The Official Washington Basketball Thread: Wizards, Mystics etc

[McD5]

Big props to the Wizards. You kept it within 10 pts.

If Gee ever decides to leave DC, we will give him a tryout.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

Big props to the Wizards. You kept it within 10 pts.

If Gee ever decides to leave DC, we will give him a tryout.

You mean like last week when he was a free agent?

(And this week he's starting for us and we lose by 1 point to the oh so great Orlando Magic.)

[Going Commando]

I think this was the first night Seraphin got some decent PT. I want to see more of him. Also I didn't know what to expect from Gee but he already looks like a good pickup. You have to love our group of guards. We could use a big time small forward though. Having Howard and Thornton out at the same time certainly doesn't help.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

Seraphin got a good amount of garbage time in the Hawks game.

I've been real excited about him. Much moreso than Booker. I think he has a much higher ceiling. Great athlete, excellent strength, big bruiser type body, and raw as all hell. And he's hungry. After the Wall, he's the one I've been wanting to see the most.

Plus I loved this piece by Steinberg about him right after the draft:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2010/06/kevin_seraphin_his_fists_and_h.html

Kevin Seraphin, his fists and his Bulls hat

Longtime readers of this blog will recall that I had a certain soft spot for a former Ernie Grunfeld draft-day gamble named Oleksiy Pecherov, a foreign big man no fans really knew about when he was drafted. Pech maybe didn't work out on the court, but damn if he wasn't the most entertaining guy in a locker room filled with them.

The Wizards went ahead and got another foreign big man I had never heard about on Thursday night. His name was Kevin Seraphin, and the early indications are he might take Pech's spot in my heart.

Why? Well, at 1 a.m. he was standing outside Madison Square Garden, holding a basketball and posing for photos in front of a white stretch limo. While wearing a Chicago Bulls hat.

See, the Bulls technically drafted Seraphin. His trade to Washington won't become official until the free agent moratorium ends on July 8, according to Michael Lee. So he was handed a Bulls hat, and he never gave it up, wearing it throughout the majority of a press conference in which he talked constantly about playing for the Wizards.

He finally took it off when an NBA official urgently signaled from the sidelines, but by 1 a.m., he and his advisers were again wearing Bulls hats as they walked down Seventh Avenue. Hey, why not?

It would appear that Seraphin speaks fine English -- he made small talk with media members after his press conference ended -- but the majority of the event was conducted through a translator. That led to this bit of hilarity when Seraphin was asked about his strengths and weaknesses.

"I have a physical, a natural physical ability," he said through the translator. "I'm like 280 pounds. I never lifted [weights]...."

"Rebound, block shots, toughness," Seraphin suddenly said in English, interrupting. Then he used some sign language, smashing his fists together. "I can [use my fists of fury to pound weaklings into tearful submission], you understand?" he asked.

Hell oui, we understood.

"He's a tough player," the translator then said, deciding to translate English into English. "He's strong and he uses his body for that, because he has natural abilities."

"And I can score!" Seraphin said, interrupting again in English.

"He can also score," the translator wondrously said. "He's getting better and better offensively, too."

Seraphin said he's only been playing basketball five years ago, but that he immediately started thinking about the NBA. He said the Wizards scouted him in France, and were "one of the teams to come to see the matches a lot." He said he would "go step-by-step and work to get minutes," and he said Roddy B. is one of his best friends and mentors, and he said he he's happy to be going to Washington. He said this while wearing a Bulls hat.

"I have a good feeling with the team in Washington," he said through the translator. "They told me they really count on me, and I'm going to work. I know that I have to work hard now. And to get the opportunity to play with John Wall is going to help me, too, because John Wall is a tremendous player."

[MonkFan8]

Seraphin has some nasty in him, that alone warrants PT. I think there is good reason to be excited about both him and Booker. Not often do rookies get put into the game for their defensive capabilities, and that's what both of these guys give us (granted, that's not saying all that much on this 'Zards squad, but still). Seraphin likely has the most advanced post moves on the team currently, which again is a bit embarrassing. Still raw as hell, though. Overall this draft class is looking great.

