so I watched that closely. Billups and Hamilton jammed up the Wiz guards, with the exception of Daniels, with some pretty nifty positioning.

Even though a lot of the analysis of the Wiz on this blog turned out to be quite accurate, I was not prepared to see such a mess -- the poor defense, the jumpshooting, the inability to break down the zone or start the offense. Only Antonio Daniels and Caron seemed to be playing well. The team as a whole looks bad. And Gilbert -- unbelievable.

Juan is nowhere near the player Gilbert can be but he does seem to have an intensity and a leadership quality on the court Gilbert lacks.

"""We didn't rebound very well with the big guys in there anyway," Jordan said when asked about the small lineup.""

That's because he doesn't leave Haywood in long enough to find out. It's not like Detroit is HUGE inside anyway.

I like Ruffin's hustle, but his minutes should be severely dropped and Haywood's increased. Jordan should tell him "If you want to play more minutes, I need you to dominate on defense."

Even Hubie said the the lineup the Wiz had in was really small. He also said, and I quote,"The Wizards are streaky, just give them a couple minutes and they will let you back in the game."

I thought they would win last night. Nope. They won't beat Cleveland tonight either.

Can't rebound, can't play D, no leadership.

The Wiz are in BIG trouble. :(

- Ray