Truth About It» What’s The Difference In Andray Blatche?

{Blatche celebrates a close win over the Pistons.}

Andray Blatche.Yes,thatAndray Blatche… Party All Dray. He’s been a little bit different lately, hasn’t he? Sure has. Averaging 25.6 points and 13.7 rebounds per 36 minutes in the last four games (up from his 17.4 and 8.7 respective averages per 36 for the season), since his return from injury is certainly a strong indication that thingscouldbe different for Blatche.

Straight and to the point, he’s been attacking the rim. Living in the paint. Doing the dirty work down low. All the good stuff the team has always needed Andray Blatche to do, but has never quite been satisfied.

Against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night, the Wizards’ third win in a row (for the first time since April 2008), Blatche forced in 26 points on 8-18 shooting. Four of his misses came from inside five-feet from the rim (which is a good thing), and he made 7-8 of his field-goal attempts within two-feet.

Another treat resulting from Dray’s interior work: free-throws.He shot 12 of them, made 10— 12 being the third most free-throw attempts in his 378 game career (he attempted 14 twice earlier this year, a November 2 win over Philadelphia and a close November 29 loss to the Heat in Miami). Also, two of Blatche’s free-throws against the Pistons came through in the clutch, giving the Wizards a four point lead with nine seconds left. Andray nailed his after rookie Greg Monroe missed two from the line that would have tied the game with 10 seconds left. And guess who secured the strong rebound after Monroe’s second miss? You got it, the man once known as simply:“Baltche.”

But back to Andray nailing seven of his eight field-goal attempts at the rim. He’s played in 59 games this season and has had eight or more attempts at the rim in 13 of those games. When this happens, the Wizards have a 9-4 record. The opponent, however, should also be considered. These instances of rim jobs came against the likes of Charlotte (twice), Toronto (three times), Cleveland, Detroit, Houston, Indiana, Philadelphia (twice) and Miami— an average opponent winning-percentage of .400. {Note: two of Blatche's games of 10-plus field-goal attempts at the rim came last Friday versus Cleveland and last Sunday versus Charlotte.}

The Wizards have a 6-19 record when Blatche’s at-the-rim attempts are between five and seven shots per game. The average winning-percentage of those opponents is .520.

Continuing, the Wizards are 3-18 when Blatche attempts four or less shots at the rim, the average winning-percentage of those opponents is .536.

So, we’ve established that the Wizards lose when they play good teams, that they fare better when Blatche has more attempts at the rim, and that Blatche plays better against crappy opponents. Let’s look at a pretty chart to illustrate…

{stats viaHoopDataandBasketball-Reference.com}

A lot of this goes without saying, but the numbers, in their limited snapshot illustration, could be a measure of future expectation, IF…

…IFBlatche decides he wants to take action at the rim all the time, against tough competition. Tonight against the Pacers in Indiana will be a good test. Friday against the Celtics in Boston will be an even better test. Will Blatche work inside on the road when it might be a little harder? Or will he settle for jump shots? That’s for him to determine.

It’s nice that TedLeonsis now wants to anoint Blatche, along with Jordan Crawford and John Wall, as the“new big three” (boy, Nick Young was quickly tossed aside, wasn’t he?), but that silliness clouds reality with marketing fluff. Who the real Andray Blatche is has yet to be seen. Let’s hope the last three games is more of a blueprint for success and less of a free, whimsical, meaningless, temporary brand of basketball.

After the Pistons win, I asked Flip Saunders, Mo Evans and John Wall about the difference they’ve seen in Andray.

Flip on Blatche last year post-trade deadline versus this recent three-game stretch:

“I think he’s been much more patient and he hasn’t gotten frustrated. Last year he might have gotten a little frustrated because he wasn’t getting the ball. {Tonight} he kept doing the things that he’s supposed to do, defensively tried to rebound, and I think he knew that we’d come backto him {on offense}. He made some big plays down the stretch, and made big free-throws.”

