The Official Washington Basketball Thread: Wizards, Mystics etc

[No Excuses]

I'm a big Cartier Martin fan. I like his three point shooting ability and with Gil and Wall and I think he is the right guy to have at SF until J-Howard gets back. It should be either him or Young starting at SF. Thornton's game doesn't really mesh well with the rest of the starting lineup. We need a SF who can stretch the floor.

[ACW]

Hudson should be a nice bench player. First player in D1 history to get a quadruple-double.

[Gator Bait]

Hudson should be a nice bench player. First player in D1 history to get a quadruple-double.

Hudson looked extremely slow during preseason....he didn't impress me at all. With three better options at PG, I doubt he gets any meaningful playing time. Cartier on the other hand has a chance to log some minutes. Although I disagree with Vishal...I think our best option at the 3 till Howard gets back is Yi.

[No Excuses]

Using Yi at the 3 gives us no legitimate back up for Blatche and McGee. Yi is the super sub for both. It just creates another problem if he's used at the 3.

[gbear]

and how many are surprised at the former agent 0 possibly logging 0 min for game 1?

I really want to root for him, but ...

[Sticksboi05]

Arenas is a loser. Period. The faster he's gone the better.

[ixcuincle]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5733514

Gilbert Arenas will miss at least the first two regular-season games for the Washington Wizards with a strained tendon in his right ankle.

Arenas was in a walking boot and missed his fourth straight practice Wednesday. Wizards coach Flip Saunders said Arenas will be reevaluated by doctors but will be out Thursday at Orlando and Saturday at Atlanta.

No...he's not hurt...he's just "faking injury" so Nick Young can have more time

[No Excuses]

He was hurt the game after that. I was at the game and he left sometime in the first or second period due to a groin injury. Both situations are mutually exclusive.

[StillUnknown]

He was hurt the game after that. I was at the game and he left sometime in the first or second period due to a groin injury. Both situations are mutually exclusive.

just the fact that its Gilbert makes people second guess it, he's brought that on himself

[Gator Bait]

all the Gilbert hate...I'm still in his corner. DC fans are so fair-weather!

So what will be the stat line for Mr. Wall tonight? I'm thinking 20 pts, 10 assist, 4 turnovers, 3 rebounds, 3 steals

[No Excuses]

all the Gilbert hate...I'm still in his corner. DC fans are so fair-weather!

So what will be the stat line for Mr. Wall tonight? I'm thinking 20 pts, 10 assist, 4 turnovers, 3 rebounds, 3 steals

Extremely fair-weather indeed. I'm not really sure why people are holding Gilbert's freak injury against him. Calling him a "loser", "team cancer" etc.. after all he has done for this franchise and this city? The guy has done nothing but help his teammates and carry a pathetic supporting cast to the playoffs year after year. His best supporting players in his prime (Hughes, Jamison, Haywood, Butler) couldn't even get Dirk and LeBron out of the second round. If Gilbert gets traded tomorrow, I really wouldn't care. I won't be devestated and I won't be overjoyed. But I'll root for him to do well wherever he goes. He's done enough in his tenure in D.C for me to never dislike him as an athlete or to label him with moronic stuff like "loser" and "team cancer".

I really wonder if Ovechkin was to have a freak injury and then continued health problems if all the "Gilbert is a loser" crowd would crown Ovechkin as a loser as well. I mean he won't be playing up to his contract right?

The fans of this city are a joke. Only a few true Washingtonian sports fans exist. Most bandwagon onto whoever is the most successful and make downright ignorant and asinine statements for the others. As someone who's followed this team for a really long time and who values how much Gilbert has meant to this franchise, it really pisses me off to see people labeling Arenas has something he is not. If you passively follow the Wizards, don't come in here and say stupid ****.

Edited October 28, 2010 by No Excuses

[Duckus]

I am so f'ing pumped for tonight! I am excited for this season. I have no idea how good we will be, and don't expect much, but no one in the east terrifies me at all.

And yea - I still love Gilbert. He is insane, but I love him. He is the Ricky Williams of the NBA.

[Sticksboi05]

He was hurt the game after that. I was at the game and he left sometime in the first or second period due to a groin injury. Both situations are mutually exclusive.

Mutually exclusive. Phew, for a second I thought...well...you know...

[No Excuses]

Tip off in 1 hour. Would have liked to see Nick Young start instead of Hinrich. Without Hinrich as the back up PG, we lack a proper set up man on the bench. Not excited to see Lestor Hudson get PT.

[Metalhead]

Extremely fair-weather indeed. I'm not really sure why people are holding Gilbert's freak injury against him. Calling him a "loser", "team cancer" etc.. after all he has done for this franchise and this city? The guy has done nothing but help his teammates and carry a pathetic supporting cast to the playoffs year after year. His best supporting players in his prime (Hughes, Jamison, Haywood, Butler) couldn't even get Dirk and LeBron out of the second round. If Gilbert gets traded tomorrow, I really wouldn't care. I won't be devestated and I won't be overjoyed. But I'll root for him to do well wherever he goes. He's done enough in his tenure in D.C for me to never dislike him as an athlete or to label him with moronic stuff like "loser" and "team cancer".