[McD5]

Gacolb.....both he and j wall can serve refreshments. Keep the stars hydrated.

Edited November 28, 2010 by McD5

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

Gacolb.....both he and j wall can serve refreshments. Keep the stars hyrdated.

It's a shame J Wall was serving refreshments tonight and your oh so great Magic still needed a last second bucket to pull out a win.

[Going Commando]

Has anyone watched this Terrence Jones kid from Kentucky? Forget about Harrison Barnes or Perry Jones, TJ might be the man for us! He's a 6'8 southpaw with good quicks and a great handle. He's also got a nice shot and is capable of creating for himself off the dribble or catching and shooting off screens.

I don't see him as being quite the athlete PJ and Barnes both are. He doesn't explode from the floor quite like them. But he's pretty strong and he's more than capable of blocking shots and supposedly even has a post game. He's been on a tear over the beginning of the season, averaging 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per game so far. Just watch how he and Brandon Knight are meshing to give us an idea of what TJ and John Wall could do along side each other.

Here is some literature on him:

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Terrence-Jones-5708/

One of the fastest-rising players in the 2010 class based on his play this summer, Terrence Jones (#34 Scout, #15 Rivals, #16 ESPN) didn’t disappoint in the least bit when we went out to see him in the GBOA tournament in Las Vegas.

A 6-8 tweener forward with solid athleticism and a nice frame, Jones does a little bit of everything for his team. He likes to play primarily facing the basket, where he shows a nice first step and the ability to attack his man off the dribble going either left or right. Not blessed with great advanced ball-handling skills at this point—he’s mainly a two-dribble guy without much of a mid-range game—Jones does an excellent job using shot-fakes to create space and takes the ball very strong to the rack.

Capable of knocking down a barrage of 3-pointers when he gets hot, Jones is still a bit on the streaky side from the perimeter and tends to fall in love excessively with his jumper at times. He has a slight hitch in his shot which takes away from the fluidity of his release. Although he’s very much capable of posting up, and actually shows nice footwork on occasion down in the paint to go along with his strong body and excellent size, he doesn’t seem to do so enough, looking more concerned with bringing the ball up the floor in transition himself and trying to show off his small forward skills. He’s not a selfish guy, though—he seemed very willing to make the extra pass and all in all looked like a pretty good teammate.

Defensively, Jones shows average fundamentals and toughness and doesn’t always look all that focused on this side of the floor. He can get in the passing lanes and make plays rotating from the weakside, but doesn’t always seem to show much hustle getting after the glass, although he can clearly make his presence felt here when he puts his mind to it.

Jones has a rep for being fairly inconsistent from game to game, as you never quite know what you’ll get from him on any given night. This is not that much of a shock considering the stage of development he’s currently at, and it will be interesting to see whether his games blossoms moving forward. He has a lot of tools at his disposal and is an extremely versatile all-around player, even if he hasn’t quite found a position for himself just yet.

Here's a quick highlight video:

One more: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMN0LSAutXI&feature=related

Edited November 29, 2010 by stevemcqueen1

[Going Commando]

BTW, speaking of Harrison Barnes, this is his box score against the College of Charleston tonight:

MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS

29 | 3-12 | 0-4 | 2-3 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 1 |4 | 4 | 8

Another crap shooting, ineffectual night from him. He's not going to be the first overall pick at this rate. I like his game, but he's not been playing well. I think the question is, if we're picking high and Perry Jones, Terrence Jones, Jared Sullinger, etc. are all on the board as well as Barnes, do we even want him? Perry Jones hasn't been great either, but at least he has massive athletic upside. I think you have to consider those guys, plus Kyrie Irving, Brandon Knight, and Kemba Walker, as safer prospects than Barnes. He needs to put together some good games.