Mo Evans:

John Wall:

Andray grabs big rebound after Greg Monroe misses his second free-throw:

{all photos: Kyle Weidie, Truth About It.net}

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Truth About It» Big Bad LeBron Contributing To A Soft NBA

When LeBron James complains about fouls, it’s not about his size, as he would gladly have you believe. Neither is it about there being a presumed double-standard from imposing basketball specimens like himself and Dwight Howard. Sure, there are reasons to take notice, but let’s be honest, it’s about politicking through the gladly willing media.

Said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra after Wednesday night’s game versus the Wizards:

“He absorbs a lot more contact than people realize. He’s big and tough enough that he shrugs it off. But you go in there and see him in the locker room, and he’s got ice on pretty much every part of his body.”

So do 5’11″ guards who live in the lane. So do a lot of NBA players. It’s a tough game. And when someone like LeBron, who has the sixth highest usage rate in the NBA at 31.4-percent, gladly uses his abnormal physique to gain an advantage, it certainly is going to feel like he’s being handled more physically, at least to him. But it’s all relative.

It’s hard not to take whining for what it is,whining, but LeBron is doing more. He (and Spolestra) are preparing for the playoffs. He’s peppering the subconscious of referees and league officials. He’s doing the same thing superstars who feel entitled have been doing for years. LeBron and Spolestra want whistles in their favor, simple as that. It’s no different from the incites of Phil Jackson every season, expect Jackson can be funny.

It’s not about Mo Evans and the Washington Wizards, as LeBron would have you believe from his post-game quote last Wednesday:

“I don’t know if Mo Evans intentionally wants to be dirty. I watch a lot of basketball. I see a lot of basketball every day, and anytime when someone gets grabbed around the neck, it’s an automatic flagrant-1. If I’m wrong, tell me I’m wrong. Sometimes it’s unfair, because of how strong I am, you know. I can take the punishment of course, but at the same time, I think it’s unfair sometimes.”

LeBron watches a lot of basketball. He knows what the NBA is becoming— overly-sensitive to hard, acceptable fouls from the good ol’ days— and he wants to take advantage of the changing environment. He wants to further propel the league into the age of softness. Because when you are as big and imposing as he is, rigging the system to tip-toe around the physicality of the defense works to your advantage.

NBA players used to be allowed to do smart things. Like when LeBron tucks the ball into his side like Jerome Bettis and charges with reckless abandon toward the basket, the smart move is to foul him. Nothing easy, but nothing dirty. Wrap him up around the shoulders to make sure he goes to the free-throw line without getting a shot off. Don’t undercut anyone in a vulnerable position.

This is exactly what Evans attempted to do on the play in question, a LeBron run-away train fast-break. As the picture below clearly indicates, Evans tried to wrap-up James around the shoulders. Yet LeBron is whining about his neck, his back, and all areas in between.

And almost surprisingly, the referee called just a regular old foul. Poor LeBron. At least Dwyane Wade came to the defense of his neck.

James proceeded to get a technical foul called on him (Jordan Crawford made it), and missed both free-throws, prompting a free Chik-Fil-A sandwich to all those in attendance at the Verizon Center. No lies, not from the ball, not from the boos of the fans after LeBron missed the first from the charity stripe, putting a chicken sandwich in the balance.

But before you think,‘You’re just some biased Wizards blogger,’ what do you think Joseph Goodman of theMiami Heraldis doing when he writes a column called,“Strength can be a detriment to Miami Heat’s LeBron James“? He’s slurping off the talents brought to South Beach. No biggie, we all are what we are.

LeBron is no more than a politician looking out for self-interest. And are you really going to believe what he says/whines about anyway? Not likely. No need to listen. The King has big shoulders, maybe he should worry about carrying his court on them instead of complaining about his neck.

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Truth About It» Uncertain Steps Toward An Unknown Future: Wizards Skin Bobcats, Now What?

