Truth About It» Three Questions With Mo Evans, Bringing New-Found Toughness to D.C.

It late in the third quarter against the Dallas Mavericks and Washington made a quick 7-0 run sparked by a John Wall layup, a Kevin Seraphin offensive rebound put-back and a Mo Evans three from the corner. The Wizards cut Dallas’ once comfortable lead to just four points at 76-72 and then got Jason Terry to miss a three with 30 seconds left in the period. But on Washington’s next possession, Wall turned the ball over and the Mavericks went breaking in the other direction with a seemingly easy opportunity. The old Wizards might have just let Shawn Marion get the bucket, spawned by their often seen habit of displaying a willingness to lay down for a superior opponent. Not newcomer Evans though.

Mo Evans has made a name for himself as a tough role player for playoff teams in Sacramento, Detroit, Los Angeles (for the Lakers, obviously), Orlando and Atlanta over the previous two seasons. He played for Wizards coach Flip Saunders on the 2005-06 Pistons team and as an undrafted rookie with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2004-05.

As Marion glided down the court, the third quarter clock ticking with less than five seconds left, Evans tracked him down and wrapped him up. In the NBA of the past, such a foul was meant to not let the other team get something easy. They were a message sent to not take a team lightly, and in the Wizards’ case, that they weren’t just to be looked at as a bad, young, inexperienced squad.

Unfortunately for Evans, Marion went tumbling to the floor, his Dallas teammates Brendan Haywood and Jason Kidd reacted to the physical action, and despite no intent to truly harm in an absolutely reckless manner, Evans was hit with a flagrant foul. You could tell it was one of those“new” flagrant fouls because the Dallas players immediately reacted toward the ref, instead of Evans, and Mo himself immediately went to make sure Marion was okay, while trying to let the ref know that he meant no harm. Too bad, this is a different, more conscious about physical contact NBA, take it or leave it. Marion hit both of his free-throws, Dallas missed a final extra opportunity, and the Mavericks took a six point lead into the fourth quarter, ultimately winning 105-99.

Still, the act, the tone, the example set by Evans… it was all worth it. Sometimes it’s the little things which can help change the direction of consistent futility surrounding a young team into developing moxie, that’s aided by the behind-the-scenes presence of key veterans. The Wizards hung tough almost all the way to the end against Dallas, and if they keep fighting, the wins will eventually come.

After his home debut with Washington, I spoke with Evans and his role and new team:

Is being the“tough guy” a role you’re trying to create/bring to this Washington team?

“That’s the tone that we had in Atlanta. That’s the tone that I’ve had in Orlando and all the other … Lakers, Pistons … all the places I’ve played, that’s the type of mentality you have to have. So I guess that might be one of my things I can bring to this team, is a little bit of extra toughness and extra … spunk, I guess.”

What about young teams like the Wizards and how they try to establish themselves in the toughness department?

“All these guys are just trying to find out how best to channel all that energy. I remember coming in as a young 20-year old, 21-year old and having a ton of energy, but no knowing quite how to play, and I remember guys would always say that to me. And I think now these guys are going to see, just a little bit of how to play, how older players… it’s unfortunate that a lot of times the older players in the league, they figure it out, but then it’s time for them to go. And you know, it’s just that turnover.”

John Wall is the guy with the ball in his hands… you’ve only played with him two games, seen him a couple games… what are you learning about his game and what it takes to mesh with him on the court?

“I would love the opportunity to have even more minutes with a guy like that because he pushes it for you, you got to run with him, A), and you have to make yourself available because he’s looking to penetrate and kick. If you give him outlets, man, he’s going to find you all day. He has great court vision.”

Mo Evan’s flagrant foul versus Shawn Marion and the aftermath.

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Truth About It» Nick Young Tries To Match Dwyane Wade’s Heat In A South Beach Duel

{Editor's note:Ryan Gracia is majoring in sports communication and journalism at George Mason University and freelances forlocal sites of Patch.com. Some of his previouswork for TAI can be found here. Below, he recaps the Dwyane Wade vs. Nick Young battle on Friday night.}

It was the second time that the Wizards faced the Miami Heat SuperFriends this season following a trade, and the Wiz put up quite a struggle in both contests— so great that one may even have been so inclined to commit themselves to predicting a win from the bottom-feeding Wizards at some point late in the game. But on both occasions the Heat finished the way a top team should, while the Wizards finished the way a bad team does. So Friday night’s loss in Miami wasn’t unexpected. Still, it was the way the Wizards put themselves in the situation to come away with their second road win this month was unexpected. They fought. Specifically, Nick Young fought.

Against the Heat, Flip Saunders must have shown part“deux” of The Battle at Kruger video that heshowed the teambefore they came out blazing tobeat the Nets at home by 20 pointson January 7. Clearly, Young understood the concept of that video:

“It was like a lion chasing a bull, and how about how all the bulls came back and rallied as a team and helped them out, so it kind of got us going. Everyone came out and played hard.”

Well, I suppose he did. My guess is that if there was a pregame video in Miami, it may have looked something like this:

Now that we have the possible pregame out of the way, let’s get to the real game – the shooting duel between Young and Dwyane Wade that was.

1st Quarter

After some horrendous misses from JaVale McGee, Young finally got the Wizards on the scoreboard at the 9:30 mark with a tough, yet beautiful, leaning jumper off the glass, plus the foul from Wade.

Did Dwyane take that personally and dominate the frail Young throughout the quarter after this? Not quite. Wade mustered just three points, making one layup out of five shots in the first. Nick shot 4-6, giving him 10 total for the quarter. He started things and finished them for the Wiz, setting the tone for the rest of the team to follow, and Washington led 25-20 after 12 minutes.

Advantage:Young

2nd Quarter

Things really got hot inside the American Airlines Arena. My stomach dropped after the first time I saw the ball leave Wade’s confident hand. I had a feeling a run was coming. Didn’t we all? I just didn’t think it would be one person on this star-studded team to be doing the mass-murdering and Wizard-posterizing.

