That Caron is an All Star

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Great to see him rise up to beat the Pacers.

Any Wizards who read this forum and know the criticisms I and others have said (Caron's mailing it in, etc) need to know I'm glad for Butler and the Wizards. That's all star-worthy. The boards and the competitive spirit combined with the shot dropping are things Bulter's capable of.

Today, Caron put a move on Granger that showed him to be an all star (too).

[JWizmentality]

Like....so not necessary.

[yungal07]

CCJ had too...the [unwarranted] Caron bashing has been consistent for the past month.

[nate33]

CCJ had too...the [unwarranted] Caron bashing has been consistent for the past month.

Yup. Not just the bashing, but the never-ending series of terrible trades where we give up Butler and get back mediocre role players and cap relief. It's becoming a full time job just shooting down these trades.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

The worst was my saying the young guys are better than the veterans who don't play defense.

Caron doesn't play 2 games and they look like doo doo. Today, he and Jamison reestablished their competitive arrogance (and I say that in a good way). They're the only ones on the team that can carry the team like that. Young can fill it in spurts, but today both forwards played at a very high level--all star worthy.

Young guys couldn't have brought what either Butler or Jamison brought today.

[dobrojim]

The worst was my saying the young guys are better than the veterans who don't play defense.

Caron doesn't play 2 games and they look like doo doo. Today, he and Jamison reestablished their competitive arrogance (and I say that in a good way). They're the only ones on the team that can carry the team like that. Young can fill it in spurts, but today both forwards played at a very high level--all star worthy.

Young guys couldn't have brought what either Butler or Jamison brought today.

but to the title of the thread, in spite of last night, I don't think that a good
case can be made for Caron to be an AS. If the Wiz had 10-15 more wins, then
Sure, OK. Maybe even 5 more Ws. But not an 11 win team. Ditto AJ.

I'm not for tanking. I hope these 2 guys go on a serious tear and we play
something closer to .500 the rest of the way and get close to 25 wins. That'll
be low enough to have a shot at the #1#1, but will also give the kids AND us FANS(!)
more confidence that things will be OK in the fullness of time.

[jimij]

They're the only ones on the team that can carry the team like that. Young can fill it in spurts, but today both forwards played at a very high level--all star worthy.

Young guys couldn't have brought what either Butler or Jamison brought today.

Not sure that I totally agree with this CCJ. AJ owned the first quarter and CB owned the fourth. The second qtr was the NY show. Other than that, nobody else really stood out too much from the pack the rest of the time (i.e. most everyone was contributing).

To say NY couldn't have had as many points as the vets may or may not be true but its not like he had the chance to take the same number of shots that they did either.

I'm not trying to malign either AJ or CB here, just to admit that NY (for all his faults) could occaisonally do the same thing.

Also, when praising our vets, lets not forget that Indiana is a truly pathetic defensive team in their own right. If our vets were truly playing at an all-star level this year, we'd for damn sure have more than 11 wins. To truly be successful we need Gil on O and Wood on D to go with them.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I'm not trying to malign either AJ or CB here, just to admit that NY (for all his faults) could occaisonally do the same thing.

Also, when praising our vets, lets not forget that Indiana is a truly pathetic defensive team in their own right. If our vets were truly playing at an all-star level this year, we'd for damn sure have more than 11 wins. To truly be successful we need Gil on O and Wood on D to go with them.

jimij, I agree with both your points. Nick can occasionally do it, and our vets have not been playing at all star levels all year. Thus the "THAT" in "That Caron is an All Star."

Just wanted to accentuate the positive in what was a brilliant effort by Caron over a worthy opponent--Danny Granger. No negatives about yesterday, because bad D or not, Indy's fighting for a playoff spot and was playing at full strength with Wizard killers Granger, Ford, Jack, as well as Foster, Dunleavy, and Murphy.

It's been a loooong season, but Jamison and Butler really showed great perservence and character yesterday.

[nate33]

Caron's thoughts?

"To have a nice crowd in here and to see that after the last two games, it's very rewarding for the fans," he said. "And that's what this city deserves, a lot of hard work out there on the court and to get Ws. It's our time to turn this thing around."

For the record, Caron's head came to rest at the feet of Rob Welch and Dan Bender. They stayed out on the court after the players had left, telling stories.

"He fell right down between my legs," Bender told me, "and I tapped him on the shoulder and said, Awesome!' "

"They was rubbing my head, telling me all the good things I needed to hear," Caron added. "Because I've been called a lot of things over the last couple of months."

Honestly, do you think he reads RealGM?

Whenever I post, I try real hard to imagine the players reading it. I don't write anything that I wouldn't say to their face. I think some other posters ought to consider following the same standard.

Caron is an excellent player and with great character on and off the court. He gets far too much undeserved criticism on this board.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

nate, I can't prove it, but I believe some of the higher ups post here from time to time (under aliiases). (At least one GM of another team, a national reporter or two, scouts, lower level coaches, etc). Gut feeling, mostly, but I remember conversing with Ric Bucher (or someone pretty convincingly claming to be him) back on AOL ... [Edited to add Jonathan Givony's well aware of this site/board, and used to respond to posts just like Kev, who's written articles for not just Realgm but also for SI, among others. Players, coaches, draft experts, and GMs know about RealGM.]

I know (many if not most) players are aware of this site and they or their family members do from time to time read what's posted.

I post what I say knowing in my heart I believe what I'm saying at the time, and that they make big money but are human. As public figures they can choose not to read or can accept or reject what they hear.