With a 97-91 win over the Bobcats in Charlotte on Sunday evening, the Washington Wizards propelled themselves into the territory of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls circa 2002-03, the last season that saw an NBA team have only three wins on the road, both mentioned teams having achieved the feat. Worth noting, however, that the Bulls finished 30-52 that year, the Cavaliers just 17-65. Also worth noting, the Wizards have three road games left— at Indiana, at Boston and at Cleveland— so three on the season might not be the magic number.

Cleveland was admittedly tanking to get LeBron James in 2002-03. Enough said. And that Chicago team, fresh off taking a young point guard in Jay Williams in the 2002 draft to pair with the promise of Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry, Jamaal Crawford and Marcus Fizer, had all the hope in the world. It only took about eight more seasons with middling success and another rebuild for Chicago to become any sort of playoff threat. And if youEVERsee John Wall on a motorcycle…

The Wizards are now 20-56, significant because they won’t tie a franchise record for least wins in an 82-game season at 19. They currently have the third worst record in the NBA after Cleveland’s 15 wins and Minnesota’s 17 wins, but with six games left, they are dangerously close to falling back in the lottery odds with Toronto at 21 wins, Sacramento at 22 and New Jersey at 23.

The Players.

Jordan Crawford is quickly moving past the“shiny new tool” syndrome and into a special prospect category. Crawford’s style is unique, and he can score in a number of ways. He can score in big situations, he can score against more dominantly talented competition, and he can score while trying to run the Wizards as a rookie trying to learn point guard in the NBA.

Some of his numbers raise eyebrows, good and bad. But the fearlessness of his game, and his willingness to scrap on both ends of the floor, helps to cope with concerns that Crawford needs to temper his offensive game toward patience and see the floor within control. He is a rookie, he’ll get there.

Crawford does struggle getting around screens and keeping up as an off-ball defender, but boy is his offense dazzling, and it was on display against the Bobcats. One minute he was attacking the basket, switching to and finishing with his left hand. The next he was creating a direct lane to drive with a hesitation dribble that fooled everyone. Another minute, Crawford was hitting a big three to finally get the ball through the net after the Wizards secured three offensive boards on one possession… it takes a lacking conscious to hit that shot. By the way, all this happened in the first quarter against Charlotte, when he started out the gates with nine points.

Crawford finished the game with 23 points on 10-20 shooting and 2-5 from beyond the arc. In an odd twist, he hit three huge shots within a stretch from the 9:46 to the 6:46 mark in the fourth quarter in an unnecessarily necessary duel against Matt Carroll (yes, Matt Carroll, more on that in a second). However, all of Crawford’s shots in that run were of the ill-advised, possession-hijacking, too-much-dribbling variety. But he still got them to go down when his team needed it. Man, this kid is hard to assess.

Back to Carroll. The Wizards bumbled the end of the third quarter, allowing DJ Augustin to score five points in the last seven seconds to cut a once safe lead to 11 points at 76-65. In the first two minutes of the final period, Carroll scored seven points, compared to just one bucket from Wall for the Wizards, to cut the Bobcats’ deficit to six points. Overall, Carroll scored 14 of the first 16 Bobcat points by the mid-way point of the fourth. Yes, Matt Carroll was on a tear, and recent media darling Othyus Jeffers seemed to be the defensive culprit. Carroll finished with 26 points on 11-16 shooting off the bench; surprisingly, he was only 2-3 from deep.

Charlotte would, however, get no closer than five points, and the Wizards did just enough to outlast a team most would consider to have less talent, even with all Washington’s injuries. (Stephen Jackson, Eduardo Najera and Tyrus Thomas did not see the floor for Paul Silas’ team due to injury).

Crawford was the glue that held together John Wall’s inconsistent night with the currently motivated effort of Andray Blatche, who did much more attacking of the paint than not. Wall finished with 18 points, five rebounds, three steals, five assists and six turnovers. He had just four points, three assists and three rebounds at halftime, but bounced back with a strong third, scoring 11 points, much thanks to his quickness.