[Hubbs]

I'm excited about Booker and Seraphin. Together, I think they can give us a whole lot of the toughness we need. And when you add McGee into the mix, with his potential to be one of the best centers in the league (he dominated Howard in the second half yesterday), we might have ourselves some real big men.

[No Excuses]

It's a shame J Wall was serving refreshments tonight and your oh so great Magic still needed a last second bucket to pull out a win.

You know what's funny? Wall would be the 2nd best player on Orlando if he was there right now. That shows you how mediocre the rest of the team is after Howard.

[Going Commando]

You know what's funny? Wall would be the 2nd best player on Orlando if he was there right now. That shows you how mediocre the rest of the team is after Howard.

In the East, they're good enough. Judging by the way the season has gone, I can't think of more than 5 East teams that deserve to go to the playoffs. Atlanta is going to be a 3 seed and they aren't anything special.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

I heard a rumor Steve, that Barnes might not be one and done at UNC. That he has told people that he's gonna stick around. Now I know everyone says that, but his early struggles lead me to believe that it's possible. Why would he want to leave when he can stay there (like he wants) and improve his draft status?

Though that brings to mind Terrence Morris who was considered a top 10 pick his sophomore year, stuck around for all four at Maryland and then went in the 2nd round and was out of the league in a couple of years.

I'm excited about Booker and Seraphin. Together, I think they can give us a whole lot of the toughness we need. And when you add McGee into the mix, with his potential to be one of the best centers in the league (he dominated Howard in the second half yesterday), we might have ourselves some real big men.

I had a theory immediately after the draft that they were trying to do with Wall, like was done with Isiah (i.e. the last pure PG to be the #1 guy on a championship team.) That he would be the focus and they would surround him with tough, hard nosed bigs and have scorers on the perimeter (Nick Young = Vinnie Johnson, Gilbert = Dumars, ? = Mark Aquirre)

You know what's funny? Wall would be the 2nd best player on Orlando if he was there right now. That shows you how mediocre the rest of the team is after Howard.

Lakers in 4.

It's beyond absurd that McD5 would tell me to hit the brakes and kill the fairweather ****.

Edited November 29, 2010 by G.A.C.O.L.B.

[No Excuses]

Lakers in 4.

It's beyond absurd that McD5 would tell me to hit the brakes and kill the fairweather ****.

Not gonna lie, I like McD5. He's a troll but he does it in a real nice and respectful manner. He's been trolling hard for years, be it Ladell Betts, Jameer Nelson being a top PG in the league or Orlando being better than the dynasty Bulls. He's a talented troll.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

Not gonna lie, I like McD5. He's a troll but he does it in a real nice and respectful manner. He's been trolling hard for years, be it Ladell Betts, Jameer Nelson being a top PG in the league or Orlando being better than the dynasty Bulls. He's a talented troll.

Oh I'll always read what he has to say. Some people's posts you just skip over you know but McD5 always brings it. Normally it's absurd but in an entertaining way.

Plus he turned me on to the Gillette Proglide, and for that I'll always be indebted to him.

Edited November 29, 2010 by G.A.C.O.L.B.

[Warhead36]

Yeah McD is good people, compared to some of the other trolls.

His comparing last year's Magic team to some of the greatest teams of all time was amazing.

Edited November 29, 2010 by Warhead36

[Going Commando]

I heard a rumor Steve, that Barnes might not be one and done at UNC. That he has told people that he's gonna stick around. Now I know everyone says that, but his early struggles lead me to believe that it's possible. Why would he want to leave when he can stay there (like he wants) and improve his draft status?

Though that brings to mind Terrence Morris who was considered a top 10 pick his sophomore year, stuck around for all four at Maryland and then went in the 2nd round and was out of the league in a couple of years.

It could happen. I was a little skeptical about Barnes coming out early since UNC does a better job than most of hanging onto their players. Ed Davis' situation comes to mind. But then again, Brandan Wright came out after a single season.