I really wonder if Ovechkin was to have a freak injury and then continued health problems if all the "Gilbert is a loser" crowd would crown Ovechkin as a loser as well. I mean he won't be playing up to his contract right?

The fans of this city are a joke. Only a few true Washingtonian sports fans exist. Most bandwagon onto whoever is the most successful and make downright ignorant and asinine statements for the others. As someone who's followed this team for a really long time and who values how much Gilbert has meant to this franchise, it really pisses me off to see people labeling Arenas has something he is not. If you passively follow the Wizards, don't come in here and say stupid ****.

Gilbert has continually shown deep-seated morality and character issues. In real life, people committing actions as he has are fired from their job.

I don't know if it was your intention, but you directly connected "true Washingtonian sports fans" to mindless, blind homers. Some of us are capable of critically analyzing situations and the status of a roster or franchise. The franchise is looking up...a new owner, a solid coach, and some young talent. We can also acknowledge the existence of a poor GM and several players that are not that good (Nick Young, Stevenson the last couple seasons) or lack positive character traits (Arenas, Blatche).

[Sticksboi05]

Gilbert has continually shown deep-seated morality and character issues. In real life, people committing actions as he has are fired from their job.

I don't know if it was your intention, but you directly connected "true Washingtonian sports fans" to mindless, blind homers. Some of us are capable of critically analyzing situations and the status of a roster or franchise. The franchise is looking up...a new owner, a solid coach, and some young talent. We can also acknowledge the existence of a poor GM and several players that are not that good (Nick Young, Stevenson the last couple seasons) or lack positive character traits (Arenas, Blatche).

Basically my sentiments. I'll always thank Gilbert for the good memories but let's be real, the faster he's gone the better. He's the past, sadly. Didn't have to be this way. F-ing Gerald Wallace.

[StillUnknown]

if the Wizards can keep tonights game within 10, I'll be impressed

[No Excuses]

or lack positive character traits (Arenas, Blatche).

What positive character traits is Gilbert lacking?

Try to explain to me how this guy lacks positive traits:

When I say he's a "good guy" I say that for a few reasons. One of them being personal interaction. When I wrote about the team, I worked with Gil regularly. He was always great in ways that few PEOPLE (not restricting the comment to NBA players) are. Not just in terms of a willingness to talk, but I'm referring to a willingness to actually listen, to engage in a conversation, to interact with the ideas being discussed.

Gil is also stunningly generous. Many Wizards fans are familiar with the story of the boy whose entire family was killed in a fire. Gil heard the story on the news and quasi-adopted the youngster. He didn't just bring him to Wizards games and arrange for him to be a ballboy. He also has been financially supporting the young man and his grandmother, who is raising him.

When Katrina victims were being housed at the DC Armory, Gil saw it on the news, went to Costco about bought something like $70k worth of stuff, which he had delivered to those people. And he does stuff like that with enough frequency (and so little publicity) that he's not doing it for PR.

Gil is (well, at least used to be) an athlete who understood and appreciated how good it is to be an NBA player. He used to be a daily celebration of being in the NBA. I don't think that changed for him, even when he got hurt. What changed was the perception of him. The goofballness wasn't as fun when he wasn't on the court scoring 30 points a night. At least for some.

I think the "isn't it great to be in the NBA" aspect of him is diminished because of the guns incident. Honestly, I'd love to see him get it back, because he was FUN (at least to me).

Gil's a basketball player. He was exactly this much of a goofball when he was one of the game's best offensive weapons and he was leading the team into the 2nd round of the playoffs. We fans tend to take this stuff very seriously, but it's not that deep. It's not surgery or flying an airplane or even driving a bus. Lots of people are interested in what he does, but he doesn't have a direct affect on our lives. If Gil flips his lid and goes full screwball, the only person he's really hurting is himself.

IF Gil cares at all about public relations at this point, he should shut up and let his play do the talking. I don't think PR concerns him, though.

Plus, I read Flip's quote yesterday describing Gil as the most coachable player on the team. Maybe Flip actually knows what he's talking about.

This bad example for the others you talk about. This is his own coaching talking about him:

As I said last night, believe it or not, Gilbert has been in my two years here, coaching wise, he’s been the easiest guy that I’ve had to coach. From when I ask him to do something, he has done everything I’ve asked him to do from a players standpoint. Gilbert can be his own worst enemy as far as talking too much and I really believe this, he looks at himself as being Nick’s mentor. He likes to see Nick do good, but for him to make those comments, those are unjustified type comments.”

"I don't know if it's a twice a month basis. As I said last night, believe it or not, Gilbert has been in my two years here, coaching wise, he's been the easiest guy that I've had to coach. From when I ask him to do something, he has done everything I've asked him to do from a players standpoint. Gilbert can be his own worst enemy as far as talking too much . . ."

Sounds like a real ****ing scumbag. :

I'm not even going to bother posting all the other accounts of good things Gilbert has done over his career. Those who want to hate will hate. Those of us who actually FOLLOW this team know the person Gilbert is. One foolish prank doesn't make him the scumbag you think he is.