And Blatche, with 25 points on 10-19 shooting and 17 rebounds, continued to display that if you stay close to the rim, good things will happen. Hopefully this self-realized lesson sticks with him in the future. Although, worth pointing out that Blatche’s 61 points and 36 rebounds over the last two games came against very porous front lines. Still, against Charlotte, Blatche began the game with an early drive to the hoop, his knee high in the aira al Karl Malone, connecting with the crotch of Kwame Brown. And in the lane doing damage is where Blatche stayed. Five of his rebounds were offensive, and according to theESPN.com shot chat, Blatche only took three shots from beyond 9-feet— he missed from 10 and 14-feet and made a jumper from 19-feet.

Blatche can’t jump. At all. He’ll never be an elite athlete. But if he uses his long arms to be relentless on the glass, often putting himself in the right position; and if he continues to hone crafty post moves that are Antawn Jamison-esque, the paint need not be such an intimidating place for him, as it’s seemingly been in the past.

JaVale McGee. He was the wild card who came up high pocket pairs just enough times to combat bouts with an off-suit 7-2 combo in his hand. At around the five minute mark of the fourth, McGee used his height to find Mo Evans under the hoop for a bucket. It was a crucial assist that put the Wizards past a precarious six-point lead. On the other end of the floor, McGee hustled to block a DJ Augustin attempt at the rim. He then ran the court as the Wizards sprinted the other way, only to get blocked himself by Dominic McGuire at the rim. McGee then soon-after countered that with one of his crazy, spinning, dribble bobbles, along with having ultimate responsibility that allowed Gerald Henderson to hit a layup to keep the Bobcats within seven points at the 4:21 mark. But McGee then finished a run suitable for only him with an alley-oop assist to Blatche (well, a layup alley-oop). Two assists within 65 seconds for McGee— his total for the game to go with 15 points and seven rebounds— might be some kind of record.

Each team only scored one field-goal in the last four minutes of the game, an indicator of the overall strength of the two foes. But a life in the lane for one— the Wizards— was the ultimate difference. Washington out-rebounded Charlotte 50-39 (16-7 on the offensive glass) and held a 58-36 point advantage in the paint.

Beating another bad or average team is a good step, as long as the lesson isn’t lost. It won’t be as easy to work inside-out against every team— not everyone rolls out an un-intimidating line of Kwame Brown, Dante Cunningham, DJ White, Dominic McGuire and Boris Diaw… with Diaw being the most imposing specimin (at least in his backside)— but the Wizards should realize that pushing themselves to be persistent in the paint will ultimately work in their favor. It’s building the habit which is key.

Regressions will occur and are tolerable instances of learning. A regression in the next six games could also be easy to see. At home on Tuesday, the Wizards will face a Pistons team that destroyed them in Detroit on March 6, they’ll see a likely-playoff-bound Pacers team the next night in Indiana that has been very physical with the Wiz Kids this season, and of course, Washington will face a Boston team fighthing for playoff positioning, twice.

A strong finish to the season would serve as a nice ending distraction to a year that has gone worse than expected by most. Sure, we all knew it would be a rebuliding year, but at the same time, both Ted Leonsis and Ernie Grunfeld were touting Wall/Arenas/Hinrich as one of the best backcourts in the league… we now see where those words got the team.  This last stretch is for building individual confidence under the ability to succeed through team unity. What this last stretch is not for is constructing a false sense of hope. Because as Wizards fans should be conditioned to know, expect anything and don’t think it can’t get any worse, because it always can.

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Truth About It» From The Other Side: Positive Thoughts From Cleveland

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ 115-107 defeat at the hands of the Washington Wizards last Friday was their 60th loss in 75 games and their 32nd road loss in 37 road games. Included in those depressing numbers is a 26-game losing streak, which represented the longest such streak in NBA history.  Those numbers are a far cry from the 61 victories they amassed just one year earlier, and to say this has been a long season for the Cavs would be an understatement of epicproportions.