But my stomach continued to drop as Wade sank a Miami franchise record 20 second quarter points on the Wizards, rallying his team from five points down to six points up in less than four minutes. Here’s proof of the pudding:

11:41		25-22	Dwyane Wade makes two point shot
11:22	Maurice Evans bad pass (Dwyane Wade steals)	25-22
11:19		25-24	Dwyane Wade makes driving dunk
11:19	Maurice Evans shooting foul (Dwyane Wade draws the foul)	25-24
11:19		25-24	Dwyane Wade misses free throw 1 of 1
11:18	Nick Young defensive rebound	25-24
11:07	JaVale McGee makes 8-foot jumper (Mike Bibby assists)	27-24
10:51		27-26	Dwyane Wade makes 21-foot jumper
10:30	Nick Young misses 14-foot two point shot	27-26
10:30	Maurice Evans offensive rebound	27-26
10:29	Maurice Evans makes layup	29-26
10:17	Josh Howard enters the game for Nick Young	29-26
10:00		29-28	Dwyane Wade makes two point shot (Eddie House assists)
9:47	Josh Howard misses driving layup	29-28
9:45		29-28	Chris Bosh defensive rebound
9:33		29-30	Dwyane Wade makes jumper
9:33	Washington full timeout
9:22	Mike Bibby misses 20-foot jumper	29-30
9:21	JaVale McGee offensive rebound	29-30
9:15	Mike Bibby misses 23-foot three point jumper	29-30
9:14		29-30	Zydrunas Ilgauskas defensive rebound
9:08		29-33	Dwyane Wade makes 24-foot three point jumper
8:55	Josh Howard misses 9-foot two point shot	29-33
8:53	Trevor Booker offensive rebound	29-33
8:52	Trevor Booker makes 6-foot hook shot	31-33
8:38	Trevor Booker illegal defense foul	31-33
8:38		31-34	Eddie House makes technical free throw
8:32		31-37	Dwyane Wade makes 25-foot three point jumper
8:32	Josh Howard shooting foul (Dwyane Wade draws the foul)	31-37
8:32		31-37	Dwyane Wade misses free throw 1 of 1
8:30	JaVale McGee defensive rebound	31-37
8:22	Yi Jianlian makes 20-foot jumper (Mike Bibby assists)	33-37
8:32	Yi Jianlian enters the game for Trevor Booker	33-37
8:03		33-39	Dwyane Wade makes 20-foot two point shot

That’s a lot of Wade, isn’t it?

It was an incredible stretch. He scored on an array of dazzling dunks, 3-pointers, layups and midrange jumpers. He did it all. He even had a chance at a four-point play after he got fouled by Josh Howard, but he missed at the free-throw line, where he went 3-9 on the night.

Wade’s shots swishing cleanly through the net added to the eruption of the crowd, also drowning out Young’s very impressive 14-point quarter. Despite Wade’s magic, Young helped keep his team in the game, as they headed into halftime down just 63-61 to the team with the second best record in the league. Young scored 10 straight points in the second from the 5:48 to the 4:11 mark, but it didn’t compare to Wade scoring 16 of 17 Miami points to start the period.

Advantage:Wade

Oh, yea. Dwyane also did this to three of the five Wizards on the floor. (Go to the 28-second mark in the video):

Wade’s overall display and the embarrassment that he put Young, Evans and Booker through on that play reminded me of something Allen Iverson did to Antonio Daniels and the Wizards back in 2006 when AI dropped 47 on Washington:

3rd Quarter

Both players hit their first shots, though Young went just 1-2 and had two turnovers. He put his horse blinders on unfortunately and was bothered by the pressure the Heat defenders put on him. Wade continued to attack the Wizards and hit his first two shots, going 2-4 with a turnover in the quarter. Young was hindered when he injured his ankle trying to get to the basket on the break, seemingly intimidated by the presence of LeBron, he didn’t go to the rim as directly as he should have. Nick was replaced with 7:32 left in the quarter, and Wade came out with 3:36 to go with unimpressive stats, so the quarter was difficult to judge.

Advantage:N/A

4th Quarter

Heading into the fourth, each player had 27 points. Young came back from his sprained ankle to start the final quarter and keep Washington in the game. He scored 11 points in the last 4:02 of play. His willingness to get his team back in the game despite a poor 4-13 shooting performance from his new teammates was a factor in why he was one of only four Wizards with a positive plus-minus rating (plus-3). Wade had 14 points in the quarter, with all of his damage done before Young even got started, and he helped the Heat pull away and nullify Young’s efforts in the end. His Miami teammates followed his lead and the buckets were coming more easily for them down the stretch. Wade takes a lot of shots, but often seems to make those around him better; Young is clearly not yet at that level.

Advantage:Wade

Young’s performance was almost that of a seasoned vet’s instead of a young player on an immature team. He steadily increased his scoring per quarter and was extremely efficient, hitting 12 of 19 shots for his 38 points. It was a very steady climb to his final output, but without a supporting cast, it could not top Wade’s 41 points on 27 shots.

Each player by quarter:

Young
1st– 10
2nd– 14
3rd– 3
4th– 11

Wade
1st– 3
2nd– 20
3rd– 4
4th– 14

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Truth About It» Pretenders And Contenders From Washington To Miami

I was in the midst of watching the Washington Wizards put on an impressive display of first quarter basketball against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday when Tweet Deck displayed a new tweet from ESPN’s Ric Bucher.  Given that the trading deadline was less than 24 hours away, and given that Bucher is one of the few NBA insiders who is really plugged into what could be happening, I figured I should check it out right away.

I clicked on his tweet and discovered no upcoming trade information, nor were unnamed sources tipping him off.  Instead, Bucher offered some insightas to what fans, writers and even other players could expect over the remainder of the NBA regular season:

“NBA comp going up another notch, as it always does, post-All Star weekend. Separation of men from boys, pros from pretenders, begins now.”

I closed out of his tweet, mentally processed what he said and then went back to watching the Sixers/Wizards tilt.  By that time, the Wizards’ first-quarter dominance had morphed intosecond quarter incompetence(and third, and fourth), and they were eventually blown out 117-94, just one night after being blown out by the Indiana Pacers at home 113-96.  Afterward,John Wall was upsetabout the lack of effort his teammates displayed— further evidence that the Wizards are in the boys/pretenders group of NBA teams:

“I haven’t lost this many games, and it ain’t just about the losing, I’m listening to my coaching and development, and they don’t want me to get in no losing mind set. But it’s just so frustrating to see that certain guys seem like they don’t have the effort to be out there, like they don’t care. That’s the toughest thing for me … no matter if I’m having a bad game or good game, I might show frustration in my face, but I’m going to compete. That’s one thing I’ve always did my whole life is compete, and that’s all we asking for from everybody.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the spectrum, the Miami Heat, who the Wizards take on tonight in South Beach, started off strong in their two post-All-Star performances.  First, they blew out the lowly Sacramento Kings by 20, then they lost a hard-fought battle to the Chicago Bulls last night, 93-89.  There were no complaints about effort coming from the Heat locker room in either game because a) they are fully aware that they are playoff-bound, and b) the mental notes made after every loss will surely benefit them come playoff time.