Learn a little about the person and get EDUCATED:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/23/AR2007102301560.html

Again, people who've followed this team know that Gilbert is not a bad dude. Do some of us want him traded? Sure. I personally don't care. If he leaves, I won't be mad. But I don't want him gone because "he's a loser, poor character" person. That is a completely asinine statement.

This is not about being a mindless blind homer. This about being FAIR and rational. If you are going to come in and make statements, have them backed up by factually correct statements. Nothing wrong with wanting him to be traded. But to call him a person lacking "character" is absolutely ****ing stupid.

Personally I think it's pretty ****ty that people hate on the guy just for the money he makes. Within the last year, his mother died and he never got closure on their relationship, his fiancee banged Shaq and he found out, he was suspended from his job and publicly humiliated (his fault) and he still deals with repercussions from his freak knee injury because the Wizards medical staff completely dropped the ball on it. I'm sure you would be the pillar of morality if you had to deal with that stuff.

Edited October 28, 2010 by No Excuses

[ACW]

[Metalhead]

What positive character traits is Gilbert lacking?

Try to explain to me how this guy lacks positive traits:

This bad example for the others you talk about. This is his own coaching talking about him:

Sounds like a real ****ing scumbag. :

I'm not even going to bother posting all the other accounts of good things Gilbert has done over his career. Those who want to hate will hate. Those of us who actually FOLLOW this team know the person Gilbert is. One foolish prank doesn't make him the scumbag you think he is.

Learn a little about the person and get EDUCATED:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/23/AR2007102301560.html

Again, people who've followed this team know that Gilbert is not a bad dude. Do some of us want him traded? Sure. I personally don't care. If he leaves, I won't be mad. But I don't want him gone because "he's a loser, poor character" person. That is a completely asinine statement.

This is not about being a mindless blind homer. This about being FAIR and rational. If you are going to come in and make statements, have them backed up by factually correct statements. Nothing wrong with wanting him to be traded. But to call him a person lacking "character" is absolutely ****ing stupid.

Personally I think it's pretty ****ty that people hate on the guy just for the money he makes. Within the last year, his mother died and he never got closure on their relationship, his fiancee banged Shaq and he found out, he was suspended from his job and publicly humiliated (his fault) and he still deals with repercussions from his freak knee injury because the Wizards medical staff completely dropped the ball on it. I'm sure you would be the pillar of morality if you had to deal with that stuff.

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/13022296/

Arrested for disobeying police in Florida. The situation and arrest alone is enough to show his character and decision making, which was revealed. This was four years ago and Arenas has not changed since, which has been proven,

Brought guns into a locker room (a place of employment, and a public place). We all know the story and the illegal actions and poor judgement that he had.

While having a chance to hold back and utilize common sense during the ensuing investigation, he continued his antics by "shooting" his teammates.

He faked an injury, lied to his coaches, then told the media before even telling the coaches. Um, if I lied to my bosses' face and then proceeding to get on our intercom and broadcast what I lied about...well, it's not hard to figure out.

[No Excuses]

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/13022296/

Arrested for disobeying police in Florida. The situation and arrest alone is enough to show his character and decision making, which was revealed. This was four years ago and Arenas has not changed since, which has been proven,

Brought guns into a locker room (a place of employment, and a public place). We all know the story and the illegal actions and poor judgement that he had.

While having a chance to hold back and utilize common sense during the ensuing investigation, he continued his antics by "shooting" his teammates.

He faked an injury, lied to his coaches, then told the media before even telling the coaches. Um, if I lied to my bosses' face and then proceeding to get on our intercom and broadcast what I lied about...well, it's not hard to figure out.

Still doesn't make him a scumbag. He has serious judgment issues. Everyone knows that. He doesn't think through his actions sometimes. But his actions have never had poor intentions behind them. He didn't bring guns into the locker room to shoot someone up. He brought them to execute a really really stupid prank. He didn't fake an injury for his own personal selfish reasons, he wanted to help a struggling teammate.

Again, he does things that are not conventional and sometimes really dumb, but he's not a bad person, nor does he lack any sort of "morality".

At this point the guy is damned if he does, damned if he doesn't. He gets injured, people hate on him. He says he faked in the injury, people hate on him. He has good games, people want him traded because his value is high. He has bad games and people say he's not living up to his contract.

Haters gonna hate. I'm done arguing with people who don't follow this team. If you really think Gilbert is an awful person, good for you, stay on your high horse.

Edited October 29, 2010 by No Excuses

[ACW]

Wall

Hinrich

Thornton

Blatche

McGee

EDIT: Gilbert's not a bad person, but can be REALLY immature at times (I think Wilbon's term "knucklehead" would apply).

Edited October 29, 2010 by ACW

[No Excuses]

Wall

Hinrich

Thornton

Blatche

McGee

Should be:

Wall

Young

Martin

Blatche

McGee

Oh well, gotta trust Flip.

[ACW]

3 spot maybe, but I have NO problem with Kirk starting.

[The Brave Little Toaster Oven]

we cant make a shot....wow