Disturbing Wizards Tweets from their Weekend in Philly

Philly just outscored the Wizards 223-179 in back to back wins. Here's what the players have to say...

I can go for a steakRT @jordanchill43: headin to DC today...@Trevor_Booker where we eatin tonite?

— Trevor Booker (@Trevor_Booker) January 15, 2012

Booker, one of my favorite players on the team is looking forward to his steak dinner.

“@H__Strong: That looks wild funRT @JaValeMcGee34: They go hard! twitter.com/JaValeMcGee34/…”right

— Pierre McGee (@JaValeMcGee34) January 15, 2012

Javale McGee is looking at hilarious pictures online.

What's da name of the shoe store in Philly that be selling all them Js.... Sell clothes too? Need help

— Jordan Crawford (@jcraw55) January 13, 2012

Jordan Crawford is trying to expand his wardrobe. I really hope someone was able to help him out...

Gotta work over time if I wanna b better then my idol

— Nick Young (@NickSwagyYoung) December 13, 2011

And there's Nick Young, finally someone saying they need to work harder. But where's the team unity?


John Wall didn't tweet it, but he's carrying the weight of the loss on his back, "I feel like I lost the game." His season high 8 turnovers definitely didn't help, but there are a ton of problems here. This team does not have any foundation to build off. This team needs yet another restart. Lewis, Blatche and maybe even Nick Young need to go. I like Nick Young as a person, but if I'm being honest, he'd be better off playing under a veteran and learning how to win. The Wizards need their own London Fletcher. Until then, they'll keep piling on the losses and as Flip Saunders so deftly stated yesterday, "playing like Space Jam."

Very glad I didn't continue my season ticket contract this year...



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Teddy Has Some Decisions to Make

Let's start with hockey. The Caps aren't a winning team. They have shown that all year. Boudreau is gone, Hunter is in, and it's the same result. Inconsistency throughout the team. Mike Green can't stay healthy. Ovechkin can't put up points consistently. Our goaltending is spotty at best. As a team, our shots per game total is plummeting. Something has to change. Coaching wasn't the answer. The core of this team needs to change. The core of Semin, Backstrom and Ovechkin has had their chance. The Caps need energy and they need it fast.
Back to back 5-2 losses out west is flat out embarrassing. Remember 3 years ago when a 3 goal deficit meant nothing? Our team had a confidence that was through the roof and nothing could bring it down. Now, if we're down, you might as well watch the Family Guy marathon on TBS because we're down for good. Ted Leonsis has to make a decision here. He either tells McPhee to make a big change, or he tells McPhee to clean out his office. Things are spiraling quickly and if Leonsis doesn't make a decision soon, it could be too late. His coach lost faith, now his players are losing faith. The fans will be next, it's just a matter of time.

Here you go Mr. Crawford.

Next up is basketball. What in the wide world of sports is going on here? The Wizards are a team with obvious problems. Flip has no control over the team. Blatche is embarrassingly slow and weak. Rashard Lewis flat out told Saunders he doesn't want to play. As for Jordan Crawford? Sorry buddy but remember when you basically said "I am the next Michael Jordan"? You would have been better off bending over and spreading your butt cheeks like Ace Ventura. This is supposed to be the beginning of a new era for DC basketball. Except there is no foundation to build off of, and no one to build it. Ernie Grunfeld, see you later. Flip Saunders, see you later. Ted Leonsis, you need to find someone who knows how to build a basketball team.

In a year where the Redskins underwhelmed everyone, they would very well end up being the least disappointing sports team in DC. Unless a lot of things change.

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Losing: Up Close & Personal

I was headed down to the Wizards game last night after work, taking the Red Line for my first Zards game of the year knowing I'll be about 30 minutes late for the game. Little did I know that I was missing the best quarter and a half that Washington had played all year. After we made it to our seats, the boys, if not right on cue started to go down hill...forgetting how to play defense, throwing up bricks, & missing breakaway dunks.

With a "Pro-Knicks" crowd, halftime couldn't come soon enough. I needed to chug a couple beers before watching anymore. After Halftime we got back to our seats having a pretty solid buzz going when Wall & company started to pick things up. The Wiz showed a lot of heart down the line diving for loose balls, and not backing down to the likes of Melo, Amare, or Tyson.

My biggest issue with the game last night was the play of Andray Blatche, & Rashard Lewis. I've been on these guys' backs for over a week now and their play last night did nothing to change my mind. Dray talks about how he's not a pick & pop type of player, yet he settles for lazy jump shots? Makes no sense. And where do I even start with Lewis? The whole crowd was on this dude last night everytime he made a mistake...which was about every 2 minutes, literally. I realized that Rashard was making more in 5 minutes of playing time than I'll be making all year. The guy may be a veteran, but a player like this can easily be a cancer on your team. Is he a bad guy? No. Is he an Arenas type? Hell no. But for a guy making more than $21 million this year alone and putting up no more than 7 points and 5 boards a night can easily set teammates off. Would you be pissed if one of your co-workers was taking it easy while you're busting your ass on a daily basis? Oh, and they're making 20 times what you are?! Absolutely. He's here to collect a pay check, and that's fine..but he's not starting on my team.