I then thought back to something Dwyane Wade said after the All-Star game last Sunday, and it served as one of many reminders as to why the Heat are contenders.  Wade was asked about his approach to the second half of the season, and his answers were exactly what you would expect from a man with a championship ring:

Now, it is entirely possibly that the newly acquired Mike Bibby, Maurice Evans and Jordan Crawford can provide that energy and passion that the Wizards have been lacking the past two games.  It is also possible that Wall’s teammates heard his harsh words and have collectively decided to step their game up and give more than 100-percent.  Unfortunately, it is also possible that the Heat will be hungry and angry after last night’s loss to Chicago, and look to put the game away quickly regardless of the Wizards’ effort.

Of course, the best case scenario for Washington is a victory over a contender.  But if they fall short of that goal, they can still look across the floor at the playoff-bound Heat and make some mental notes for the future.  Because that’s all NBA pretenders can do at this point.

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Truth About It» An Awful, Awful Play (Or: Why John Wall is sad?)

Usually this feature is called“Perfect Play” and breaks down an exceptional Wizard set from the game. Well, after last night’s blowout loss to the 76ers, business as usual just feels unnatural. It was a depressing performance from a team depressed by the impending trade of Kirk Hinrich and Hilton Armstrong to Atlanta.

The following play is one I would argue is exemplary of the reason the Wizards looked so terrible. It would be facile to just show Wall tossing a three off the backboard or an ugly Blatche isolation. The truth is, there is often real motion in the Wizards offense, it just doesn’t yield anything faintly reminiscent of teams like the Boston Celtics.

The Wizards were going through their offensive actions, but with no production, with no meaning behind the motion. It took eight frames to document this play from the beginning of the fourth quarter, I hope you stick around for the end, I’m sure you’ll be disappointed with the result (but hopefully not with the analysis).

On the floor for the Wizards:John Wall (2), Nick Young (1), Josh Howard (5), Trevor Booker (35), and Kevin Serphin (13)

On the floor for the 76ers:Lou Williams (23), Evan Turner (12), Andre Iguodala (9), Thaddeus Young (21), and Marreese Speights (16)

1)Wall pushes up the right wing and Young tries to engage some early offense. Seraphin is game to get something going too, except none of the screens really achieve anything.

2)Lou Williams, who is tracing Young across the court, easily glides through the action and follows Nick to the block.

Iguodala slips under the high screen for Wall from Seraphin.

Two smart early offense tactics have had absolutely no effect. Howard’s position on three point line extended (instead of the corner) and Booker’s presence on the weak side elbow makes driving an impossibility for Wall.

The spacing is awful. This will be a theme.

3)As Young cuts through the paint and sets up on the block, he points at Howard like something else is supposed to happen. No one flinches.

The Wizards manage to get all five players in a space not much bigger than the palm of you hand.

4)After Booker gamely tries to screen a defender who is not in his area because Howard hasn’t set up the cut, Howard catches two feet behind the three point line with no entry-pass angle to Nick Young, who is being guarded by the smaller and presumably vulnerable Lou Williams.

5)Booker makes a valiant effort at setting a ball screen for Howard, but Young has been pushed off the block (and won’t vacate the side), so there is literally no way for Howard to use the screen. Also, Thadeus Young is now directly between Nick Young and the ball.

Again, the spacing is horrendous.

Howard swings to Wall who is edging to the weak-side.

6)Unfortunately, Booker follows the ball, so there’s no spacing for Wall to operate. Instead, he goes over the screen to get the switch and force Thadeus Young to defend him on the perimeter.

On the weak-side, Howard fades to the corner and Young tries to spring him with a back screen. Unfortunately, all he really does is allow Turner to switch onto him, which takes away his advantage over Williams down low.

Kevin Seraphin wanders up the lane but Wall is already passing the ball as he sets up a“screen.”

Spacing. Buh.

There are eight ticks on the shot clock when Young pops to receive the ball on the wing.

7)Tick. Tick. Tick.

Young is running out of options and doesn’t want to feed Booker against the long and strong Iguodala.

Howard cuts through to clear out the side, and Booker soon does the same to open up the baseline for Young to create a shot.

Unfortunately, Iguodala stays put on the strong-side block, so Young’s only real option is to create something mid-range.

8)Young takes two dribbles to his left and raises up over Turner, who is in excellent defensive position because he knows Iguodala has his back on the block.

All other Sixers are practically in the paint, with pretty good rebounding position.

With four seconds on the shot clock, Young’s fading attempt clanks high off the rim.

—

To recap:In this one possession, the Wizards set six screens, reversed the ball three times and got nowhere. The typical markers of successful motion-filled offense are present, but there was no intensity or conviction in the execution. In this instance, spacing was clearly a major impediment. The ugliness was somewhat understandable given the circumstances, but boy was it hard to watch.

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Truth About It» John Wall:‘Certain guys seem like they don’t have the effort’

Surprise, surprise.

Or wait… I should actually say that we saw this coming.

Actually, let’s take a step back for a second. John Wall, in his individual effort, will not be affected by the players whom he is talking about in the quote you’re about to read, said to Comcast’s Chris Miller after a117-94loss to the 76ers in Philadelphia on Wednesday night. He’s too good for that, so don’t worry. But let’s read the quote anyway:

“Until we find five guys that really want to fight, compete, and don’t care, you know, the whole time, it’s really going to be tough for us to win. And the rest of the season can end like it’s been ending the last couple of games.”

Wall was then asked about the level of his frustration:

“Pretty high. I haven’t lost this many games, and it ain’t just about the losing, I’m listening to my coaching and development, and they don’t want me to get in no losing mind set. But it’s just so frustrating to see that certain guys seem like they don’t have the effort to be out there, like they don’t care. That’s the toughest thing for me … no matter if I’m having a bad game or good game, I might show frustration in my face, but I’m going to compete. That’s one thing I’ve always did my whole life is compete, and that’s all we asking for from everybody.”

Ted? Ernie? Andray? Flip? Milt? Wes Jr.? Sam? JaVale?

John Wall isn’t perfect. He’s not infallible. He needs to improve, in several areas. But this direction surrounding him needs to stop. Urgently.

But hey, at leastAndrayBaltchehad a good game.