The reasons for Cleveland’s futility are well-documented.Big Bad LeBron Jamestook his talents away from the Cavaliers and bolted for Miami, as did Zydrunas Illgauskas. Delonte West was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Ryan Hollins, Ramon Sessions and a first round draft pick. Anderson Varejao has not played a game since January 5 of this year because of a torn tendon in his ankle, and Antawn Jamison’s season also ended prematurely with a broken finger. Mo Williams, arguably the second-best player on the team after LeBron last year, and the best player on the Cavs entering this season, was traded along with Jamario Moon to the LA Clippers on February 24.  In return, the Cavaliers received Baron Davis and a draft pick. The lack of continuity hasjust been just too much to overcome.

Due to injuries, trades, and flat-out inexperience, the Wizards have had similar frustrations during this 2010-2011 season. But the play of  John Wall, Nick Young, Jordan Crawford, JaVale McGee and Andray Blatche (at times), has given everyone from Wizards fans to owner Ted Leonsis some hope for the future.  The Cavaliers have also had occasional bright spots with an opening day victory over the Boston Celtics and avictory right before the All-Star Break over the defending champion Lakers. Perhaps the biggest moment of the year came last week when the Cavaliers defeated LeBron and the Heat 102-90 in Cleveland— Miami defeated the Cavaliers 118-90 back on December 2; LeBron destroyed his old team in his first return to Ohio by scoring 38 points in just three quarters.

Still, in a season full of losses and frustration, it would seem to be a difficult task for the Cavaliers to think positive, encouraging thoughts. I asked head coach Byron Scott, Ramon Sessions and J.J. Hickson what, if any, positives could be taken out of a season that has gone this badly.

Byron Scott:

“I think all of our young guys have gotten better. That’s something we talked about from Day One, that this is going to be a process as well. These guys have hung in there all season long. We have a good group of guys. That’s something that’s very positive about this organization. You know, I think the future is bright with four picks coming up in the draft, we feel pretty good about where we are and what we can do. We’re looking forward to it.”

Ramon Sessions:

J.J. Hickson:

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Truth About It» Against Cavaliers, Wizards Find Meaning of Basketball Life From Deathbed

Jordan Crawford does a little bit of everything…

Before tip off, I was curious how the Wizards would respond in a game that had all the trappings of an emotional let down. Gone were the Heat and the insanity they always bring to an atmosphere. Gone was the underdog mentality, facing a Cleveland Cavaliers team that had won three fewer games than the Wiz this year. And of course, gone was John Wall, suspended after trying to put his fist through Zydrunus Ilgauskas’s rib cage against Miami Wednesday night.

How would the Wizards respond in a game that, even without John Wall, one might actuallyexpectthemto win?

Said Flip Saunders,“in the pregame talk, after we got done, I told one of the assistant coaches ‘man I don’t feel that energy in that room tonight.’”

But Flip’s guys came through for game time.

In their 115-107 win Friday night, the Wizards showed exactly who they’ve become over the last couple weeks. They played poorly at stretches, individuals made a few wacky decisions, and some old bad habits refused to die. But they also competed and rode a high work rate and intensity level, even through the dark patches, allowing fans to appreciate the bright spots.

Although Andray Blatche (36 points and 19 rebounds) and Jordan Crawford (20 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists) turned in superlative statlines, the number that jumped out to me during and after the game was the Wizards’ decided advantage in the paint. Fueled by a monster night on the offensive glass from Blatche, who grabbed 16 (some his own misses), the Wizards out-rebounded the Cavaliers 56-38 and pulled in over 50-percent of their own misses.