Even my favorite players on the team, like Jamison or Butler, are going to hear what I believe at the time. If I were in their shoes, a poster could post negative stuff about my deceased mother and I'd be professional about it.

And I'd thank the Good Lord for the opportunity to be where I am. And every time some "hater" posted something really low about me, I'd think about my bank account, my investment portfolio, all the charitable organizations I help support, the houses I've had built for folks, my great health, etc. (Oh, I'd pray for the hater and just do my best on the court, too.)

When players get real full of themselves they really do need to know what folks in "low places" are saying.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Caron's thoughts?

"To have a nice crowd in here and to see that after the last two games, it's very rewarding for the fans," he said. "And that's what this city deserves, a lot of hard work out there on the court and to get Ws. It's our time to turn this thing around."

For the record, Caron's head came to rest at the feet of Rob Welch and Dan Bender. They stayed out on the court after the players had left, telling stories.

"He fell right down between my legs," Bender told me, "and I tapped him on the shoulder and said, Awesome!' "

"They was rubbing my head, telling me all the good things I needed to hear," Caron added. "Because I've been called a lot of things over the last couple of months."

Honestly, do you think he reads RealGM?

Whenever I post, I try real hard to imagine the players reading it. I don't write anything that I wouldn't say to their face. I think some other posters ought to consider following the same standard.

Caron is an excellent player and with great character on and off the court. He gets far too much undeserved criticism on this board.

No, but I bet somebody close to Caron does and that person tells him exactly what folks are saying. Whether he wants to hear or not.

Juan Dixon knew he was being called Amazingly Sucky.
Etan Thomas was interviewed by JRo and WizardsKev/TheSecretWeapon/also way too busy to post here any more--both of those guys. (Has to be really annoying for a guy like Etan to know the negative stuff coming out of here, especially by guys like me. Regardless, bigger picture is outside of who I think is better at C or what some think of his poetry, dude's got a bright future ahead of him in life. Be it in education, literature, or whatever his pursuits. Might even be his basketball career gets better in the next few years.)
You know Gil's dad is aware of this site. Gil used to blog a lot and I bet still goes online a lot. (I LOVE Silent Gil and expect him to come back guns blazing, hopefully at least 90% of what he was.) If I had to guess, I'd say Agent Zero has posted on this very site.

My thoughts are it's probably best athletes don't read what's posted here because most of it is negative. Yet and still, if they really want to hear what folks are thinking, what a great way to find out. Agents can be armed with this stuff.

Players like Caron needn't be hurt too bad by negative thoughts and opinions expressed when things aren't going good. Just play through it. Or, like Gilbert, just get healthy and plan to make a spectacular return, God-willing.

[dobrojim]

Caron is a fighter.

I don't think he has ever really given up but I do believe he has let
his frustrations with losing get the better of him at times. He's human and
therefore that's understandable. OTOH, he's a pro and is highly paid
to control himself for the good of his team and himself.

Glad to have him back out there on our side. The last
3 minutes last night were dare I say it, Gilbert-esque.

re whether players read this board - I wonder sometimes.
Speaking of which, wasn't Ivan on here at one time?
But as to players, it's probably my imagination or a
coincidence but right after I semi-blasted N1 for
not raising his game to the point where the coaches
were FORCED to play him 30+mpg and mentioning
that while we know he's a great leaper, he didn't dunk
often enough in games. Suddenly he now seems to be
trying to dunk in games more frequently than in the past.
Or maybe I'm full of it.

[truwizfan4evr]

yall **** was just talking about tradeing caron now yall kissing his ass cause he had a good game i told u this dude is a beast yall wizards face are confuse yall acting like ny fans get it together wizards fan

[Ed Wood]

yall **** was just talking about tradeing caron now yall kissing his ass cause he had a good game i told u this dude is a beast yall wizards face are confuse yall acting like ny fans get it together wizards fan

If ever my vile ramblings were pertinent, (barely) it is now. (Ew I have a blog).

[dobrojim]

EW

isn't your name the same as the guy that wrote Cased Closed re JFK.

No relation I assume.

[fishercob]

yall **** was just talking about tradeing caron now yall kissing his ass cause he had a good game i told u this dude is a beast yall wizards face are confuse yall acting like ny fans get it together wizards fan

Be honest. Is this George Will?

[Spence]

Caron's had to learn a new position and do a lot more ball-handling than he's used to. His turnovers are up, but his effort isn't down. I don't see any lack of effort among our captains. Butler and Jamison are both working their tails off. Watching old man Jamison dive for loose balls late in the 4th quarter is some of the only fun to be had watching a lot of these games.

[Spence]

yall **** was just talking about tradeing caron now yall kissing his ass cause he had a good game i told u this dude is a beast yall wizards face are confuse yall acting like ny fans get it together wizards fan

Be honest. Is this George Will?

Maybe George Plimpton?

[Spence]

Caron is an excellent player and with great character on and off the court. He gets far too much undeserved criticism on this board.

Abso-freaking-lutely. This is a dismal season. It's no fun for us to watch so it must be a lot less fun for the guys getting their asses kicked night after night. Fans shouldn't let their frustration with the team boil over into irrational attacks on players who deserve a lot better. Caron is a real trooper. We're lucky to have him here in D.C.

[fishercob]

yall **** was just talking about tradeing caron now yall kissing his ass cause he had a good game i told u this dude is a beast yall wizards face are confuse yall acting like ny fans get it together wizards fan

Be honest. Is this George Will?

Maybe George Plimpton?

It's a lot more fun when you're around these parts.