(Thank you anonymous text messenger into Comcast’s bottom line below John Wall’s face above. Oh, and thanks to Dan Steinberg, linked, for capturing the misspelling of Blatche’s name which appeared on his jersey on Tuesday, and for being the first to feed the algorithm about that misspelling.)

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Truth About It» Focusing Through The Wizards Blues

Andray Blatche Charges - photo: K. Weidie

You know what feeling you get on Sunday evening (well, most of you… those with day jobs at least)? It doesn’t come too late in the night, early enough to still technically call it the weekend, but it also comes at a time when you know that Monday is right there, waiting on you, laughing at you. The fun, is over.

Thoughts of dread enter your mind… of getting up early… of maneuvering the morning commute… of trying to get the ahead tough tasks accomplished. None of it sounds fun. Combined with the longing for the weekend to somehow extend, especially and almost even more so when it’s the Monday evening of the three-day holiday weekend, that feeling is called“the blues.”

The blues can only really derive from losing something good. So, if you’ve had a crappy weekend and just cannot wait to get back to your wonderful job, then good for you… keep it to yourself.

Many of the Wizards are going through the blues right now… and it’s not just JaVale McGee and John Wall wanting to hang on to their big stage weekend festivities. From guys like Hamady N’diaye, who visited friends back at Rutgers in New Jersey over the weekend, to guys like Andray Blatche and Trevor Booker who spent time in the Carolinas with family, everyone is coming back to a 15-39 team… a team on pace to finish with the seventh worth winning percentage in franchise history.

The team is coming into work and back to a desk with papers, wires, cords and computers in complete disarray… and the complaints about the alarm clock, bus schedule and weather report have been well conveyed en route.

If Ernie Grunfeld and Flip Saunders were meant to be gone at some point of the season, it would’ve happened by now. But their job after the year is complete is no more secure than the positions of Nick Young, Al Thornton and Yi Jianlian with the franchise— all three are at the end of their rookie year contracts and can be restricted free-agents of the team, if the Wizards so choose.

The Wizards, for season’s final 28 games, are in an audition for their jobs… all of them. Well, John Wall is secure. Rookies like Kevin Seraphin and Trevor Booker are understandably in the learning curve category. But even those such as Andray Blatche,especially Andray Blatche, will need to carry a message from team ownership that there will be consequences without significant signs of improvement… signs which will be easy to both see with the eye and measure with statistics.

Can Blatche, a main target of this here site (much to the chagrin of some, but hey, when your face is on team promotional banners and your resting your laurels on a new contract, your game deserves to be scrutinized to the detail), shed his reputation around the league as being a‘one-in-fiver’— someone who only shows up with winning effort once in five games? Seems like a tall task for a play whose numbers have provided little growth in professional year six, especially in comparison to his performance at the end of season five.

Again, it’s not just Blatche. It’s everyone. But Andray, communicated through the choices of the team, is clearly and currently a support beam. Right or wrong. The team has invested a lot in Blatche and it’s about time those investments started paying off.

Some people will call for the Wizards to start tanking games for more chances in the NBA draft lottery. Those people are stupid. Tanking is a risk counter-productive to franchise building, especially when you’re already building around Wall. So that is that.

In the below video you’ll hear Flip Saunders, Nick Young, Rashard Lewis and JaVale McGee talk about the team’s focus heading out of the All-Star break. Warning, there’s a lot of meaningless cliché. The Wizards are rubbing their own eyes, seemingly unaware of what the final 28 games brings.

Pessimism dictates that the coaching staff will keep going through the motions, team management will try for a forward-thinking trade before Thursday’s deadline but won’t succeed, and the players will keep playing for themselves. And John Wall will become more frustrated.

Optimism dictates that this team will growth together, and that players will relent to deemed roles instead of trying to create one for themselves. Good thing for the players is that they control their own destiny. It’s not about coaches or the other team or writers covering the team. These last 28 games will be what theywantmake of it.

“If we can’t do it, we just can’t do it,” is the quote from Nick Young that ends the video. I don’t think a comment could more aptly describe the current malaise surrounding the franchise. But hey, what’s a rebuilding project without a couple bent nails? Sunday evening never brings great feelings, but eventually good teams make every day Friday.

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Truth About It» Deron Williams Meets Ken Berger

The end of the Slam Dunk contest on Saturday night signified the end of any Washington Wizards involvement here at NBA All-Star weekend in Los Angeles. My plan was to attend the game, tweet a little during, and then hang around the media scrum afterward to see if I could snag something interesting.  Luckily for me, something interesting fell right into my lap involving Deron Williams of the Utah Jazz.

First, a little background. A week and a half ago whenJerry Sloan resigned,there were rumors and reports that Williams was the reason. At halftime of a game against the Bulls, Williams and Sloan had argued (as they had several times during the year, and as Sloan has done with other players, such as Karl Malone, many times before), and when Sloan retired the next morning, Williams was essentially blamed. He was not happy about itat all. Williams lashed out at the media and named names over the radio airwaves on KFAM 1320AM:

All those guys,Ric Bucher,Chris Broussard,they’re all in our locker room everyday,” Williams deadpanned. “I’ll let them report what they want to report, that’s what they are paid to do. That’s why I’m always short and rude with the media, because they’re your friend. Ric comes in and sits by me every time I see him, acts like he’s my friend, but the day they find something they want to spin, they jump on it. That’s why I am the way I am and will continue to be the way I am.

I had just talked to Williams about a month earlier in Washington, and he wasnothing but forthcoming to both myselfand David Aldridge. Even when I talked to Williams after the All-Star practice this past Saturday, he didn’t appear short or rude. Rather, his answers were expansive and thoughtful, and I appreciated his time.

But Sunday, after the All-Star game, Williams was asked about somethingKen Berger of CBS Sports.com, had written in an article earlier that evening. Berger wrote the following:

A person with knowledge of the conversations told CBSSports.com on Saturday that Jazz point guard Deron Williams began informing close associates after last season that if Stoudemire wound up in New York, Williams would follow him there as a free agent in 2012.

A member of the media asked Williams about Berger’s article, and that’s when I turned my camera on:

Kudos to Ken Berger for not giving up his sources. Time will only tell if he’s right or not, because Williams would be foolish to telegraph any future moves he plans on making. Still, to see the thoughts of unnamed sources, the writer who used them in an article, and the player it was about all in the same room, was simply priceless.

