Full 2010-'11 Schedule Released -- Wiz open @ ORL,

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Does Anyone believe that Hakeem will fundamentally improve Dwight's game?

Damn. They got him. I wanted him here.

What happen to Patrick ?

I would like Kermit Washington to help the bigs.

For years and years he worked Pete Newell's Big Man Camp. I want the guy to get back around the NBA because what he did to Rudy T happened almost 35 years ago. Kermit's from DC and is a bright guy. He could work with McGee (Washington was Kareem's teammate) or Seraphin (a player similar to himself).

[pancakes3]

i'm actually very surprised at the stigma that kermit got and that it's still lingering. he's clearly very sorry for what he's done and yet people still treat him as some sort of pariah. Jermaine O'neal, Ron Artest, etc. did way worse imo and face 1/10 the scrutiny. i realize the severity of Rudy's injury was way more severe, but still.


also, i agree with Nate. There is so much a teacher can show you. It takes practice to get good. You can have Albert Einstein teaching a kid the multiplication table, but that kid still needs to sit down and do some rote memorizing in order to learn it.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Induveca, I do not think Ewing will ever be a head coach. I do not think his involvement in the Gold Club as well as memory of him starting out at Georgetown--as a very shy, seemingly uneducated kid, will be forgotten. Not even considering race in this, I don't see Ewing appearing as a highly-motivated, head coach who is the manager of player personnel. Ewing doesn't seem articulate enough to do that job.

There are a lot of former greats who are not cut out to coach. Ewing reminds me of Magic in this aspect. Good man, great player, but not a head coach.

Induveca, the trend I see is ex PGs (or ball dominating SGs) and guys who articulate well get the coaching gigs. Carlisle, Avery Johnson, Doc Rivers, Flip Saunders, Erik Spoelstra, Eddie Jordan, Lionel Hollins, Magic, Mo Cheeks, Isaih; and guys on the fringe of being coaches/GM: Kenny Smith, Mark Jackson, and also Eric Snow. Doug Collins, Mike D'Antoni, Reggie Theus--they fall into the ball dominators.

Come to think of it, do ANY big guys go on to coach well?

The only big men that have gone on to be coaches that I can think of are Phil Jackson and Charley Rosen (CBA). Bill Russell did way back in the day.

Help me out on this. I can't see Ewing as a coach. Or Olajuwon. Or Tim Duncan. Or Shaq. Is it them being big?

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

i'm actually very surprised at the stigma that kermit got and that it's still lingering. he's clearly very sorry for what he's done and yet people still treat him as some sort of pariah. Jermaine O'neal, Ron Artest, etc. did way worse imo and face 1/10 the scrutiny. i realize the severity of Rudy's injury was way more severe, but still.


also, i agree with Nate. There is so much a teacher can show you. It takes practice to get good. You can have Albert Einstein teaching a kid the multiplication table, but that kid still needs to sit down and do some rote memorizing in order to learn it.

Important that you said "some".

(Tangent about teaching math: Visual learners learn best a certain way. Auditory learners learn best a certain way, etc. A whole lot of folks that have trouble in math wouldn't have that trouble if concepts were given verbally, in the form of a story, or by use of pictures. Being an old school guy that learned rote memory it has been an awakening to teach ones youngsters using new methods! Einstein would have to differntiate between each learner. That would make him a super brainy teacher ....)

pancakes, I want the Wizards to get good teachers for their players. Flip is really smart, but he's a bit of a hard ass head coach who IMO will throw a player under the bus.

What I would really like to see is consultants who can provide individualized instructions for certain players. Build a trust and give that confidence that, as you said, a teacher can provide. The Bullets had Clifford Ray working with Webber, Howard, and IIRC Ben Wallace years ago.

[Induveca]

CCJ, good point about Ewing........he does have quite a past (Gold Club had indeed been forgotten by me).

Olajuwon interestingly enough, after some research, I've learned has made more money in real estate than he did in his entire professional career. Some estimates put him making over 120 million, but the accepted figure is 100 million. Also amazingly enough, he only buys in cash....including the homes due to his strict interpretation of the Islamic belief in not paying interest. He also lived in Jordan for most of the past 5 years. Basically he's far more loaded now than he was during his career.

Whatever he is doing with Dwight Howard he's doing out of respect and genuine interest or a favor. He'll never be a coach, and we have no real shot of luring him to DC to help McGee......so there goes Olajuwon.

In terms of why big guys rarely coach (biggest in the NBA today are Phil Jackson at 6'8" and Alvin Gentry at 6'7", then Don Nelson at 6'5").....maybe it's because they are more "me first" type players as opposed to a PG or SG? Larry Bird was a solid coach, Kiki Vandeweghe pretty good.....both of them 6'8" or bigger.

After just thinking out loud a bit, I think that's the reason. The smaller guys are already coaching a bit as PGs, I could easily see Steve Nash becoming a coach purely because the guy is out there coaching the team most of the game regardless. Same goes for a guy like Sam Cassell (who will be a head coach if my theories hold true), Chauncey Billups etc. Big men I'd offer coaching jobs to? Can't really think of any honestly.......none strike me as having a major impact in strategy besides using their height/girth.

[doclinkin]

Come to think of it, do ANY big guys go on to coach well coach?

Big John Thompson
Paul Silas
Bill Laimbeer
Rudy T.

I'm sure I'm missing others.

