Wiz 2010 General Season Tracker - Grading - How we doing ?

[dobrojim]

this may have been already commented on somewhere
but it just occurred to me that we now have 2 former
bigEast DPOY winners

It's like having Ewing and Mutombo

how'd you know I was thinking that?

[montestewart]

this may have been already commented on somewhere
but it just occurred to me that we now have 2 former
bigEast DPOY winners

It's like having Ewing and Mutombo

how'd you know I was thinking that?

Cause I'm a Wizards fan too. It's the crying in your beer of fandom.

But hey, there's always tomorrow...tomorrow...tomorrow...

At least the game looked pretty good.

[Wizardspride]

Click on the link to read the rest.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/wizard ... aside.html

Gilbert Arenas: "I'm moving aside for [John Wall] to become a star"

Right now I'm out there to hit open shots, teach John the ins and the outs of the game, and then eventually go on and move on. I'm on my way," Arenas said, offering a subtle hint that he could be dealt before his $111-million contract expires in 2014. "This is the NBA. There's few players that stay in the same city, so right now the city is John's. I'm not here to fight anybody. I'm here to play alongside of him. He's Batman, I'm Robin. When I came in, Larry [Hughes] moved aside for me to become a star and I'm moving aside for him to become a star."

In the past week, Arenas has tried to contain his emotions. But he shared a few laughs with his teammates, as he scored 12 points, and grinned uncontrollably after Lester Hudson dropped the game-winning three-pointer with 2.5 seconds remaining. Afterward, the sentimentality was lost on Arenas. "I lost all feeling a long time ago. Basketball is basketball now, no matter what floor I'm on," Arenas said with a shrug. "It's just basketball. It's not rocket scientist. You go out there and you just play."

He played a controlled game, never trying to do too much or force the action. He spotted up for open shots, made the extra pass, and was willing to sit back and let Wall or even Andray Blatche get going offensively. "He's tried to play aggressive but yet play under control. Take good shots," Coach Flip Saunders said. "I think he knows a lot is not counted on him. He doesn't have to do everything, but I think he also knows when it's time to go crunch time and we need plays, we'll go to him."

Arenas attempted just nine shots, making five, including two three-pointers, and handed out an assist to newcomer Kirk Hinrich. "I can shoot," he said. "Most people think since I always have the ball in my hands, they think I'm a scorer. I'm a shooter who knows how to score. I should shoot a lot better percentage this year because I don't have to put the ball on ground. Just shoot wide-open shots."

[verbal8]

Click on the link to read the rest.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/wizard ... aside.html

Gilbert Arenas: "I'm moving aside for [John Wall] to become a star"

Right now I'm out there to hit open shots, teach John the ins and the outs of the game, and then eventually go on and move on. I'm on my way," Arenas said, offering a subtle hint that he could be dealt before his $111-million contract expires in 2014. "This is the NBA. There's few players that stay in the same city, so right now the city is John's. I'm not here to fight anybody. I'm here to play alongside of him. He's Batman, I'm Robin. When I came in, Larry [Hughes] moved aside for me to become a star and I'm moving aside for him to become a star."

I wonder if Gil exercises his ETO to facilitate moving somewhere else?

I guess it really comes down to how important money is to him vs. other considerations. If he wants to play for a contender, I bet a ton of teams would be interested in him with 2 years rather than 4 years on his deal.

[Ruzious]

Even without that option, it's my understanding that if a team and a player mutually want to end a contract, they can do it. I remember Stephen Jackson got criticised for not doing that when it was obvious that he wanted to leave GS and they wanted to get rid of him - it was said that all he has to do was let GS cancel his contract (which appeared very bloated at the time).

[dlts20]

Im so torn on this. Part of me thinks its great that Gil is accepting a lesser role & moving the ball because I think if we pass and are unselfish like last night then we will easily make the playoffs. Part of me wants him to also take the game more serious.

Still, I dont want him to be so submissive that he’s basically a catch & shoot role player who never tries to do anything big. Sometimes the game is so mental and you can sumbit so much that you take away all your strengths. Meaning, even when he does go to the rack he wont go as hard or when he tries to shoot, he wont have that same confidence. I still think we are better if Wall runs the show, Dray is a beast, but Gil is still that aggressive monster that can get 40 and keep the D on there heels.

This has been my #1 problem with Gil forever. Its like he just doesnt understand that you can do both. You can let the PG run the show & still be aggressive. Its the same thing with his attitude. I want him to be more serious but he will never be as great as he can be if he doesnt keep the fun & joy in his game. Its like he’s cutting off his nose to spite his face.