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Truth About It» Quick Exit for John Wall, Coming Out Party for JaVale McGee

Note:Rashad Mobley is in Los Angeles for the 2011 NBA All-Star Weekend festivities following the entertaining activities of John Wall and JaVale McGee as they put their great individual talent on display to the world.  He covered theRookie-Sophomore Game, theAll-Star practice, and last night, the Skills Competition and the Dunk Contest…

When John Wall set the NBA Rookie-Sophomore game record with 22 assists on Friday night, he gave NBA viewers all over the world a glimpse of his limitless potential. JaVale McGee had that same opportunity on Saturday night and he showed NBA fans some creative dunks that had not been seen in quite some time, and in a couple cases, ever.

First up was Wall and his brief Skills competition appearance. Earlier in the weekend, Wall informedWashington Postwriter Michael Lee that he expected the passes to be a problem for him, and that turned out to be a prophetic statement. His initial chest pass rattled in and then back out, and Wall had to run back and try again.  After hitting the jumper on his second attempt (where I fully expected him to struggle), Wall then took two attempts to complete the outlet pass.  His time of 39.3 seconds in the first round was not good enough to advance— however, it was good enough to beat last place Chris Paul, who finger-rolled and missed a point blank layup. Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors ended up defeating Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the final with a time of 28.2 seconds.

Next it was JaVale’s turn to shine, and he seized his moment and then some. For his first round dunk, he aligned two baskets right next to each other, and dunked on them both in with two separate balls.  It took him several tries to get it right, but once he did, he was awarded with a perfect score of 50.

In the second round, JaVale enlisted the help of Wall and his mother Pamela McGee. First, Pam brought an extra ball through the crowd, wearing a modified version of her old LA Sparks WNBA warm-up, and surrounded by“security” guards dwarfed by her and her son (Pam also made sure to greet each dunk contest judge with a kiss on the cheek). Wall’s task was simply to toss up a basic alley-oop pass for McGee to dunk, which was easy enough to convert. But then there was the fact that McGee also dunked the other two balls he was carrying in his hands for an unprecedented three-ball dunk, which propelled him into the finals against Blake Griffin.

In the finals, McGee did a modified Rock-The-Cradle dunk with a high degree of difficulty. Unfortunately for him, it could really only be appreciated in slow-motion on a large HD screen. He started in one corner, cradled the ball as he ran to jump, cocked his head way to the side so he wouldn’t hit his neck on the backboard, contorted his body and swung his arm in a manner that seemed impossible, and finally dunked on the other side of the rim.

With the scene set by TNT’s Kenny Smith (the showman selected to work with Blake Griffin; McGee had Chris Webber on his side), Griffin one-upped McGee and then some by bringing out a choir and then dunking over a car he brought out as a prop (although he did not jump over the tallest part of the car, only the hood). Afterward, McGee had a look of defeat on his face, and ended the competition with a lengthy one-hand toss and dunk, clearly his weakest of the night.

The final vote was left up to the fans, and McGee only won 32-percent to Griffin’s 68-percent. Still, based on the discussion on Twitter and the conversations being had in the media area, McGee gained a tremendous amount of respect for his creativity.

On a humorous note, as I left the media portion of the Staples Center, I saw John Wall and Dwight Howard hugging and discussing what they were going to do this evening. As they broke the hug off, Charles Barkley, who was lagging a bit behind them, tried to extend his hand to greet Wall, but Wall did not see him and kept on walking.  I looked at Barkley left handing and offered my hand instead, but he laughed and said,“Nah I’m good.” The lesson here?  Even off the court in plain clothes, Wall is a hard man to catch.

After the event, I was lucky enough to catchup with Wall, JaVale and even Pam McGee, to discuss the night’s events:

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Truth About It» Looking For Examples of JaVale McGee

JaVale McGee is participating in the dunk contest tonight, obviously. So this post is wishing luck to him… and if you’re looking for TAI original photographic examples of Epic Vale dunking, we got you covered below.

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Truth About It» From The Other Side: Popovich and McDyess Discuss The Secret To Road Success

The San Antonio Spurs came into the Verizon Center last night and thoroughly dominated the Washington Wizards 118-94. They shot 58-percent for the game, 52-percent from three-point land, only trailed for 22 seconds and had six players in double figures.  They were also able to accomplish this with Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili combining for just 20 minutes and 12 points.

San Antonio’s victory was even more impressive considering that the night before, they were outplayed in Philadelphia, losing to the 76ers by shooting just 33-percent from the field, 17-percent from the three-point line, and by putting up just 25 points in the second half. As Gregg Popovich said during his pregame presser on Saturday,“We set offensive basketball back a decade.”

“Just one?,” asked another reporter.

“Maybe two…. you’re right, I’m being too kind. It was just ridiculous,” responded the coach. One night later, Popovich got his team to leave that ridiculousness behind. By halftime in Washington, they scored more points (72) than they had the previous night in Philadelphia (71 points total).

The Spurs not only own the league’s best overall record at 45-9, but they are also an NBA-best 20-7 on the road— and 5-2 through the first seven of their nine game“Rodeo Road Trip,” when there is a prolonged scheduling block in the AT&T Center due to the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo. That lies in sharp contrast to the Washington Wizards, who will be aiming for road victory number one against the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday. It doesn’t take a genius or fancy statistics to see the tremendous gap between the two teams.

So, in an effort to learn the secret behind the Spurs’ tremendous success on the road, I decided to talk to Gregg Popovich and Antonio McDyess. Popovich has a 67-percent winning percentage, four NBA titles, and in the past eight seasons of the“Rodeo Road Trip,” his record through last night’s game is 49-22. McDyess is a 14-year veteran, who early in his career played on a Denver Nuggets team that struggled, and in more recent years on the Detroit Pistons and now the Spurs— veteran teams that have excelled at winning on the road.

I asked Popovich what it takes to be a good road team, and I asked McDyess the same question, but I also asked him why young teams struggle so much away from home.

Popovich:

McDyess:

“Well, first and foremost, you have to be able to stop somebody on the road to even give yourself a fighting chance. I think it comes down to defense more than it does offense on the road, because guys at home are in their little comfort zone, and it comes easy for you in your own backyard.  The key is having that mindset that says,‘I’m away from home, my shot is off, but let me stop someone.’ As bad as we played last night against the Sixers, we still played great defense and held them to 77 points.  We couldn’t hit shots, but we gave ourselves a chance and that’s what good road teams do… they give themselves a chance once that five minutes mark of the quarter comes.