The disparity was necessary to offset a Washington attack that lacked any outside fire power. The Wizards only shot eight three pointers, instead relying on big scoring nights from JaVale McGee (25) and Blatche to pound the Cavaliers in the paint. In fact, 49 of the Wizards’ 94 shots came within 10 feet of the basket.

Although they struggled from the line, Crawford’s ability to feed Washington’s post players and orchestrate offense for himself and others out of the pick-and-roll kept the team humming. Defensively, however, there were plenty of ugly let downs. On multiple occasions, the Wizards big men failed to rotate or take the proper help angle againstthe Cavaliers pick-and-roll attack. When he wasn’t casually launching three-pointers, Baron Davis was able to knife inside, draw help and find the rolling big man. (Side note:I wonder if Baron is sad because he misses so many three-pointers, or if he misses so many three-pointers because he’s sad.)

But despite these mental lapses, the Wizards kept their energy at a high level throughout almost the entire game. Without veteran starters Rashard Lewis, Josh Howard and Nick Young on the floor, the Wizards played likc a bunch of scrappy guys fighting to keep their place in the League. Because aside from McGee and Blatche, that’s what was on the court Friday night. Each player invested in the competition itself, and the Wizards seemed dangerously close to solidifying an identity of fearlessness and effort.

While talent level predicts that they’ll continue to lose more games than they will win over the remaining two weeks of the season, Wizard faithful have to be pleased with the way Crawford, Othyus Jeffers and Mo Evans are pushing the rest of the team.

The only person likely happier than Washington fans is Flip Saunders. I saw Flip a couple months ago and he looked worn down, emotionally exhausted. And that was after a home win against Utah. But he looked like Nixon in 1970 last night— tan, rested and ready.

It’s clear that Saunders, who is known as a teacher, is enjoying his new pupils’ attitude. Said the coach after the game, “We keep on working with players and the mistakes we saw {earlier in the year} become fewer and far between. We’re starting to see that with some of our guys. It’s toughtto be patient at times. No matter what happens, our guys come into practice with a good attitude, and they come in to work, and I give a lot of credit to our assistant coaches.”

Perhaps he was thinking about McGee, who scored on Ryan Hollins using a number of under-control, simple maneuvers like a physical drop step and a driving hook that did not take him flying across the lane.  Said Saunders, “I told him,‘You’re going to get touches, but try not to do too many crazy things.’ He’s going to always have one or two, but try and be a little more patient.”

McGee did do some crazy things, as expected. The difference in his personal play was probably marginal, but even he seemed imbued with a greater sense of competitive purpose on the court. That spirit is coming from guys who are in unlikely position on the depth chart.

After the game, Saunders glowed:

“The personality of some of the guys we have right now — Mo Evans, great competitor, Jordan is a great competitor, the guys we’re brining in, O. (Jeffers) — they’re the kind of players that you want to go out there with, because you know they’re going to fight tooth and nail to the end. It will make other guys who are talented guys play above their level, even Jordan. I mean, Dray’s caught a lot of criticism from people that he doesn’t play hard. But when you are playing with three guys like that, they almost force you to play at a higher level.”

Now, if only there were sixty games remaining instead of six.

This season feels a bit like a heart-wrenching dramatic movie. Our protagonist has lived through a lot, the fall and departure of an icon, the disappointment of great expectations, a life seemingly unfulfilled. Now, with IV tubes and beeping monitors around the Wizards’ season, a greater understanding has been reached. Finally, the team seems to have grasped onto a love of competition that could sustain a fan base in the face of repeated drubbings.

It’s far, far too late for Washington this season. But hey, there’s a lesson to be learned here, if the team hangs on to some of these underpaid overachievers. The Wizards may not always have enough to win, but they certainly have more than enough to compete.

