Thanks,Ivan! That's great news....no matter how rusty they are.

Great News!
Maybe the team will get back on track.

Now let's get back to our regular scheduled bashing of Jarvis Hayes.

Honestly though he did'nt play as bad as usual last night.

YAYYYYYYYY!

Great news, Couldn't have come at a better time. We need to try and get these next couple games. In talking about Arenas people seem to be ignoring his stat line the first three games after the Allstar game.
Since Butler went down teams are really taking away his drive. In the NBA teams don't have to just come out and straight double team. It's how guys shade off of their man, and the angles they play. It's sometimes very hard to pickup but teams are definitly playing Gil different right now.
We need Jamison back for his rebounding and low post game as well as his ability to stretch the D with his shooting. Butler is just an Allstar and we miss his game bad. Look at the end of last year we lost 5 straight without "Tough Juice".
Hope we can get healthy and start pushing for the playoffs now. Only two teams I ever saw that went through a whole year without a slump were the Lakers in the early 70's and Jordan's Bulls team that set the wins record. Got to agree with Ray this team is being built for the next couple of years, what we do this year is Gravy.

I hope this doesnt mean 5 minutes of playing time for Blatche.

I assume Songaila will still get increasing minutes so that must mean Blatche's will go back down.

Good. Hope the Wiz can regain their momentum and get back to winning... this losing streak particularly worries me.

There is a God! Hallelujah!

Can you say "being-rushed-back-into-action-so-as-not-to-spiral-downward-at-the-wrong-time-of-the-season"? It is scary to me how little quality depth the Wizards have.

"My dad swears Eddie only subs because the other team subs."

Lol, CB! Tell your dad I think he is a very wise man. :)

You know what really had me scratching my head is after the Lakers beat the Wiz it was reported that Phil Jackson gave the Lakers the day off from practice that day before playing and they saw the sites. Jordan did the same thing with the Wiz before thier next game, I had to laugh. :)

Anyway, still concerned with Jamison's knee and that brace. We'll see how it holds up I guess. Hopefully it really is just a sprain but I have doubts.

Looks like Caron's back is doing well. I've had spasms before. While they hurt like heck, they go away as fast as they come also.

If nothing else Atlanta will have to prepare differently, but just remember this is Atlanta the Wiz are playing.

Good news either way, hopefully no setbacks.

- Ray

pfunk,

You take almost any team in the NBA and have them play without 2 of their top performers....see how far they go. Although the recent losses have sucked big time, I'm impressed that we were still competitive without 2 of our "Big 3."

Has anyone asked Gil if his shot is affected by his shoulder?

Wonder if EJ has resorted to studying Zen and Budda to see if he can figure out how to get the Wizards running again.
I don't know if it's Karma, but something tells me getting your top two rebounders back can restore the uptempo game.
By the way how about that Maryland win!Late in the game I think Coach K pulled the plug on the broadcast hoping to steal a game while no one was looking. Duke missed the front end of two one and one's and Dickie V never shut up to let Patrick do play by play. I couldn't figure out what happened til Maryland scored at the other end. Everyone had the Terps dead and buried, but what a win streak! On to the ACC tourny and Back to the NCAA's!

OMG. Ivan, I just got to read today's NBA chat, and your smack talk is PHENOMENAL. "..what can I say about Mike Wise that hasn't been said about Paul Mokeski? Wise is like a homeless man's Mokeski only he's more of a hack."

You MUST start bringing this game to more of your writing. It is your duty to the nation.

Well if Gilbert continues to shoot poorly with Caron and Antawn back then the shoulder injury theory will have a lot of merit. Once Caron and Antawn knock the rust off maybe Gilbert should sit down a few games and rest that shoulder.