Young teams like the Wizards, I mean it’s nothing personal, but they just aren’t disciplined and experienced enough yet. Teams like that, and I know because I was a young player on a young team once, just look to run and score, they forget about defense.  And when they do that and their shots are falling it’s great through three quarters, but in the fourth they get tight, the defense is on lockdown mode, and they panic, turn the ball over and lose. But it’s a process and it helps to have someone on the team who has been there consistently, and the Wizards and other young teams just don’t have it.”

{Antonio McDyess talks about really old things with Sam Cassell.}

{Tim Duncan is left alone on the weakside for a dunk. According to theCBS Sports NBA Dunk-o-Meter, Duncan had just 21 dunks on the season going into the game, ranked 88th in the NBA.}

{But Timmy was nice enough afterward to give the ball right to JaVale McGee so the Wizards could likely hurry up to give the ball back to the Spurs in some manner.}

{Photos: Kyle Weidie, Truth About It.net}

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Truth About It» John Wall Raised His Game, But No One Went With Him

By the time the referee threw the ball up to signify the start of the game against theOrlando Magic,the Washington Wizards knew they would be without Rashard Lewis and Nick Young. Lewis continues to battle knee tendinitis and Young was a late scratch with swelling his knee.  Their absences meant the Wizards had to somehow account for the 30 points they usually bring to the starting lineup.

From scoring the first points of the game on a layup 42 seconds in, John Wall demonstrated that he was in an offensive state of mind and capable of picking up the slack by scoring 13 points in the opening period.  Seemingly all of his baskets on the evening would follow this sequence:  Wall would take the outlet or inbound pass, he would run by the Orlando big men, and then he would outmaneuver the Orlando guards en route to a layup.  He peppered in a couple short jumpers, some free throws, and one three-pointer later in the game, but the majority of his damage was done in the paint.  He finished with 27 points, five rebounds, two steals and just one assist.

It can be argued that Wall, who averages nearly 10 assists a game, wasn’t doing his job as a point guard if he only dished out one dime. False.  Dwight Howard kept pressure on Washington’s big men by often catching the ball deep in the paint (thanks to repeated poor post position from JaVale McGee, lack of strength from Hilton Armstrong or lack of experience from Kevin Seraphin), and forcing them to foul.  Howard went 8-11 from the free-throw line and 12-15 from the field to tally 32 points.

Wall kept pressure on the Orlando defense by repeatedly getting into the lane and ending up with a layup or a trip to the foul line.  So what happened when the Magic actually stopped him and other teammates were forced to step up?

Kirk Hinrich got off to a hot start in the second quarter by scoring eight points, and looked to be headed towards a productive game.  Unfortunately, he only shot the ball nine times and scored just two points after the second quarter.  He did shake the living daylights out of J.J. Redick, forcing him to fall backwards, but he never provided Wall with consistent help.

Cartier Martin and Josh Howard filled in for Young and Lewis and were assigned the tall task of accounting for those missing 30 points. Martin addressed the void by missing his first eight shots. By the time he hit his first bucket in the third quarter (a shot that took so long to come, he shook his head in disgust as he ran back down the court), the Wizards were down 23 points. Martin ended up shooting 2-13 with five points.  Howard didn’t exactly light things up either, as he shot 1-10 with just three points and seven rebounds.

The starting frontcourt of McGee and Blatche did not help Wall in the scoring department either.  McGee played just 14 minutes due to the foul trouble courtesy of Howard, and the four points he did score came in garbage time.  Blatche was the Wizards’ second leading scorer behind Wall with 15 points, but he shot 6-of-17 the field to arrive at that total.  I could give credit to Blatche for scoring six straight points midway through the third quarter to cut Magic lead from 24 to 18 points at 70-52, and I could give him credit for grabbing nine rebounds, but he was mostly guarded by Brandon Bass and Ryan Anderson, hardly excuse-worthy defenders.

Trevor Booker and Al Thornton have come up big as fill-ins for the Wizards at times this season.  Booker had a monster 21 point, 12 rebound game in Oklahoma City when McGee was sick with flu.  Thornton came up big with 18 points against New Jersey back in mid-December when both Blatche and Wall sat out with knee problems.  Neither had that in them against the Magic.  Booker played 22 minutes, shot two times and scored just two points.  Thornton had an impressive drive early in the second quarter, but shortly after that he left the game and did not return due to his dislocated finger.

Like Wall, Howard played a spectacular game with 10 rebounds and three blocks to go with his efficient 32 points. But while Wall had nothing but bad shooting nights around him, Howard had plenty of help.  Anderson scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and Jason Richardson and Brandon Bass scored 16 and 15 points respectively.  Orlando finished with 101 points and shot 45.2-percent from the field.

Meanwhile, the Wizards attempted one less field goal and shot just 34-percent (28-percent without Wall’s 10-for-17). According toSynergy Sports Technology, Washington had 104 offensive possessions that ended in a FGA, TO or FTs— 26-percent of those possessions came on Spot-Up opportunities, Washington shot 6-23 on those; 13.5-percent came on Isolation plays, where they finished 4-10; and 9.6-percent came on Post-Ups, where they went 2-9.

The Wizards scored 76 points, lost by 25 points and wasted a spectacular effort from their franchise player.  Washington ended the first half of the season the same way they began it— getting blown out by Orlando.

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Truth About It» For Those Who Never Made It

The lead from aNew York Timesarticlepublished on April 15, 2005:

Five years ago, Andray Blatche was a laughingstock as a basketball player. Today he is considered a probable first-round draft choice in the National Basketball Association.

‘Late Bloomer Is Ready to Join N.B.A. Early’ by Mitch Abramson continues:

Blatche did not play organized basketball until he was in high school, and he was on the junior varsity until midway through his sophomore year at Henninger High in Syracuse.

Unlike wunderkinds like LeBron James and Sebastian Telfair, who were labeled prodigies almost from the moment they picked up a ball, Blatche failed miserably at first.

“He wasn’t very good as a ninth grader; I’ll be honest,” said Tom Atkins, his junior varsity coach.“He didn’t take adversity very well. He was pretty emotional, just a tall clumsy kid who didn’t know how to play the game yet -- very raw.”

Sensing Blatche had talent but no direction, Atkins pulled him aside and worked with him after practice. Atkins saw quick results.

Blatche ended up being selected with the 19th pick,of the second round(49th overall) by the Wizards in the 2005 NBA Draft.

The whole article should be read, but this key excerpt makes you wonder, is Blatche the same struggling kid today, or must he go through a similar growth struggle at every level (including various levels within the NBA) and just needs a better life coach?