Notes and other thoughts:

• Of Andray Blatche’s 16 offensive rebounds, eight were from his own misses. He was 8-15 on shots at the rim.
• Jordan Crawford played an exceptional second half and seemed much more comfortable running the team in that period. In a critical stretch late in the fourth quarter, Crawford assisted on three straight baskets— two to McGee underneath and one on a kick-out to Yi Jianlian to ice the game.
• Crawford also led the Wizards on the defensive boards, snagging eight.
• Othys Jeffers scored 13 points on seven shots for a .714 Effective Field-Goal Percentage.
• The Wizards are now 17-21 at home, and 2-35 on the road.

Twitter: @BeckleyMason

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Truth About It» Hello JaVale McGee. There You Are, Staring Dudes Down

First, JaVale McGee blocks.

We (I/you/us/them) have found cause to critique JaVale McGee to a high degree this season. It’s just when you combine immense talent and potential with a seeming unwillingness to learn and/or an inability to grow in basketball IQ, the way of the world is done an injustice without an honest assessment.

So, when McGee finally does“put it together,” also known as when he stops doing stupid things (like JaVale’s dribbles), you’ll appreciate how much he’s grown even more. All of this could be a bunch of bull to make myself feel better about my criticism. It also could be an“it is what it is” situation*.

The Wizards want JaVale McGee on that line, they need him on that line. They need him to get better because in totality, his improvement this season has been a slight disappointment. But rebuilding time is time afforded to go through these frustrations. So it’s all good… as long as McGee kicks butt this summer.

He’s done a lot better lately. One day he could be consistently amazing to watch. Oh the day dreams. Although, his mere five rebounds in 36 minutes against the Miami Heat on Wednesday night stands out from the 15.3 boards he averaged in the previous four games (on the road against the LA Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors and Utah Jazz). The quality of the opponent should be considered, but McGee still made his presence felt against the Heat, in the form of sweet, sweet blocks.

He’s not going to back down from trying to swat any shot, most of the time. Great teams need that, intelligently. Let’s tell some stories about McGee versus Miami with the help of pictures.

Sam Cassell instructs on a failure in the defensive rotation.

Chris Bosh made this shot. Imagine trying to do that at your size.

My camera happened to be too zoomed in to capture McGee’s block of Chris Bosh, but I did catch the stare down.

McGee is about to block Dwyane Wade.Notice his off arm. He has honed his shot-blocking technique to not reach out with it and to establish the ground he’s holding. Kid is a damn good field-goal repellent.

Then the stare-down. Sam Cassell loves it.

Then Chris Bosh got smart the next time and pump faked.I got the picture of the dunk, but who cares about dunks like a Bosh?

At one point LeBron James was going to drive to the basket against McGee…

…but then he thought better of it.

Then LeBron said‘I’m LeBron’ and beat McGee to the baseline, allowing himself to get bumped by the gangly JaVale. Yep, the ref legitimately blew the whistle.

We’re going to end on this (didn’t count).

*(via Mike Miller)

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Truth About It» From The Other Side: Backhanded Wizards Compliments, Courtesy of Dwyane Wade

{photo: K. Weidie}

On Tuesday night, the Miami Heat went to Cleveland and were soundly defeated by the Cavaliers, 102-90. LeBron James had a triple-double with 27 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. Dwyane Wade had 24 points and Mike Bibby chipped-in 23 points–his most as a member of the Heat. Unfortunately, Chris Bosh (10 points, four rebounds and a team-worst plus/minus of minus-24) was a non-factor, and the Heat allowed the Cavs to shoot 55-percent from the field and 52-percent behind the arc.

After the game, Heat coach Erik Spolestra was not at all pleased.

“The majority of time in this league you get what you deserve and we got exactly what we deserved,” Spoelstra said.“They played harder than us. They came out with much more desperation and sense of urgency. This pattern started two games ago, and we’re a little confused what our identity is.”

