Come see some of your favorites from the franchise’s past this Saturday night. They have earned our respect and appreciation for their great service to the team and the fan base.
Click here to read this story and here for more details; history is important to us and to me; I respect positive traditions. I respect these folks – as players and as people.
We played very well in the first half last night against the Pacers; we went up by 20 points; we had flow – and we were making shots. The ball moved nicely and we were running the floor and rebounding well.
In the second half – the Pacers made good adjustments – they took away our space – and we started to force some shots. We still were up by 6 with about two minutes to go and then we seemed to lose our focus and concentration. We lost 4 loose balls to the Pacers on offensive rebounds; we lost an inbounds pass too and we took too long to take our last shot of the game – which went in to tie the game but was ruled – correctly – that the shot was taken after the buzzer; and thus we lose by two points.
These are the kinds of close games that I believe we can and should win in the future. Our youth and inexperience really shows in crunch time. We have lost too many games where we had a big lead to more experienced teams this season; we need to learn to close these games out and NOT take our foot off of the gas pedal.
None the less; I like the way we are playing. The vibe around the team on the bench and in practice is positive and confident. The players are coachable; and want to improve their team play. Onward – see you all on Saturday at our game against the Hawks where several alumni will be making an appearance.
It was just one game – but it was fun to watch. Nene added a lot of value to our team last night; he played a professional grade game – brought a very positive aura to the team; and added a dimension of skill that we haven’t seen in a long time; the spacing on the floor seemed different and the players seemed more focused and certainly enjoyed themselves during a nice road win.
It was meaningful to see Kevin Seraphin have a very productive game – and to join Nene with Trevor Booker down low; the coaches had mentioned that this would be a lineup that they would experiment with it – and it is a very different look for an opposing team to face.
I also enjoyed seeing a full rotation of players – it seemed like all of our players got minutes and contributed; and Roger Mason is shooting the ball quite well of late; which is great to see.
Fun game to watch – now onward to tonight’s home game against the Pacers; we haven’t played at home for a long time it seems. See you all tonight.
From Truthaboutit.net.
Via Jan Vesely.
Insider stuff – fun and accurate; and richly written. With fun photo too. Pro ball; what a life – what a ” stranger in a strange land” feel; everyone knows I respect Jan’s attitude – skills, game and upside. He is unselfish – is always looking to improve and does so many little detailed things quite well as a rookie. Read this one for an insider’s perspective.
This should be an interesting game – the first game post trade deadline with Nene in the lineup for us. I hope you will watch on television and then come to the game on Thursday evening; as we play the Pacers at home.
Having a big man that runs the floor – and does little things well such as boxing out; playing pick and roll defense well; passing down low – should help our team develop. We are very young; and very athletic still. We want to run – we want to play a deep rotation; we want to play strong defense but transition and score lots of points. Also – Nene is under contract – he is secure – he is all about team success now – not about individual stats – this is what I am most excited about - a return to fundamental team oriented basketball.
Building chemistry between John Wall and Nene will be a focus for us – as well as learning what roles many of our young players can fill as second year players next season.
I look forward too as we can play a line up with Nene and Kevin Seraphin down low – a new line up that is tough and strong and big and serious. Check out Kevin Seraphin’s stats since the trade – for a second year player – he is developing quite nicely since he has gotten minutes with regularity. Adding Trevor Booker down low to at times in this line up configuration will give us a very tough and mobile grouping.
Trading young players for a vet player was executable because we had so many young players that were of interest to other teams in the NBA. Many teams in the NBA covet young players.
We expect to have a high pick in this next off season’s draft – which is a deep one.
We expect to be able to make additional trades this off season.
We expect to be able to add to the lineup via free agency.
The team will have been morphed dramatically in 2 years time.
Thank you for your ongoing interest in our team – for all of your emails to me; and for being so supportive.
The Caps lost a tough game at Winnipeg on Friday night – 3 to 2. It was a playoff like atmosphere – and we came up short. That was a 4 point swing in standing points in the division – the wrong way.
The Georgetown men’s basketball program lost to NC State in the NCAA tournament – this was a good year for the team – finishing the regular season in the top 20. We are proud of these young men. I am happy to say the Georgetown woman’s basketball team moves on to the next round in the NCAA tournament. Hoya Saxa.