Chris Singleton & Trevor Booker were studs again last night. They're young and raw, but they're hungry! These dudes play with a lot of passion and they both should get a chance at starting over Blatche & Lewis, like I've said before!

Booker was playing some tight D on Carmelo throughout the 4th quarter, and if it weren't for Anthony throwing a smack/punch in Booker's face...he would've never gotten an easy shot off to win the game. Let's be real though, it's not the first cheapshot Melo has thrown in his career. At least he didn't back-peddle all the way to locker room this time.

Overall, here were the best parts of the game in order:

5. Catching a shirt from the cannon in the "t-shirt toss' ...wrestled it away from a hysterical 9yr old
4. The continued improvement from Singleton & Booker
3. Jimmy Wall willing to take the winning shot toward the end...even though he missed
2. Sitting behind Wolf Blitzer, and seeing him just as mad as I was
1. Ordering "Carmelo Shots" at Rocket Bar after the game...it's just 1 shot and then you run away

Fight On Wiz!

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Starting Insanity

We all know what the definition of insanity is right? It doesn't seem like Flip Saunders understands the concept. The biggest issue for the Wizards this year isn't how they play down the stretch, it isn't that they're getting completely outrebounded...anybody who watches the game can tell you that they don't come ready to play at tip-off. This team has been consistently getting themselves into holes in every game (outside of being hyped for the home opener vs. NJ & jumping on a Boston team who's average age is about 52yrs old. Of the other 4 losses so far this year the Wizards have been outscored in the 1st quarter 121-72..that's an average of 30-18 per game. Let's face it, this team doesn't have the fire power to overcome that type of deficit..especially on the road! In those same 4 games they've only been outscored by an average of 23-22 over the next 3 quarters. HELLOOOOO?!?!?! Am I the crazy one? Or does it seem like we need to change up the starting rotation? Our starting 5 is a straight up joke, and pretty much a punch line in every locker room throughout the NBA. A starting 5 that includes underachievers such as Rashard Lewis & Andray Blatche is just embarrassing. I don't care how much money they're making..they don't deserve that starting spot until they start playing like they want it!

I have to remind myself that John Wall is only 21, and would be equivalent to a Junior in College. Derrick Rose is 2yrs older (surrounded by much better players), Rajon Rondo is 4yrs older (surrounded by Hall of Famers), & Chris Paul is 5yrs older with way more experience. If we continue to compare Wall to these players at this point, then we will continue to be disappointed. He's young, growing, maturing, & we need to stay patient (or get him Dwight Howard). I read Jason Reid's article this morning about John Wall being somewhat depressed with the situation he is in here..which is a losing one. I know this is a lot to ask of a 21yr old kid, but he needs to realize that this is his team (no matter what Dray says into a mic). We're all looking to him to band this thing together. It's hard to want leadership out of a player where you also realize that he needs time to grow. But hell, this is DC baby..and if anything came easy we'd call this town Boston or LA.

If Flip can't see past the end of his nose that things are quickly unraveling, then maybe he should be the first to go. But the first change should be the starting line-up tomorrow night vs. NYK at Verizon Center. Here's my hopeful starting 5:




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Great Wall to Superman? I'm Down!

With all of these "super teams" in the NBA now, and the proposed Chris Paul to LA deal...it got me thinking. I know the Paul deal was shutdown, but another big name that's been floating around as of late is Dwight Howard. He's been linked in trades to LA, NY, & NJ. With a 95% chance that he won't be coming back to Orlando, the Magic are absolutely entertaining offers before the season starts.
The Wizards have a solid core of young players surrounded around their franchise cornerstone in John "Jimmy" Wall. But how about this...trade some of our young talent for the best big man in the game (and only 26..birthday was yesterday). The dude is a freak of nature, but you may ask yourself why would he ever want to come to DC?? One reason...John Wall. There are only a handful of point guards in this league as dynamic as Wall, and we're lucky enough to have him.
Players like Dwight Howard aren't dangled out there for a trade very often. So Ernie Grunfeld, PLEASE consider your options here. Giving up some of our young talent for the best center in the game is well worth the trade off for me! This trade would immediately make us contenders. Rebuild over...

Here is my proposal:

Wizards Trade:
-Nick Young (sign & trade)
-JaVale Mcgee
-Jan Vesely
-Two 1st round draft picks

Magic Trade:
-Dwight Howard (agreement to sign extension with Wiz)
-Hedo Turkoglu

New Starting Line-up:

PG John Wall
SG Jordan Crawford
SF Hedo Turkoglu
PF Andray Blatche
C Dwight Howard

Bench:
PF Trevor Booker
PG Shelvin Mack
SF Chris Singleton
C Kevin Seraphin

You now amnesty Rashard Lewis' over $21million/yr contract, and go get reliable veteran free agents such as:

-J.J. Barea
-Roger Mason
-Kurt Thomas
-Josh Howard (reduced contract!)

Am I crazy? What do you all think??

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