Pfunk, I would've agreed with you about the lack of depth 2 months ago. But now I think we might have something here. Players did step up in AJ's and CB's absence. It might not have translated into W's, but it gave Blatche, Jarvis, Booth, Taylor and Mason plenty of time to showcase their talents. I'm actually pleased now because we don't have to wear down the Big 3 the rest of the season. I honestly feel that Gil should take a game off to rest that shoulder. He's been going full speed for over a year now. His body needs a break and ATL provides a chance for him to rest and the team still has enough to get the victory.

GM, I agree about Vitale. Any relationship between what he's talking about and the action happening on the court is purely coincidental.

I agree with the above comments about giving Gil a game or two off. I would also have him cut out the late-night shooting sessions and stress to him that getting some rest is more beneficial than taking a million practice shots a month.

Mitch, a friend of mine that is a season ticketholder to the Terps calls him "Duckie Vitale". He's bad during any game but he's really bad when it's Duke and even worse when it's Duke/Maryland. Chris says that Coach K is one of the few coachs that will come over and work the announcers before the game and that when Gary comes out he kind of snarls at Vitale because he has his came face on.
About Arenas, I know that some NFL teams curtail their workout routines as the season progresses. They limit the amount of lifting that guys do in season because they beleive it can be counter productive. Switch to more stretching and low impact work to keep their players fresh.
It's possible Arenas could be fatigued. But the big thing I'm seeing is that starting with the Portland game everyone is shading off their man and a step closer to the lane. He really seems to be having a hard time finding the seams and driving angles. They're challenging him to shoot the early 3 and it's not there for him.
Hope "Big Brother" and the Butler help him get his swag back. You got to remember the guy is still so young. He'll be ok.

It's interesting what someone said about working out during the season. As I recall, MJ had a routine where he would always work out and have a steak before each game during all these championship seasons as recommended by his trainer. In NFL teams, they typically eliminate full contact practices during the season, but a weightlifting requirement remains.

Not to rub it into ya'll Jarvis bashers, but Josh Howard was drafted #29 the same year Jarvis was drafted #10.

Thought the Dallas - Cleveland game was great.. Anybody notice the King missed 2 3 pinters and 2 free throws w/ 17 sec left.

CNN reported he choked on the line at a very crucial time..

Wonder if anybody wispered in his ear like he did Arenas last yr

Route66,

On PTI, Wilbon and Tony K. often rail on Lebron about how he's either passing on the critical shot, or not making it. They would often compare him to Kobe, who always takes, and always makes the clutch shot.

Lebron's got some talent for a guy his size, but he's not won anything either, and I can't understand why he's often mentioned as a MVP candidate. I wouldn't rail on him too much about the missed free throw though.

He should have made it, but he's a career 73% from FT, and 67% this year, and he missed in a regular season game, not like Arenas who missed in the final playoff series against Cleveland last year, and Arenas is a career 81% and 84% this year. It wasn't too long that 3 time Finals MVP, Shaq, often bricked it from the charity stripe. You just got to pick up your game elsewhere if one facet isn't working.

Yeah DC, that's crazy Josh Howard went so late. But back then (even though it was only 4 years ago), Josh was considered a "tweener". Too small to play the 3 and can't shoot enough to play the 2. But thanks to him and other tweeners (most notably Gilbert, Chauncey, Monta Ellis), guys like Alando Tucker and Mario Boggan have a chance to play in the league. BTW, while watching the Cleveland game last night I came to a realization. If Acie Law was their pg right now, I'd favor them to win it all. Law is that good. He would've made those shots Lebron missed.

I think Jarvis impressed them with his outside shooting. I recall when they worked him out, he couldn't miss from 3.

If you want some more heartburn, Jared Jeffries was drafted #11 (Juan Dixon #17) in the 2002 draft, while Tayshaun Prince went #23 and Carlos Boozer went #35.

And to think Unseld really wanted Jiri Welsch instead of Juan Dixon, while Tayshaun and Boozer were still on the board. Darius went #50 that year too.

Thanks.

I'm new to this site but can I ask: Who says Gilbert Areans' shoulder is injured?

