Here’s a stat for you. In the 15 games that the Wizards have played they have shot 31.1% from 3 point land while allowing opponents to shoot 36.1%. Last night the Wizards shot 54.2% while holding the Nets to 35% from long range. The result, an impressive 108-88 win over a very hot New Jersey Nets team. While the Wizards have never been strong defensively they have used their 3-point ability to hold teams at bay. The defense isn’t any worse this year the Wiz just aren’t scoring enough points, and more specifically, not enough 3- pointers. The reasons seem obvious. First off losing Arenas at the point would hurt any teams 3-point shooting, but even more so a Wizards team that boasts an aging Daniels and a young unproven Dee Brown as its reserves. Second, Roger Mason is gone. The UVA product was deadly from long range for the Wizards last year and is playing great for the Spurs. Along with the loss of both Mason and Arenas, Stevenson, our only proven deep threat besides Arenas, has been in a huge slump. That is until last night.
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From the category archives:
Wizards
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Dr. Gonzo Reporting,
Have I fallen into a time warp of some sort? Are the Wizards 0-5 again? NO… NOT POSSIBLE!!!
Sorry Buck, for the second year in a row it is very very possible.
I wonder what it’s like to live in Detroit or Boston or Phoenix, places where teams are expected to win, and guess what? They do. Places where teams don’t piss away November, places where teams are good in the beginning, middle and then peak at the end. Ah, I dream of a Wizards team that can fully grasp that concept.
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On Wednesday night the Wizards lost their third straight of the season and fell to 0-3. Down by as much as 18 the Wizards bench, led by Nick Young and Juan Dixon, brought the team all the way back and more. The Wiz appeared to have the game well in hand…and then the starters went back in. DeShawn finished the game 1 of 7 from 3-point range, Blatche looked confused and overmatched committing 4 turnovers (2 of which were passes thrown into the stands), Jamison went 6 of 19 from the field and 7 of 12 from the line, and Antonio Daniels, well he looked like Antonio Daniels, extremely vanilla adding only 3 points in 21 minutes. With Arenas out the next two months this team desperately needs a spark, someone who can put up points in a hurry and infuse some energy into a once deadly offense. While one man can never replace Arenas’ offensive output, 3 just may be able to.
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Dr. Gonzo Reporting,
Just when I was feeling good about professional sports in this area, the Wizards go and tear my dreams apart. Well not intentionally at least.
It was reported today that the much improved Brendan Haywood, will miss 4-6 months, not weeks, nursing a wrist injury. WHY!! First we lose Gil til January, then Jamison goes down in the first preseason game of the year, now this. I can’t take it anymore.
Jamison’s x-ray yesterday revealed a knee contusion, but he vows to be back for the first game of the year in the phone booth against the New Jersey Nets.
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Dr. Gonzo Reporting,
You’ve heard the tales: man leads team to first national championship, man averages close to 30 pts a game a long the way, man overcomes losses of both parents and man comes to D.C. and drops 35 pts in the playoffs coming off the bench.
All those tales are the true-life story of the prodigal son Juan Dixon. And now he is making his returning to the D.C. area signing a 1-year 1.03 million dollar contract with the Washington Wizards.
Juan returns once again, this time older, wiser and more suited for Eddie Jordan’s Princeton offense. Dixon is known for his solid work ethic, hard-nosed defense and the ability to still drop in a bunch of points here and there.
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Dr. Gonzo Reporting,
Ever wonder how far a Wizards team could go if they stayed healthy all year?
With another season rapidly approaching our dreams of a fully healthy 2008-2009 campaign have been crushed, like Charlie Weis’s leg. The Washington Post reported today that Agent Zero will miss the first month of the season, undergoing his third knee surgery in the past two seasons.
Arenas confirmed the report on his blog, citing floating debris as the cause of his most recent surgery. Arenas said, “It was irritating the knee so we decided to go in there and clean it out. This should actually allow me to come back faster.”
