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The Official Washington Basketball Thread: Wizards, Mystics etc

BRAVEONAWARPATH

By BRAVEONAWARPATH
in The Tailgate

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G.A.C.O.L.B.

G.A.C.O.L.B.

Posted
Posted (edited)

Some interesting blog posts by Ted these last couple of days:

http://www.tedstake.com/2010/12/19/the-trade/

The Trade

Sunday, December 19th, 2010

My last pixels on Gilbert Arenas.

I have always been a supporter of Gilbert Arenas. As a fan and now as an owner.

My responsibility is to help craft a team that is a winner and is built to last.

We have to make an environment that is great for our fans and for our players and for our partners.

I was always hopeful that Gilbert would help our team in its rebuild process.

I have been unabashed in noting that we have to rebuild around our core of young players.We will suffer though a lot of pain but we will be stronger for it. The rebuild will take along time for us to get to where we want to be - an elite team. Building a truly special team has lots of risk - in any fashion imaginable - as noted in this New York Times article. Click here.

The facts are the facts with Gilbert playing huge minutes for us. We were in basically last place in the East.

He has intimated that he would feel more comfortable playing for a contender and not playing as a mentor to young players. He needed a fresh start and I wish him well in this next phase of his career.

The trade helps us to accelerate our rebuild.

Our young players will now get more minutes in the back court. They will be the focus of our attention. And development. It will be apparent to all what we are trying to do with our team.

With the trade we add a two time All-Star front court player. He is long and skilled. And has played on a winner.

From a financial standpoint, we actually pick up salary short term but in the long term, we save cap space. We save significant dollars and we add flexibility in a time frame where we will know how our rebuild is progressing. And what we need to improve.

As you saw last night at the game against Miami, the team responded well to the trade. We played with enthusiasm; with grit; and with an all-for-one and one-for-all attitude.

I wish Gilbert Arenas well. I honestly do. I thank him for all his good work in our community and for his contributions on the court for our franchise.

I warmly welcome Rashard Lewis to our city and to our team. I know he will help us in many ways.

I thank the team for playing so hard last night and I was so sad to see us lose such a close game to the Heat. We deserved a better fate last night.

http://www.tedstake.com/2010/12/20/onward-3/

Onward

Monday, December 20th, 2010

We won’t rush John Wall back into the line-up.

There is no need to do so.

We want him healthy and pain free upon his return.

I want to thank Josh Howard for his professionalism. He worked diligently during his rehab. He is a positive person and for his first game back against the Heat I thought he played both sides of the ball incredibly well. He plays with passion and is a leader and unselfish on the floor. I am very happy he is back and getting his minutes now.

Having Josh back in the line-up is a very good development for the team. Integrating Rashard Lewis will be the next big deliverable for our coaching staff. Then getting John Wall back into the line-up and finally seeing how our team looks healthy will be a treat. Hang on and stay tuned.

We have work to do but the vibe is positive. The feeling is upbeat. That is wonderful to see in the arena now. See you all tonight as we play the Bobcats.

http://www.tedstake.com/2010/12/21/a-feel-good-win/

A Feel Good Win

Tuesday, December 21st, 2010

The Wizards played very well last night with intensity and strong defense. We hit foul shots. We moved the ball around. Everyone contributed for a 108-75 victory and the game wasn’t that close. That is how well we played.

That is two games in a row now that we played in this manner - save for a bad 35 seconds on Saturday against the Heat. I thought we played really good basketball last game as well.

It is a shame. There have been six other games this season that were winnable for us and we came up short. I hope we learn to close out the tough games and add some needed victories to the ledger. I recall the NJ road game; the Charlotte game at home; the Cleveland game at home; the Detroit road game loss in OT; and the Magic and the Heat games which were all winnable in my mind’s eye.

Our newly acquired former NBA All-Star player, Rashard Lewis - another big vet, will start to play for us come Wednesday. I met with him yesterday. He is a very professional young man; a low key, team first, coachable and low maintenance person in the room. He just wants to fit in and help us to win more games.

We are hopeful that John Wall recovers well, too.

It has been great to see Josh Howard back on the floor. And Andray Blatche - while playing hurt - is doing his job down low now as is McGee. We miss Yi and his size and shooting and the added depth he brings to the game for us.

With Josh and Rashard, we will have two more vets out there when it matters. When John comes back, we will have our difference maker back on the floor alongside Kirk Hinrich who has played an unbelievable amount of productive minutes for us. We will be a tall, long and mobile team and with a few more wins, we can start to play with more self confidence.

The trade we made has also created a lot more minutes for Nick Young to play and he is taking advantage of those moments on the court that is for sure. Youth must be served. Trevor Booker, too, is getting more and more time to play.

We are in last place right now in the East with only 7 wins. We haven’t won one game yet on the road. We have played 26 games to date. There are 56 games left to play. We are 4 games out of a playoff spot if the season ended today.

There is a lot of basketball left to be played.

For a last place team, I am feeling more and more positive. I know you are as well.

Thank you to our fans for being so supportive.

I was surprised to see the Washington Post writer that follows our team NOT being in DC last night to cover our game and win but was in Atlanta to cover the Hawks vs. Magic game. Atlanta beat the Magic by 10 for those of you interested.

Keep the faith. This could get interesting and a lot more fun.