The Wizards lost a close game in Memphis – we are still shorthanded with Nene not scheduled to play until Wednesday in New Jersey. I am happy with the way the team is competing, but we simply can’t turn the ball over 20 times in a game and be out scored at the free throw line by 15 and expect to win a game.
And the Capital’s simply were out played in all facets last night in Chicago – the score – 5 to 2 didn’t exemplify how badly we were outplayed; we only took 18 shots on goal for the game; that won’t get it done.
Be that as it may – here are the facts.
We play tonight in Detroit. Followed by another tough road game in Philadelphia on Wednesday; there are only 10 games left to play this regular season – 5 at home – 5 on the road; we are one game up in the 8th spot. We play teams behind us – in Winnipeg and Buffalo at home – plus we play Florida at home as well during our home stand. We have very tough road games against the Lightning, Bruins and Rangers. This is a grind – we are where we are in the standings; we are now playing a ten game season; wish us well tonight.
A nice review of the trade. Click here. Thank you.
If you can believe it, the trade deadline ended at 3:00 pm and our 3 team trade was finally approved via conference call by all parties and the NBA at close to 9:00 pm. The trade was a very complex one with Nick Young having to approve the team that he eventually would play for as he held Bird rights and the dollars having to line up team by team.
The docket was full at the league offices. There were many trades throughout the league and we weren’t official until late into the evening. We couldn’t comment on the trade until it was officially blessed by the NBA and we didn’t send out a press release until late into the game against the Hornets last night. This is the reason we weren’t able to comment or blog about the trade yesterday. I apologize if this caused any of you any inconvenience.
I had the chance to speak to one player last night – Nene – at about 10:00 pm. I look forward to also speaking to Brian Cook later today.
I wish to thank Nick Young and JaVale McGee for all of their contributions to our franchise. Ronny Turiaf as well. I wish them well and I am sure they will flourish with their new teams.
The trade was made for the several reasons. We have been crystal clear with our rebuild plan. We are celebrating young players and we have a commitment to add to our young players with picks this coming off season. We needed to add some certainty to the line-up via a veteran presence. Both Nick Young and JaVale McGee were free agents or restricted free agents this coming off season. By adding Nene – who is under contract – and is a mature and proven player, we now have secured a point guard (John Wall) and a big man – post player (Nene) – for a reasonable and certain period of time. We can build around these two positions via the draft and via additional trades and via free agency.
We will have a high first round pick this coming off season as well as a high second round pick as well. We haven’t altered our rebuild plan in the least. We will be one of the youngest teams in the NBA. We have more moves to make certainly but this set of trades positions us well to continue to re-craft our team and refocus our culture to one that is serious and is about winning.
Nene is coming to us from a winning program. He has played in a system that we admire. It is up tempo and high scoring and he has good hands; runs the floor well; and is very strong. He is a team first kind of player. He is about winning and is a respected teammate.
He is a family man; a player who is secure in who he is; and a player who has battled through adversity and is dependable and strong in spirit. I very much enjoyed my conversation with him last night and know our fans will appreciate his brand of intensity and the way he plays the game. It was nice to hear analysts on NBA TV call him a “Top 10 center” in the NBA.
As you saw last night in the game against the Hornets this is John Wall’s team to run and having a polished big man who likes to move; sets hard picks; plays defense; is humble, mature and blends in a team setting will help us to segue to a next generation of player and culture for our franchise.
We have a lot of work to do still. I understand that fact. We made a big move and made a big investment in our future yesterday. Help us to welcome our new players to our great city and to our community in the coming weeks. Thank you for caring so much.
One last point: In reading some emails and some blog posts, it is apparent to me that the new CBA and some of the rules regarding how trades are made are perhaps not fully understandable. Would it be helpful if one day we held a chalk talk to explain how the rules work and how trades get made so that you as opinion leaders are more informed about process and methodology around trades? Let me know. Thank you.
And at Verizon Center; from the great fans of the Washington Wizards.
Read this one – watch this video – so much fun and so great to see. Awesome, indeed!
John Wall is a leader.
He “gets” the rebuild.
He remains positive; and strong.
We are fortunate that DC is such a great city – our goal is to build a team as great as its fan base and the city we serve.