[gesa2]

Wes Unseld

[montestewart]

Come to think of it, do ANY big guys go on to coach well coach?

Big John Thompson
Paul Silas
Bill Laimbeer
Rudy T.

I'm sure I'm missing others.

Alex Hannum (yeah, 6'7", but that was big back in the old days) won a few championships as coach.

With the guards mentioned above by CCJ, they're generally more in a position to be at the start of things and involved on both offense and defense. It seems a better position to play and see the big picture. Sure there are exceptions (in theory, someone that never even played at all could be a good coach) but people like Jackson, Thompson, Hannum, etc. were fringe/role players, which maybe allowed them to focus more on the big picture than on just their own role in it. Maybe It's the less physically gifted overachiever big men that had to spend more time learning every trick and understanding the team game just to stay in the league that would make better coaches of big men or teams. Bill Laimbeer somewhat fits that description.

[Hoopalotta]

Bigmen are the better color commentators.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Come to think of it, do ANY big guys go on to coach well coach?

Big John Thompson
Paul Silas
Bill Laimbeer
Rudy T.

I'm sure I'm missing others.

Thanks, I was at a loss.

Those guys are (were) all good coaches.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Come to think of it, do ANY big guys go on to coach well coach?

Big John Thompson
Paul Silas
Bill Laimbeer
Rudy T.

I'm sure I'm missing others.

Alex Hannum (yeah, 6'7", but that was big back in the old days) won a few championships as coach.

With the guards mentioned above by CCJ, they're generally more in a position to be at the start of things and involved on both offense and defense. It seems a better position to play and see the big picture. Sure there are exceptions (in theory, someone that never even played at all could be a good coach) but people like Jackson, Thompson, Hannum, etc. were fringe/role players, which maybe allowed them to focus more on the big picture than on just their own role in it. Maybe It's the less physically gifted overachiever big men that had to spend more time learning every trick and understanding the team game just to stay in the league that would make better coaches of big men or teams. Bill Laimbeer somewhat fits that description.

monte, that reminds me of the saying "Those that can't, teach".

I believe you're right about the fringe guys saw the big picture. Thompson watched Bill Russell play C when Big John was a Celtic. Phil Jackson watche Reed and Debusschere. Both those guys were physically less gifted.

The gifted athletes almost never make good coaches it seems. Doug Collins was gifted until the injuries. He's an exception. Doc Rivers was never elite, but he was a good role player.

I know Coach Saunders was a great HS player, like player of the year, in Ohio. Him not succeeding in D1 hoops at Minnesota University is probably why he's such a motivated coach.

[Dat2U]

Patrick Ewing is a nice enough guy but b/w seeing Kwame's skills actually decline & Dwight's inability to develop his skills under his tutelage, I'd say coaching may not be a good fit for him.

I also seem to remember hearing a story about Ewing's tutoring sessions with Kwame often being nothing more than a shootaround. That Ewing was more of buddy than an actual coach. I think TSW once told that story.

I also remember Patrick still loving the nightlife when he was here. Often saw him clubs, chasing girls nearly half his age.

[fishercob]

Full schedule is out!

http://www.nba.com/wizards/news/sched1011.html

[dlts20]

3 of 4 on the road to start off with & the 1st 2 on the road against division opponents. Not & easy thing. Also, I know weve been bad but we still got Flip & the #1 pick in the draft so whats with the lack of National TV games? I dont expect us to get the Heat or Lakers coverage but we couldve gotten a few more. Im guessing it will be a wait & see thing on us. If we play well then they will add a few more as the year goes on. Still shouldve been more though.

[Rafael122]

3 national TV games and a handful of NBA TV games. I'm going to try and go to the home opener though.

The west coast trips are not as bad as they have been in the past.

[verbal8]

3 national TV games and a handful of NBA TV games. I'm going to try and go to the home opener though.

The west coast trips are not as bad as they have been in the past.

Santa Claus is not coming early for the Wizards this year. The last 3 games in November through the middle of December looks brutal.

11/25/10 @ Atlanta
11/27/10 Orlando
11/29/10 @ Miami
12/1/10 @ Toronto
12/3/10 Portland
12/5/10 @ Phoenix
12/7/10 @ LA Lakers
12/8/10 @ Sacramento
12/10/10 New York
12/14/10 LA Lakers
12/16/10 @ New Jersey
12/18/10 Miami

I agree with CCJ that Sacramento should be improved this season and they look like a tough match-up for the Wizards. The New York game is a toss-up. The possible "gimme" wins are on the road(TOR, NJ) and in the midst of a tough stretch. I obviously hope they do better, but 2-10 in this stretch is not impossible.

[GhostsOfGil]

wow that stretch is going to be tough. December is usually gilberts best month so maybe that will give us a boost

[hands11]

Looks like we will win somewhere between 20 and 46 games

[hands11]

http://www.truthaboutit.net/2010/08/dec ... edule.html

Full Round Up

But surely you didn’t think we were just going to list the schedule, and then let you navigate it all alone did you? Here at Truth About It, we are absolutely dedicated to breaking down the significant match-ups, the upcoming, compelling stories, and the must-see-TV moments that will make this 2010-2011 season one that you will not and cannot miss. We also have nothing else to do until McGee and the rest of the USA ballers play on Thursday night.

[hands11]

Another great read

http://www.truthaboutit.net/2010/06/joh ... tions.html