Let Wall run the team but still be the aggressive primary scorer who is serious when he needs to be but has fun also. Its not that hard Gil. Why cant players understand this in alot of sports? Same thing he use to make me mad with when it came to shooting & passing. Its not that hard. Pass when the D is eyeing you and shoot when you have the lane or open shoot. Its not rocket science like he and others make it.

Move the ball Gil but dont be a role player. We need you to be more. Flip is saying that he will still be the go to guy in key moments but Wall was taking the last shots last night even though he’s not anywhere on Gil’s level when it comes to that and I dont think Gil can flip the switch like Flip thinks. I dont think he can be a submissive role player and then act like Kobe when the game is on the line. His attitude has to change for that at the least.

He should be even more agressive now than he’s ever been because he doesnt have to worry about handling the ball, setting guys up, and we have other great players on the floor. He can just be that Assassin that he always talks about except dont be a ball hog when doing it. Then he says something dumb about moving on. That might be true but why does he have his mind set on that he’s going to light it up when he goes somewhere else but not try to do that here?

No team is even going to want his contract if he plays like a role player. He’ll have to be here until his last season and I know he doesnt want to do that. Someone better get in his ear and tell him that what he’s saying & thinking makes no sense. He’s contradicting himself. If you are bitter & want to go somewhere else then you have to be joveal and play like a star because your contract is way too big.

Dont be scared to attack when you are going to be guarded by 6′7 guys most of the time. He should be able to kill anyone that tall. Be yourself Gil. Just pass when nothings there but we are going to need you to drop 40 some nights when the season starts and it should be easier now than ever. Its almost like he’s giving up. Again, I like alot of the things he says but I still dont trust Gil enough for him to mentally know how to operate what he’s saying. Instead he will probably try to become a role player and Flip cant allow that to happened. I loved the way he moved the ball last night but dont go completely soft

[dlts20]

BTW, dont get it twisted. I love the way he's taking the kid under his wing and handing over the reigns. Thats big of him, it shows great leadership, and thats what he should do, but that doesnt mean that he has to go sit in the corner & let everyone else have fun. Be aggressive and enjoy the game Gil

[Nivek]

I think by now we should all know not to take seriously anything Gil says.

[Shanghai Kid]

I'm also a bit confused by Gil's latest words. The Wizards need Gil to be more than a 12ppg roleplayer. As said above, he can't be thinking that being a spot-up shooter is going to get him traded to another team. The less productive he is, the less likely any team is ever going to trade for him.

Gil is certainly an odd person, particularly odd when you consider he's only 28 years old.

[Nivek]

Gil has played one preseason game. In that one preseason game, he was on a gimpy ankle and he scored 12 points in 26 minutes. In preseason games, NBA veterans typically do not play at full speed. Especially if they're coming back from an injury.

I doubt the Gil we saw vs. Dallas is the same Gil we'll see in the regular season.

[queridiculo]

I very much doubt that Arenas is going to void his contract anytime soon. Sure, he's disillusioned and sounds quite depressed, but that would be about the worst business decision anybody could ever make.

John Wall may very well be the best thing that happened to Arenas career as far as I am concerned. Gilbert was never the type of guy that had the desire to be the man from a leadership perspective and Wall has it in heaps.

I can see Arenas getting very comfortable in the big brother role and eventually breaking out of his funk to bring back some of that Hibachi that we've all grown to love.

Arenas is a true student of the game and the longer he's around the better Wall and this franchise will be off.

[Ed Wood]

I would tend to agree. I don't think Arenas stating that his role is to "hit open shots" necessarily means that he's going to spend the year doing his Mike Miller imitation. If there was anything substantive in what he said beyond the fact that he doesn't plan to be as media friendly as he used to be it's still more in reference to his off the court conduct than his play.

If anything I think there might have been a little irony intended in his words, genuine though they might have been. "I'm here to help the team and to help John, it's his job to be the superhero, I'm just here to score twenty every night, no biggie." I don't think it's ridiculous to worry that Gil might not be the same Gil if he doesn't want to let himself be the guy he used to be but after one preseason game that's not really in evidence. This sounded like his way of saying to reporters "you look a little lost, John Wall's locker is over there, to your left, can't miss it."

[hands11]

I'm also a bit confused by Gil's latest words. The Wizards need Gil to be more than a 12ppg roleplayer. As said above, he can't be thinking that being a spot-up shooter is going to get him traded to another team. The less productive he is, the less likely any team is ever going to trade for him.

Gil is certainly an odd person, particularly odd when you consider he's only 28 years old.

Its just the first pre-season game. I'm sure Gil will ramp it up over time as we play more games and the season gets here.

If they are winning, things will come together more quickly.

Gil doesn't need to be going 100% or producing a max just yet. Let see if he can pick his spots. Ray Allen roll. But this is what he lacked as a PG.