And you also wonder, why do talented guys like Blatche just happen to make it when others don’t? The answer lies deep within case-by-case studies and can never be painted with a broad brush. Although, it’s often easy to see what separates NBA champions from the rest, even though we can’t exactly describe that either.

This post is for those who didn’t make it. Recently, I asked several Washington Wizards— Andray Blatche, Hilton Armstrong, Trevor Booker, Al Thornton, Cartier Martin and Nick Young— who was the best player they came across in high school or college who never made it to the NBA. Talent comes and goes, but it’s not always forgotten.

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Truth About It» Nick Young Brings Sad News About Him and The NBA Dunk Contest

There’s sadness to report from the Wizards’ locker room, unfortunately on Valentine’s Day, and it involves Nick Young’s  forlorn relationship with the NBA’s annual dunk contest. Upon being passed up by the League for this year’s event in his  hometown of Los Angeles in favor of teammate JaVale McGee, Young admitted that he was a little jealous. However, not two weeks ago, Young was alluding that he and McGee hadsomething special plannedfor the contest being held on NBA All-Star Saturday night on February 19. Now, things have seemingly changed… sadness, and perhaps some hate has entered the realm of Young. Poor guy. Let’s hear it from him:

Believable?Well, Youngdidlearn from the master, Gilbert Arenas… so there’s that.

LINKS.

Valentine’s birthday wishes go to former Washington Bullet Gheorghe Muresan (4o years) and former Wizards Darius Songaila (33) and Richard Hamilton (33).

Evidently TedLeonsis is backing out on his promiseto dance the“Dougie” because:

“The Dougie has jumped the shark. Regis is doing it. Justin Bieber is doing it. I need to find a new“act.” I want to have fun but don’t want to be passé.”

Oh well… probably for the best anyway.
{Ted's Take}

Has anyone gone from worst to first to worst like Antawn Jamison? Mike Wise profiles.
{Washington Post}

John Wall’s missed dunk places second in Sunday’s‘Missed Dunk Contest’
{The Basketball Jones}

Meanwhile, Chris Webber talks trash to Kenny Smith about his own support for JaVale McGee in the dunk contest while Smith gets to consult Blake Griffin.
{Turner Sports Vimeo}

A courtside Cleveland Cavaliers fan gets his beer spilled on his leather jacket… #OMGMYFUGGINLEATHAJACKET!!!
{The Internet}

Brandon Banks of the Washington Redskins got stabbed at a D.C. night club (The Park at 14th) because he made fun of someone for wearing white after Labor Day.
{TBD.com}

Seems like the last play of the Heat-Celtics game was drawn up for Mike Miller… So clearly, those bitching that the ball should have been in LeBron’s hands (hello Michael Wilbon) might want to learn a little more about basketball first.
{NBA Playbook}

The rap of former Washington National Elijah Dukes makes Gucci Mane look like Nas.
{Mr. Irrelevant}

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Truth About It» Flip Saunders On Jerry Sloan

Flip Saunders watches his Washington Wizards go through a basic shell drill before facing the San Antonio Spurs.

{photo: K. Weidie, TAI - Feb. 12, 2011}

Flip Saunders is currently tied with Doug Moefor 20thon theall-time NBA head coaching wins listwith 628, 11 victories away from passing Chuck Daly.Upon resigning from his position with the Utah Jazz, Jerry Sloan falls third on the list behind Don Nelson and Lenny Wilkens with 1,221 wins; and it doesn’t appear he will be caught by Phil Jackson, fifth all-time with 1,136 wins, as the coach who has led his teams to a record 11 NBA titles is set to retire after this season.

Saunders is now fifth in wins among active coaches, trailing Jackson, George Karl (1,017), Rick Adelman (927) and Gregg Popovich (781). Flip clearly ranks highly in the NBA coaching fraternity. So on Saturday before his team faced the San Antonio Spurs, and the new Dean of NBA head coaches (Popovich is in his 15th season coaching the Spurs), Saunders’ opinion of the sudden resignation of Sloan was a good one to solicit.

“One, you hate to see someone like him step away because he’s meant so much to the game. He’s meant a lot to younger coaches when they come in the league. He’s been very up front with them in trying to help coaches, and always very accessible. As coaches and as teachers, we respect how he taught the game. He believed the game should be played one way, and he wasn’t going to veer away from that. No matter who played for him, there was a certain style they were going to play, and you were going to have to adapt and adjust as far as to his style.

He had a great relationship with Larry Miller and I think when Larry passed away that changed a little bit of everything as far as with Jerry. But he’s going to be missed, hopefully he’ll still find a way to stay around the game every now and then… you know, get off the {John} Deere tractor and come back and see some games and talk to people.”

When asked before facing the Wizards if he thought that anybody in any sport would ever coach one team for 23 years again, Gregg Popovich said,“Obviously all of us would say that would be very, very unlikely. If somebody does it, it’s going to be a long time be a long time from now. What he did is certainly unique.”

Someone reminded Popovich that he was closing in on Sloan’s time with one team.

“What, coach eight more {seasons}…? I’m not trying to do anything,” he quipped.“Going to the game, going to dinner, going to the next game… that’s what I’m doing.”

Popovich was then asked if he could see himself coaching at least the eight more years with San Antonio that it would take to match Sloan.

“Absolutely not. Absolutely not,” he simply responded.

To best note Sloan’s Utah tenure in comparison to other NBA franchises, check out the below graph viaSB Nation:

Generally, I met the abrupt resignation of Sloan with a shrug of the shoulders. This is what we call life. If it wasn’t Sloan, it wouldn’t been someone else stepping down for one reason or another after staying in one place forever. It happens. But still, those who’ve done it are certainly worth celebrating. And especially when the very nature of the ordeal was so anti-Jerry Sloan, anti-Utah Jazz, questions should be asked and contemplated at a heightened level.

Many words have been said about Sloan. And they’ll continue… theyshouldcontinue. So, I’m going to leave you with a couple good reads on the way out…

• “Jerry Sloan steps down as Utah Jazz head coach, and the NBA is lesser for it”– Mike Wise,Washington Post
• “Sad Sad City”– Jeff Lind,Salt City Hoops
• “Reflections On Jerry Sloan: The D.C. Edition”– Rashad Mobley,Truth About It.net

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Truth About It» Wizards Improve To 1-25 On The Road,“Dougie”Could Be In Order For Team Owner

1-25

Before San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich led his team against the Washington Wizards on Saturday night, and as his players were coming off an uncharacteristic loss to the Philadelphia 76ers the night before, I asked him if it was a situation where he’d rather play the very next night.

