http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/ en-us Copyright 2008 Thu, 15 May 2008 15:40:18 -0400 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.36 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss The San Antonio Spurs may or may not be preparing for their final game of the season tonight at AT&T Center. The defending champions trail 3-2 against the New Orleans Hornets and need to win the next two games or prepare to hand off the Larry O'Brien trophy to one of the six remaining teams in the playoffs. That isn't bad news to most people I know. I've had a number of conversations in the past few weeks with people who are rooting heavily against the Spurs and hoping that they won't advance against the Hornets. You don't want us gone, do you? (REUTERS/Sean Gardner ) Most of the complaints center around wanting too see some new blood. Some folks think the Spurs - Bruce Bowen, in particular, is dirty. But the primary reason they give for not wanting to see the Spurs anymore is based on a common theme http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/05/is_this_the_end_for_san_antoni.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/05/is_this_the_end_for_san_antoni.html Thu, 15 May 2008 15:40:18 -0400 A LeBron James team may never be desperate - his words, not mine - but road teams in this round of the playoffs? Every team except Detroit certainly looks the part away from the friendly confines of home. It is amazing what slipping on a home white uniform (or home yellows for the Lakers) can do for an NBA team in the second round of the playoffs. That simple act, combined with the support of loving, energetic fans, the smoke caused by pyrotechnics and a night spent sleeping in your own bed, has been the sole difference to this point. This ain't Kansas anymore, but there is no place like home! (AFP/Getty Images/File/Elsa) So far, there have been 20 games in the conference semifinals and 19 of them have been won by the home team, a statistic that grew incredibly more mind-boggling last night (and early this morning) after the http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/05/a_lebron_james_team_is_never_d.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/05/a_lebron_james_team_is_never_d.html Thu, 15 May 2008 10:44:05 -0400 I used the phrase "so-called Big Three" in my earlier post because Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen have come up extremely small on the road this postseason. Garnett, Allen and Pierce were a combined 3-for-10 for six points in the fourth quarter last night in the Celtics fifth consecutive playoff road loss. Pierce was only one of the three to actually score in the final period. Garnett had two points in the second half. It ain't easy being in green. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) It would be easy to toss that aside as a one-game blip - if it hasn't become a solid trend for the three players who restored Celtic pride in the regular season but have brought back the return of Boston sports angst this postseason with their inability to produce when it matters most: In the Fourth Quarter, On The Road. I know Garnett was stellar http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/05/big_three_playing_small_on_roa.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/05/big_three_playing_small_on_roa.html Tue, 13 May 2008 10:41:18 -0400 For some reason, the Washington Wizards, Philadelphia 76ers, Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets didn't get the memo, but this is the postseason of Homecourt Advantage. It hit me last night, right about the time LeBron James jackhammered that powerful and stupendous dunk over Kevin Garnett and then later when Anderson Varejao hit back-to-back jump shots during a painful-to-watch, 88-77 victory that allowed the Cleveland Cavaliers even their series with Boston at two games apiece. Don't worry, K.G. I'll sign a copy of this for you! (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images) Road teams just haven't been getting it done in the playoffs. Through the first two rounds, home teams have won 75 percent of their games (45-15), which the Elias Sports Bureau says would be the first time home teams have had such a high winning percentage since 1990, when the home teams went 54-18 (.750). The Wizards, http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/05/home_court_rules.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/05/home_court_rules.html Tue, 13 May 2008 08:05:53 -0400 One of the most interesting things to come out of Ernie Grunfeld's annual postseason presser yesterday was the answer he gave to a question I asked about how he would respond to passionate fans of this franchise who are frustrated over three straight first round exits and want him to do something drastic. The answer is long but I felt that it was informative. Ernie: "I love the reaction because that means there is an interest. That means there is a following, a passion which I think is great. That's what makes fans so great. They want to see you succeed, they want to see you move on. I like all of those things. At the end of the day, I'm responsible for the organization and making the decisions I feel are in the best short term and long term interests of the ball club. And, I have a http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/05/what_lies_ahead.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/05/what_lies_ahead.html Fri, 09 May 2008 15:13:58 -0400 Just wanted to put something up letting folks know that Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld will address the media today in a press conference at the VC. I'll be writing on it for tomorrow's paper. In his latest blog, posted yesterday, Gilbert Arenas said he wants Antawn Jamison here next year or he won't come back. Nothing really new there - he said very much the same thing in Los Angeles back in March. However, he also said that night that he hadn't been medically cleared to play when in fact he had been cleared the previous night. Then, one night before he made his dramatic return, he flat told me that he wasn't going to play. Oh, and he's gone back-and-forth between a willingess to take less money and his desire to get a max deal. So, as with everything involving Arenas, take his latest words with caution. And http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/05/ernie_speaks_today.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/05/ernie_speaks_today.html Thu, 08 May 2008 12:53:16 -0400 The players held their exit meetings with Coach Eddie Jordan and his staff and are in the process of doing the same with President Ernie Grunfeld today and tomorrow. Ernie is expected to address the media on Wednsday which is typical. He likes to meet with each player indivdually, meet with Jordan and the coaches and let the emotions surrounding the season's final game flow a little before discussing what' s next with us. A few housekeeping issues: -Antonio Daniels said he will meet with a hand specialist and then decide whether to undergo surgery on his left wrist. He played through a pretty painful injury the last two months of the season. -Caron Butler said that he simply needs some rest and won't require any surgery on his left hip or left wrist, which had a chipped bone in it for the last few weeks of the season. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/05/monday_update_4.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/05/monday_update_4.html Mon, 05 May 2008 13:32:00 -0400 Before the series began, I said my two X-factors would be Wally Szczerbiak for the Cavs and Roger Mason Jr. for the Wizards. Last night, as the Cavs closed the Wizards out for the third straight year at Verizon Center, Wally World came through in a big way by making six three-pointers and putting up a series-high 26 points. I've been baffled at his shooting struggles since the trade. Normally, when he gets his feet set, the guy is money. During the 2001-2002 season with the T-Wolves for example, the guy made 50.8 percent of his shots and 45.5 percent of his 3's. -Roger had a solid series, averaging 8 points on 40 percent shooting and helped get that Game 3 butt kicking underway by making some key shots in the second quarter but wasn't a huge factor last night as he finished with 7 points on 3 of http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/05/summer_time_is_here.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/05/summer_time_is_here.html Sat, 03 May 2008 14:45:00 -0400 Another year, another Wizards playoff exit thanks to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Game 6 went the same as Games 2 and 3 with one team dominating for the better part of the night and strolling to victory. So now the Wizards head into the offseason with a laundry list of issues: What's to be done with Arenas? What about Jamison? Can this team take the next step as presently constructed? So we open it up to you, any predictions for this summer and next season? http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/05/an_all_too_familiar_end.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/05/an_all_too_familiar_end.html Fri, 02 May 2008 22:10:51 -0400 Cleveland is moving the ball well and knocking down shots and that the Cavs were able to use a 15-0 second quarter run to take this lead. The key is Daniel Gibson, who has 15 points on 6 of 10 shooting. The Cavs are shooting 53.5 percent. If the Wizards don't start getting some hands in faces, this one is over. To the delight of the sold-out crowd here the VC, LeBron James was hit with a technical by Steve Javie just before halftime. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/05/5648_cavs_at_the_half.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/05/5648_cavs_at_the_half.html Fri, 02 May 2008 20:08:22 -0400 The NBA's Stu Jackson explained the decision to suspend Darius Songaila in a conference call with reporters earlier today. It was farely standard stuff until I asked Jackson whether James would have been suspended for this game had he caught Darius in the face with a hand. Jackson, who I presume kept a straight face: "Again, we evaluate each of these plays based upon the merits and not the inviduals. If the roles were reversed, the answer is yes, he would have been suspended." If you believe that, I have some land on the moon I want to sell you. Jackson said Songaila was suspended because the contact was deemed to be "intentional" and came after the play. As for the elbow James threw to the face of Andray Blatche in Game 1, that was different. "In our evaluation, that was in the normal cause of a basketball movement," http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/05/game_6.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/05/game_6.html Fri, 02 May 2008 18:33:57 -0400 The NBA has suspended Wizards forward Darius Songaila for tonight's Game 6. Songaila was given a technical foul during the first half of Game 5 after hitting Cavaliers star LeBron James in the face after the two became tangled up underneath the Washington basket. Songaila was not given a flagrant foul at the time of the play and Wizards' Coach Eddie Jordan argued that he did not deserve the technical either. Songaila said the contact which involved his left arm and James' face, was unintentional. "We got tangled up, my arm got caught inside of his and when I tried to free myself, my arm caught him in the face," Songaila said yesterday before the suspension was announced. "It was an accident. He lifted my arm and it caught him in the face. If anything, it was caused by him. It wasn't intentional or anything." Also yesterday, Jordan said http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/05/songaila_suspended.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/05/songaila_suspended.html Fri, 02 May 2008 12:37:56 -0400 A few good quotes from the day: - Last night, Charles Barkley repeatedly said that the Wizards were about to be sent to the golf course for the summer by the Cavs. Today, Caron Butler was asked about that. "I don't golf," Butler said with a very straight face. -Darius Songaila was given a technical for hitting LeBron James in the face with a stray elbow last night. Neither he nor Eddie Jordan felt he deserved the tech because they say he was trying to pull arm free from James and the contact was accidental. Darius: "We got tangled up, my arm got caught inside of his and when I tried to free myself, my arm caught him in the face. It was an accident. He lifted my arm and it caught him in the face. If anything, it was caused by him. It wasn't intentional or anything." Jordan, http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/05/on_to_game_6.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/05/on_to_game_6.html Thu, 01 May 2008 17:58:54 -0400 Here's Michael Lee's audio breakdown of the Wizards win over the Cavs in Wednesday's Game 5 ... http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/05/breaking_down_game_5.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/05/breaking_down_game_5.html Thu, 01 May 2008 11:28:15 -0400 That is what an all-star is supposed to do. I wrote yesterday that in order for the Wizards to win tonight, they needed to rebound and get a big time performance from one of their all-stars: Caron Butler or Antawn Jamison. The were out-boarded by only one and Butler came through with 32 points, nine rebounds and five assists. He scored the game winner and also earned a little payback on LeBron James by sliding up to James just before the final possession and saying something. "I just told him to make the season interesting," Butler said. "Let's take it back to DC. And he started laughing. You know, I had to get him back for what he did to Gilbert a couple of years ago at the foul line." Two interesting things about the final two plays. -Butler appeared to be fouled by James on his game winning http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/04/butler_brings_it.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/04/butler_brings_it.html Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:47:28 -0400