Edited by G.A.C.O.L.B.
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No Excuses

No Excuses

Posted
Posted
anybody want to go in the next week? tickets are like 5 bucks!

PM me. I'd be down.

---------- Post added December-22nd-2010 at 09:44 PM ----------

Blatche sucks btw. The injury excuse is gone. Either you sit his ass because of his "injuries" or you tell him to straighten his **** out. He's playing like a total d-bag.

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McD5

McD5

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hey Blatche. In addition to being a quitter, you are also a ****ing moron. You have been a loser for your entire career. Never forget that.

The next time you want to take a shot--pass it to the only player on your team that has ever been a winner--Rashard. And shut the **** up.

Edited by McD5
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Rocky21

Rocky21

Posted
Posted
Blatche was absolutely killin me last night.
+1. He really struggled early last night. And you know that guy. Once one little thing goes wrong, he slumps his shoulders and starts to play even more poorly. The guy just could not get it going last night.

On the other hand Heinrich played like a house on fire last night against his old team. He had a mouse under his left eye starting some time in the second half. Dude's a scrapper.

This quote from Uncle Ted was about 5 posts up.

"I was surprised to see the Washington Post writer that follows our team NOT being in DC last night to cover our game and win but was in Atlanta to cover the Hawks vs. Magic game."

IWas he referring to Michael Lee?

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G.A.C.O.L.B.

G.A.C.O.L.B.

Posted
Posted (edited)

Yeah it was Michael Lee. He was talking about it on twitter. He says Ted was just messing with him. I don't know.

But yeah, about going to a game, I'm looking at the Wiz schedule now. Tough. I work nights so it's hard for me to get to games. I haven't been working Tues and Thurs because of school and with the semester over, I now have those days off completely (my only days off). Unfortunately, the only home game next week is Wed against the Pacers. I can try to find someone to cover for me but I can't guarantee it. The next Tues or Thurs home game is the 11th against the Kings. Definitely can go to that one.

Edited by G.A.C.O.L.B.
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No Excuses

No Excuses

Posted
Posted
But yeah, about going to a game, I'm looking at the Wiz schedule now. Tough. I work nights so it's hard for me to get to games. I haven't been working Tues and Thurs because of school and with the semester over, I now have those days off completely (my only days off). Unfortunately, the only home game next week is Wed against the Pacers. I can try to find someone to cover for me but I can't guarantee it. The next Tues or Thurs home game is the 11th against the Kings. Definitely can go to that one.

Ahh can't make the 11th game, I have class 6:45 to 8. See if you can have someone cover you Wed, or on Jan 1st against NO on Saturday or Jan 7 against Jersey on Friday. When school starts for me I can go every game besides Tuesday and Thursdays when my night classes are. :ols: :doh:

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G.A.C.O.L.B.

G.A.C.O.L.B.

Posted
Posted (edited)

I'll probably know by tomorrow night, whether I can swing Wednesday. My little brother works with me so maybe him covering can be my xmas gift or something. Do you know if Wall is supposed to be back by then? They said a week, Wed would be a week.

And in the future, anything two weeks in advance I can set up, no problems. Don't like taking off Saturdays though. I live on tips and Saturday is my big money day. I probably bring in 1./3 of my weekly pay on Saturdays.

You gonna ride with us skinfan2k? Anyone else want to go to some games sometime this year?

Edited by G.A.C.O.L.B.
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BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93

BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93

Posted
Posted
I'll probably know by tomorrow night, whether I can swing Wednesday. My little brother works with me so maybe him covering can be my xmas gift or something. Do you know if Wall is supposed to be back by then? They said a week, Wed would be a week.

And in the future, anything two weeks in advance I can set up, no problems. Don't like taking off Saturdays though. I live on tips and Saturday is my big money day. I probably bring in 1./3 of my weekly pay on Saturdays.

Anyone else want to go to some games sometime this year?

Yeah

With tickets this cheap, you gotta get them while you can

I am dying to see Wall live...

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BRAVEONAWARPATH

BRAVEONAWARPATH

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/22/AR2010122205915.html

Blatche after the Bulls game:.

"That was probably one of the worst funks I've ever been in in my career. And it just got worse and worse, the fans started booing me. Once that happened, it messed my whole head up," Blatche said after missing 11 of 14 shots and scoring just seven points with four turnovers. "Was I surprised by it? Yes, because they are our fans, they are supposed to support us. At the same time, if I'm playing like [garbage], they are going to let me know. It goes both ways."
The Wizards will take the next two days off, then practice on Christmas in San Antonio, where they will face the Spurs on Sunday. Blatche has been working himself back from injuries to his left knee and hip, but wouldn't blame his problems against the Bulls on his health.

"Physically, I'm better. Mentally, I'm not. I get a little better physically, I'm mentally down now," Blatche said. "I come back, I try to redeem myself in San Antonio and Houston."

And then Flip:

When asked why he kept Blatche in the game, Coach Flip Saunders said: "He's one of our main guys. Part of development sometimes is getting your butt kicked. You can learn as much sometimes when you play bad, than when you play good. And, uh, I've got confidence in him that no matter how bad he's played, that down the stretch, he's going to be able to make a couple of plays for us."
Edited by BRAVEONAWARPATH
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