I would think the coach would have mentioned it in his press conferences, etc. but he doesn't.

I think what's happening is: Eddie Jordan is requiring his PG play within the plan - scheme, etc as he said at the press conf.

Eddie Jordan made a point to mention that.

I don't think its a shoulder just Eddie Jordan requiring him to play within the parameters and some defense especially because of injuries. I think everybody remembers their on - air discussions, etc. I think this is the same thing but Arenas has been given a "Gag order" (He can't talk to the press about it.)

In looking over this site, I notice some of you get sensitive to any negative comment about Arenas but THIS IS NOT NEGATIVE !!! It shows Arenas is being trained. That's a good thing for the Wiz!

If someone on here knows if he shoulder is hurt for a fact - I'd be curious.

Gilbert says his shoulder is bothering him. Its been that way ever since he ran into Rueben Patterson. Sure, it doesn't stop him from shooting, but it does hurt nonetheless. Hey, we didn't know Caron suffered from back spasms until the dreaded bus ride either. Players play through nagging injuries all the time. Until the day comes when Gil can't lift his arm over his head (God forbid), then he's gonna continue playing.

Dude, here's an excerpt from yesterday's Wizards chat session with Ivan/Michael:

Lexington, Va.: How much of Gilbert's shooting slump is attributable to his shoulder? Any guess when it's going to get better?

Ivan Carter: He's talked about how that shoulder has bothered him for awhile now, at least going back to the game at Milwaukee Dec. 30 when he collided with Ruben Patterson's shoulder. He describes it as more of an annoyance than sharp pain but clearly something isn't right with his stroke and hasn't been for awhile. He's 19 of 101 from long range since the game at Toronto.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/02/23/DI2007022300672.html

I think even if EJ "forced" Gilby to play within the Princeton parameters, which I don't think he is, it would still have no effect on Gilby missing wide open 3's. Gilby never complained about the Princeton offense. He only complained that by him having to play defense, it slows it down for him too much to react offensively.

My contention has been that if Gilby was injured before All Star Weekend, he should have bowed out of the festivities like Nash did, and put team first, not individual first.

Also, Gilby can't complain about being hurt or tired like Lebron and Dwade b/c Gilby was cut from the World Basketball team, so he had ample time to rest up. I think what's messing up Gilby now is more psychological than anything else. Look at his face during games. The self hype he thought was all fun and games is a burden on his shoulder that he's got to deal with. He's got huge bags under his eyes. I don't think he'll be able to reconcile his 180 degree personality change (coming out birthday party, self promotion, etc. etc. I mean, he had to hire PDiddy for the party. Diddy didn't show up as a friend) season until he gets himself together this offseason.

To defend LeBron for one moment, he fell on a camera and hurt his hip and that is why he missed the FT last night. And as another Jarvis basher, it is still fair to point out that he was solid as a rookie and then the injuries started to come. And I have ask to, why are we going to just annoy ourselves by going over past Wizards draft errors, there are just too many to list. We have Ernie Grunfeld now and hopefully those draft errors are a thing of the past.

wow!! that was way more than I needed but thanks.

The wiz are a good team over all but one can't tell it from reading this site tho.

Goodness..a few loses is not that bad considering the lack of performances this city has endured.

We love, love the skins no matter what and get mad at the owner to avoid getting mad at Gibbs. But on here...I thought it was Good Friday! The poor team and coach are bein crucified mercilessly all the time every day!!

If I was that poor Jarvis Hayes guy & saw this site - ugh!!! And to think you're the "Fans!!!" they'd be better off in Iraq.

In LA..the stars come out every nite - regardless...They love that pitiful rookie team.

EASE UP FOLKS...