I want to see more before I worry at all.

[hands11]

I would tend to agree. I don't think Arenas stating that his role is to "hit open shots" necessarily means that he's going to spend the year doing his Mike Miller imitation. If there was anything substantive in what he said beyond the fact that he doesn't plan to be as media friendly as he used to be it's still more in reference to his off the court conduct than his play.

If anything I think there might have been a little irony intended in his words, genuine though they might have been. "I'm here to help the team and to help John, it's his job to be the superhero, I'm just here to score twenty every night, no biggie." I don't think it's ridiculous to worry that Gil might not be the same Gil if he doesn't want to let himself be the guy he used to be but after one preseason game that's not really in evidence. This sounded like his way of saying to reporters "you look a little lost, John Wall's locker is over there, to your left, can't miss it."

If there is any worry about Gil is the AI part of him. Does he want to win more than be the darling and main focus.

I'm holding out judgement. This is new for Gil. He went through a lot. We should give him time to adjust mentally and find his happy place.

Winning would go a long way to helping this and we did that last night. Hopefully we do that in the regular season. All we need to do is stay around .500 and have some fun and Gil will settle in.

[dlts20]

The only good thing is that Gil changes like the wind and it could only take 1 beast game for him to start being more assertive. The best thing for us is that our opening night game is Orlando.

1st off Gil always tries to crank it up on opening night and this will be a Nationaly televised game. 2nd is that the Magic are probably the number 1 team that would trade for Gil if he still looks like a Superstar so Im banking on the fact that Gil will come out guns blazing on opening night and that will change his mentality

[Shanghai Kid]

Winning would go a long way to helping this and we did that last night. Hopefully we do that in the regular season. All we need to do is stay around .500 and have some fun and Gil will settle in.

See, I never have seen Gilbert as truly a "me" person. I think when the whole 'Hibachi' thing happened, Gil became very popular very fast and it may have boosted his ego for a while. I thought he inflated his ego during that period for the media and played into the hype with his huge birthday party and his blog.

But it seems he's always been more comfortable in the 'unknown underdog' role as opposed to the 'shining star for everybody to see' role. I think when Gil put up 29ppg in 2006, he was still the unknown underdog, and I don't remember many instances from that season where his ego seemed inflated. I think for example that somebody like Lebron probably has a way bigger ego than Gil.

But even if his ego was inflated, you have to think all the events of the past year or so have changed him. He doesn't see himself as agent zero anymore, and if he was sulking on the inside he wouldn't even say 'this is John Wall's team', he would try to play it off like he was still the star. I think he's sincere at this point.

Remember, Gil is as self aware and as much of a fan of basketball as anybody. He knows everybody is saying that him and Wall can't work and that he's going to be a disruptive force. He's nipping it in the bud by establishing now that he's willing to be a lesser presence.

[verbal8]

But it seems he's always been more comfortable in the 'unknown underdog' role as opposed to the 'shining star for everybody to see' role. I think when Gil put up 29ppg in 2006, he was still the unknown underdog, and I don't remember many instances from that season where his ego seemed inflated.

Gil always seems to shine when he is underestimated and overlooked. I think he in someways is trying to set expectations low, so he can exceed them.

I think for example that somebody like Lebron probably has a way bigger ego than Gil.

Haynesworth is about the only example I can think of that has as big an ego as LeBron. However for all his accomplishments and ability, Gil has a relatively small ego.

But even if his ego was inflated, you have to think all the events of the past year or so have changed him. He doesn't see himself as agent zero anymore, and if he was sulking on the inside he wouldn't even say 'this is John Wall's team', he would try to play it off like he was still the star. I think he's sincere at this point.

Remember, Gil is as self aware and as much of a fan of basketball as anybody. He knows everybody is saying that him and Wall can't work and that he's going to be a disruptive force. He's nipping it in the bud by establishing now that he's willing to be a lesser presence.

I think the talk of the Wizards being terrible and the Arenas/Wall backcourt not working will help motivate Arenas a little more than usual.

[dlts20]

Gil Clarifies His Words

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/wizard ... s-not.html

That sounds more like my man. Now use it to go off next game Gil or atleast against Orlando on opening night

[Halcyon]

One statement I thought was interesting from that post:

After the win over Dallas, Arenas said he warned Wall about hitting the floor as much as he did, because of the toll it will eventually take on his body.

I don't know if Wall will listen, but it wouldn't hurt to understand this from the very beginning of one's career. Just thought it was interesting.

[Rafael122]

Yep, look at Gerald Wallace. John Wall doesn't need to be a crash test dummy. He can turn it on when he wants, but...I don't want Wall to be 25 and already wearing knee braces or leg warmers to play basketball.