Barnes won't slip out of the lottery though, no matter how bad his season is. He probably won't even slip out of the top 5 picks. That being the case, he might as well come out this year because, like you said, his momentum can only cool off. Next year isn't going to be easier for him to go first overall. I think Andre Drummond would go first overall this year if he were draft eligible. I also don't think Barnes as is good as Michael Gilchrist is going to be, and he's not as skilled offensively as Austin Rivers already is. So if he waits a year to come out, I believe fourth overall or later is likely.

Kentcuky has two lottery picks now since Enes Kanter isn't playing for them. I think both Terrence Jones and Brandon Knight are definitely going to come out this year. For one thing, they're kicking ass right now. For another, Kentucky already has a ridiculous incoming recruiting class that figures to cut into their PT. Look at this--Kentucky has managed to sign three of ESPN's top 6 HS recruits: Gilchrist (3), Anthony Davis (2), and Marquis Teague (6). Ridiculous. Kentucky is becoming a PG factory.

On a similar note, Perry Jones is probably going to come out too because Baylor signed his clone in Quincy Miller.

[BRAVEONAWARPATH]

http://www.bulletsforever.com/

It is time for everyone to assemble. Sometimes there are momentous occasions that are so important in their size and scope that they can unite a fractured community against one common enemy. Tonight is one of those occasions. At the outset of the season, the idea of the Washington Wizards beating the Miami Heat was as reasonable as man walking on the moon. Well, we have put a man on the moon and I think the Wizards can beat the Heat tonight.

Even better, the Heat are ripe for the picking. Mike outlined in his piece for SBNation that the Heat have turned on themselves like the pack of savage overpaid egotists that they are. Coach Erik Spoelstra is on the hot seat because rather than sitting at the helm of an offensive juggernaut, he finds himself spending practice questioning the work ethic of his Prima Donna Stars. From Mike's piece:

The problem with Spoelstra, according to Broussard's sources, is that the players believe he is being too hard on them. In particular, the players feel he is being too hard on the team's stars. Broussard notes one incident where Spoelstra called out James' demeanor in a recent shootaround, telling the superstar that he doesn't know when he is actually taking his craft seriously.

Delicious!

So for tonight only I want the Flip Saunders lovers and the Flip Saunders haters to put down their pitchforks and catcall LeBron James together. I want those that defend Andray Blatche's defense and those that question his fitness to come together for one common goal. I want the Washington Wizards to beat the Miami Heat. I want the Wizards to be the team that sends the purported super team spinning off its axis and plunge it into the abyss, leading to bitter recriminations, trade rumors, and firings. I want Wizards fans to teach Miami that we don't need to "Fan Up" and that we are capable of following our team no matter what it's record might be at any given time.

I want to destroy the Miami Heat.

[No Excuses]

If there is something that always united Wizards fans, the ones who loved Jamison for his character or the ones who hated him for his lousy defense, the ones who wanted Brendan Haywood to start or the ones who wanted Etan Thomas, the ones who disliked Eddie Jordan or the one who wanted the local good guy to coach this team, there was always the one common denominator that united us all:

Our hatred for LeBron.

This man cheated us out of the playoffs. He's been the golden child and our franchise had to take the fall for the league's hype machine. You know what's funny is that the only other fan base who saw LeBron for who he was ours and Detroit's. Before the entire league caught on how big of a douche he was, we were the ones fighting the good fight.

I really hope that the Wizkids get their first road win. I'd love nothing but to see McGee block LeBron's shot and dunk on him on the other end. **** you LeBron, **** you.

[Hubbs]

I want to destroy the Miami Heat.

Beautiful.

If I didn't have to work tonight, I'd be there.

[Mr. Sinister]

Good luck

[ACW]

Today's my birthday :party:

My :wish: a Wizards win :wavetowel

[No Excuses]

Good luck

You'll need it.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

I think we got a shot. One of Miami's big weaknesses this year has been good opposing PG play (See Jameer Nelson). Last I check we got a couple of good PG's.

[Sticksboi05]

Wall and McGee questionable. Fire this team's medical staff.