Ease up? For what? Out in L.A., they're used to winning. It's not the same "round these parts". And no one crucifies the team or the coach on a daily basis. We comment on the good and the bad of this team. During this current losing streak, most of the bloggers realized we were short-handed. Paranoia came from the "casual" blogger passing through without reading the thoughts of the other bloggers. For instance, I made several remarks about Jarvis' shooting (or lack of), but at the same time I understand he's been playing out of position until the team got healthy again (he was doing fine before he was forced to start again). I loved this team since i was born. I was born a Bullets/Wizards' fan and I'll die one. I'm glad this blog exists because it gives me an outlet to vent when something ridiculous happens on the court (like SmallBall, Mike Ruffin, etc.).

Whoever came up with that stupid "Gilby" needs to be shot!! Repeatedly!!

I agree G. Templeton.

I thought Cleveland did a pretty good job on Dallas.

I'm glad they bought Hall back. Most folks were choosing him over Mason at the start.
Hope it works out well for him.

The office is obviously concerned and at least thinking ahead - thats good.

George,

Grunfeld brought some legitimacy to this organization and has done a professional job since he's been here. My only gripe is him drafting Navarro when there was a chance that he wouldn't play here. And, the jury is still out about last year's russian guy.

DCMan88, Just curious. Not to single you out but: Have you ever posted a 100% positive post about this team?

You have great insight and information but brother! Its wrapped up with all this barbwire of negativity!!

OK we got your message. Gilby isn't a super star. Now what?
Grunfeld made a wrong hire? Nobody does anything right ALL the time.

We must allow one another room for error.

The Wizards will be alright. They are a better team this year than last and hopefully better next. But if not..we'll enjoy the ride anyway! Thank God, we aint where we wuz.

Route 66, Praise God,Hallalula, Amen! My Grandmother used to say," The world's easiest job is to be a critic. That's why everyone wants to be one! But because everyone wants to do it, you can't find anybody to pay to sit in a chair and do all day, so you better get a real job!"
I agree this is a team on the upswing with plenty of good young players that haven't reached there full potential yet. Including Arenas who has improved every year he's been in the league and is still only 25. I think Jordan was 26 when he won his first title so Gilbert's still got time to grow and improve and lead this team to a title.

FYI, Ernie didn't draft Navarro. Michael Jordan did.

Don't mind me. I'm always sticking my foot in my mouth. It's an overcompensation for my lack of knowledge about the game.

I came up with Gilby and I like poking fun at him. What are you going to do about it? I also like poking fun at him, really I'm not a Les Boules fan so get of my f'ing case.

The coward who keeps making posts using my name should keep hiding. You have no spine, because if you did, you would step up to the plate and get your @ss reamed like everyone else here. Take it like a b!tch that you are. Actually, maybe you did get your @ss chewed out in the past, which is why you have to hide now. :D

I think it's definitely easy being a supporter of Gilby's nonsense when you're helping bankroll his salary by being a season ticket holder like GM. Otherwise, you'd feel like an idiot for paying for such crapola.

Route 66,

I funny thing is I support Jarvis, and people rail me for that. I've said that many times. I also support EJ and Blatche. EJ is in a tough position, b/c he's got a PG who wants to be a superstar and run his own show like Peyton Manning. Gilby is obviously not there yet, so that's why it's funny. And of course, I always supported Caron. Check my previous posts praising these guys if you don't believe me.

C.Bell, thanks for the catch. My thing now about Navarro is that Grunfeld recently saw him play and liked what he saw. If so, Pollin should pay the bucks and get the guy here. We need him. We don't want to hear EJ's company line about how he knows this team is on a tight budget, and that he's fine with that. Step up Abe.

This is something that should probably get a full post or something. Antawn Jamison. He's awesome. Our local announcers move the "w" in his name and call him Antwan. Is his name "Antawn" but pronounced "Antwan"?

Are Comcast's announcers making me doubt my sanity? Probably so, but they're better than John Madden (whoever scores more points today is gonna win!)

Beau,

Antawn's name is pronounced "Antwan" - his parents just spelled it differently. In fact, he just had a son and named him Antwan as well but he is not spelling it like his name so the poor kid will not go through the same mispronunciation.

thanks, lisa!