Wednesday night, the Heat allowed the Wizards to shoot 49-percent from the field and 56-percent from behind the arc (most of that damage was done by Jordan Crawford, who scored a career-high 39 points by shooting 12-24 on field-goals, 5-8 from the three-point line and 10-10 from the free-throw line). Miami also struggled to pull away from a Wizards team that was missing John Wall for the much of the game (second quarter ejection), while Rashard Lewis (knee), Nick Young (knee), Josh Howard (knee), and Trevor Booker (foot) did not suit up at all.

The difference between Tuesday night’s loss to the Cavaliers and Wednesday night’s 123-107 victory over the Wizards was simply Miami’s ability to shoot a higher percentage. Against Cleveland they shot just 42-percent, but in Washington they shot nearly 57-percent (Wade and LeBron shot 67-percent alone and combined for 68 point), which more than covered for the glaring defensive flaws of the Heat.

Still, considering they lost to the NBA’s worst team, and they were struggling to defeat the third-worst team (at least record-wise) in the Wizards, you would think a little humility from a team yet to win anything would be in order. It was not.

LeBron James was called for just one technical foul, but he could have easily picked up three or four the way he barked at the refs and threw arms and elbows after hard fouls (and we won’t even mention James’ push of Crawford that led to his dunk over Jeffers). Wade was much less belligerent, but once it was clear the victory was in hand, he celebrated with James and his other Heat teammates like they had blown out the Boston Celtics. But this was just a victory over the injured, Wall-less, 18-56 Washington Wizards.

To make things even worse, when Wade was asked to assess the Wizards’ performance, his comments came off as part complimentary, part insult:

“They are playing free basketball.  They have no worries in the world.  They don’t see a bad shot, it’s not a bad shot, everything they do is right.  We understand that in this time of the year with this four game road trip, this is one of the tougher road trips of the year, we are just playing teams that are just playing forpride.”

Wade took the same stance when asked to assess Crawford’s 39-point performance. Mind you, Crawford had the Verizon Center crowd and the Heat players in the palm of his hand after Wall’s ejection. He hit shots from every inch of the court, he hit baskets to beat the shot clock, he drove to the hoop when it was needed and he even talked smack to James from time to time. He played like a 10-year veteran, not a rookie appearing in just his 34th pro game.  Apparently this was not enough to completely impress Wade:

“He shot the ball well. Like I said, they were free shots.  He’s a scorer, he played with a lot of heart, he’s a tough kid, but it’s a little bit different when you’re playing for something, then when you’re not. But he had a free mind, and he hit some good shoots, some big shots, so credit to him.”

Everyone knows the Wizards aren’t making playoffs. That’s been crystal clear since before Gilbert Arenas was traded, which means they have been playing“free basketball” with a“free mind” for most of the season. But this particular brand of free-minded basketball was being played by the likes of a rookie in Crawford, a D-leaguer in Othyus Jeffers, career role player Maurice Evans, a player who had missed three weeks due to injury in Andray Blatche and the inconsistent one himself,JaVale McGee. A team with the talent and pedigree of the Miami Heat should have beaten the Wizards soundly, and LeBron, Bosh and Wade should not have played a solitary minute in the fourth quarter.

But that did not happen, and the Heat struggled to win, and Wade could not bring himself to fully compliment the hard-nosed effort of a much lesser team.

Later in his postgame speech Wade attempted to discard his disparaging remarks about the Wizards and get some sympathy for his own team.

“We’re still a team that’s learning how to win games together, how to win games in many different facets, from close games, to blowouts, to having leads, to coming back from down 23. We’re learning a lot of different things, which is going to help us grow for the future, but also help us grow this year.”

Wade was 100-percent correct with those statements, and those lines actually sounded like they were delivered from the mouth of Coach Spolestra himself. Wade’s words would have been better received had he not insulted the team that almost beat him. No wonder people think the Heat areevil villains.

{The author of this post: Rashad Mobley is from the Washington, D.C. area and has been covering the Washington Wizards with credentials for three years.  To learn more about himclick here.To follow him on Twitter:@Rashad20.}

{photos: Kyle Weidie, TAI}

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