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Dr. Gonzo,
It’s no secret that athletes love beard growing contests. Who can forget DeShawn Stevenson vs. Drew Gooden, or Chris Cooley vs. his blogging public? D-Steve and Cooley have since taken the clippers to their respective beards, with D-Steve’s ending in success and Cooley not being as lucky.
Don’t forget deep play offruns, it seems like every year we see teams getting hairier the deeper they go. I remember Jeff Fisher of the Titans used to look like Grizzle Adams ever January.
So is there any logic to beard growing or is it just the ultimate apathetic rally starter?
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So I realize I am a little late on this one but in Gilbert’s latest blog post he writes that this will be Kwame Brown’s Year. Wait, the same Kwame Brown that the Wizards Drafted #1 overall in 2001? Are we to believe the Kwame will finally reach his full potential with the Pistons? Kwame has been a waste of cap space for the last 7 years. In fact, he is so bad their is even a blog dedicated to how bad Kwame really is! Maybe you should check the filters in your million dollar pool Gil, I think something in the water is messing with your head.
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The month of July is really tough for me. I start sweating, blurred vision, headaches, vivid hallucinations usually involving Lebron James or Marcus Trufant (the Seahawks cornerback who took an errant Todd Collins pass to the house essentially ending last years dream season). So whats wrong with me you ask? DC Sports withdrawal, that’s what. So you can imagine how excited I was to watch last nights summer league game between the Wizards and Blazers. There were a couple things that I was looking for last night. The most obvious was how JaVale McGee would match up against NBA talent, even if it was mainly backups. I also wanted to see our talented young core play together. Yes the big three is what gets you to the playoffs but it is strong role players that get you to the big dance. So what did I think of the game. A couple things:
1. McGee is Blatche: This can really be perceived one of two ways. Either you think Blatche is a talented big man who can run the floor, block shots, handle the ball, and is a big part of the Wizards future or you think Blatche is a player with all the physical tools but will never reach his potential. McGee showed the ability to block shots and snatch rebounds. He is extremely athletic for his size. He displayed a couple of nice post up moves, banking one fadeaway shot off the glass from the baseline.
and…
2. Nick Young Cannot Play Defense: O.k. So I realize this is a pick up game, and a sloppy one at that, but if Young wants to take the next step he has to be at least average defensively. The last thing the Wizards need is a defensive liability. That being said Young has a knack for scoring and it shows. His shot looks effortless and he does a nice job of penetrating and drawing fouls. Actually, One of the NBA TV broadcasters appeared to develop a little infatuation for Nick, a mancrush if you will, which was great but also kind of creepy. If you watched the game you know what I’m talking about.
Overall the Wizards looked very sloppy which was to be expected from a pickup game. I would like to see more from Dee Brown and Dominic McGuire. Also, wasn’t Pecherov supposed to be on this team? Is he hurt or something? I miss seeing his oddly shaped (thick legs, skinny upper body, misshapen head) Ukrainian frame out there. Maybe our readers can clarify this for me.
Oh yeah the Wizards lost the game 78-73. Rookie point guard Jerryd Bayless for the Blazers was very impressive scoring a game high 28 points. He will be one to watch this season.
If you want to read about how the rest of the team looked The DC Pro Sports Report has a nice post.
In other Wizards news Arenas has come out of blogtirement and back into the blogosphere. The majority of the post is spent discussing his adidas tour which featured trips to Shanghai, Beijing, Manila, Berlin, and Barcelona. He talks about smog in Shanghai and Beijing, hospitality in Manila, beamers for cabs in Berlin, and alluring interview questions in Barcelona. But more importantly Arenas says he is “happy to remain a Washington Wizard.” Amazing what 111 milli will do for someones morale. Agent Zero also comments on JaVale McGee saying, “from what I’ve seen on YouTube, [he]is very long, very agile … a little on the thin side, but blocks shots. Hopefully he’ll be a little like a Tyson Chandler, maybe he can score a little bit better, we’ll have to see how his development goes.” I seem to remember a certain blogger also saying that JaVale McGee reminded them of Tyson Chandler. Great bloggers think a like I guess. Keep up the good work Gil.
You can read the entire Gilbert Arenas blog here…at The Gilbert Arenas Blog.
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