“Exactly. That’s always one of the great things we all talk about in the NBA, because another game’s coming pretty quickly. Even if it’s back-to-back, you’d rather get to the next game and play and forget the one you just were so horrible in,” the coach said.

After getting poked and prodded like worn leather by the Spurs, the Wizards found them in the same situation, on a flight to Cleveland not only with the motivation of ending a 0-25 road record on the season, but also with the bad taste of poor effort spread on their breakfast toast. The Australians call it vegemite.

Well, they did it. February 13 was long ago marked as a facetious scenario for the Wizards to get their first road win— against Antawn Jamison, in front of a Cleveland crowd previously ingrained to boo the Wiz a little more than other teams, and with a nice number like 25 straight road losses, 26 dating back to last season. With life’s little symmetry in tow, of courseWashington won 115-100on Sunday evening.Ted Leonsisshould be dancing, but we’ll get him doing the“Dougie” for another reason.

The Wizards smacked a Cleveland franchise in a much worse situation than Leonsis’ bunch (thanks to the handy chart below). Although, Cleveland is currently third in theNBA in average attendance(20,383) and are ninth in percentage filled (99.1); the Wizards are 18th in average attendance (16,177) and 22nd in percentage filled (80.2)— the advantage in‘butts in seats’ clearly filled with a lot of buyer’s remorse at their failed investment in LeBron James. Hope for Cleveland now fully lies in NBA draft lottery combinations, and not at all in the product that can be found on the court this year.

{click for larger image}

Leonsis, on the other hand, hasJohn Wallto build around. The rookie paced his team with 14 assists, two turnovers and 19 points on 8-19 shooting in 36 minutes. According to theBasketball-Reference database, since 1986-87 a player 20 years or younger has now achieved 14 or more assists in a game 17 times. Wall is the owner of five such occurrences.Stephon Marburyhas five as well,LeBronhas three,Chris Paulhas three andGilbert Arenashas one.

At the 6:37 mark of the first quarter, the Wizards jumped out to a 21-8 lead thanks to seven assists from Wall. They never really looked back after that. Well, maybe a little. Cleveland went on a 9-0 run to end the third quarter to cut Washington’s lead to 16 and then to 11 with 7:20 left in the game, but that’s where the Wizards’ veteran picked up the slack.

Kirk Hinrichhit a big three at the 6:56 mark of the fourth, allowing the Cavaliers to get no closer. Hinrich finished with 17 points, five assists and zero turnovers in 28 minutes off the bench. In February, Hinrich has looked to score more, and more effectively, averaging 12.2 points on an effective-FG-percentage of 54.8. This is coming off a January in which Hinrich missed five of 16 games due to injury and averaged 10.1 points on an eFG-percentage of 48.4.

In Hinrich’s place against Cleveland startedJosh Howard, who was making his first uniformed appearance in 19 games. Howard began the game as a facilitator/communicator on defense, most importantly helping the action and not forcing it. He didn’t score his first points until 2:24 was left in the second quarter; the Wizards held a comfortable 20 point lead and Howard’s three pushed that to 63-40. Howard came up with key help on offense in the second half, scoring 13 of his 16 points for the game. He had been 3-14 from deep on the season, against Cleveland he drained 3-6 of his threes.

The output ofAndray Blatcheshould be noted as a difference maker in the total effort, he had 17 points on 8-11 shooting with nine rebounds, five assists and three turnovers in 25 minutes limited to foul trouble. He started the game with a dunk and a yell, courtesy of a great pass by Wall, and although he made some mistakes, he did do things such as chasing down an offensive rebound kept alive byYi Jianlianwith just under four minutes in the game while the Cavs pressing for points and time. Yi ultimately completed the second chance with a 19-foot jumper that put Washington up 111-95.

But the offensive assassin on the night wasNick Young. After the loss to the Spurs on Saturday, I asked him if he was preparing some words for his old teammateAntawn Jamisonon Sunday.

“Oh yea,” he said with a wry smile.“But after a game like this, you gotta go out there strictly business,” Young finished. And business for him was nice and efficient against the Cavaliers, to the tune of 31 points on 21 shots. He went 3-4 on shots at the rim, 1-1 on shots within 10 feet, 3-4 on shots between 10-15 feet, 6-11 on shots between 16-23 feet and 1-1 on three pointers.

Here’s where people might say,‘Well, the 16-23 foot range shot is the most inefficient shot in the NBA.’ And here’s where I’ll point out: the stats might be inefficient. Young’s makes within that 16-23 foot range came from 16, 17 (twice), 18 (twice) and 19 feet; his misses came from 16, 18, 20 (twice) and 22 feet. Four of the makes came from around the free-throw line area, perfectly within Young’s range when he gets those shots within the offense— by the way, nine of Young’s 14 field-goals versus Cleveland were assisted by a teammate. So, when you look at 16-23 feet shot range stats to determine Young’s worth, keep in mind that the data set can be highly imperfect.

“I feel like Christmas. We wanted to get a win, now we hope we can get some more,”John Wall said after the game.

Hopefully the young Wizards won’t get too carried away and will forget this first road win as soon as they forgot the embarrassing loss to the Spurs on Saturday. Although Cleveland snapped their 26-game losing streak against the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday, there’s still little hope to be found with that franchise, especially when James Edward Hickson is really the only promising piece. A road win is nice, but the Wizards should be less proud of beating such a morbid team than the Cavaliers should be embarrassed about being the team against whom the Wizards ended their road streak. Know what I mean?

About that“Dougie” from Ted Leonsis…

On November 4, 2010, heblogged:

When we have a total paid sellout this season, I will do the“Dougie”– I promise.

Later that day,Leonsis followed up:

And the Heat, Lakers and Celtics games don’t count. Deal?

Now, beating the Cavaliers to end a 25-game road losing streak has no bearing on whether Leonsis does a dance that’s late in minute 14 of its famous run. Rather, the mechanical defeat at the hands of the Spurs on Saturday night does. Let’s take a look at the box score from that game, shall we?

Now“(Sellout)” under the attendance listing of 20,435 may not mean the same thing as“total paid sellout”, but if you’re going to put the words on the box score, you might as put your dancing shoes on. And now, thankfully, perhaps Leonsis’ Dougie can be done in celebration of a good win instead of as a result of the most demoralizing loss of the season.

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