Wizards in the Media Thread

[closg00]

Hoopshype projection for the Wiz: 42-40, 4th in the SE & 8th seed in the East. They said we were deep at the SF spot though
http://hoopshype.com/previews/2010_11/washington.htm

[JWizmentality]

That must have been written before we dropped the annointed one, Blank Shot Morrison.

[bullitz]

An opposing team's scout sizes up the Wizards

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/b ... z13JJdzAwv

A poorly trained circus bear might have provided more insight than whoever was dug up from the bottom of a scout office for this preview. In the same analysis he manages to say that Arenas will be a horrible fit at shooting guard (you know the guy that is probably the best shooter on the team), while saying Hinrich should be a great fit at shooting guard alongside Wall. There's a certain place that I won't go but his analysis --if you can call it that-- made my stomach turn.

[Nivek]

Hoopshype projection for the Wiz: 42-40, 4th in the SE & 8th seed in the East. They said we were deep at the SF spot though
http://hoopshype.com/previews/2010_11/washington.htm

I want that 45 seconds back. Under "Weaknesses" s/he wrote "Yi has been extremely inconsistent ... The 7-foot Yi has been inconsistent ..."

And, I'm sure all of us fans are excited to learn about all this depth at SF.

This guy needs to critique something other than consistency.

[Nivek]

From the SI "scouts" preview:

"Thornton has an ugly shot, but he makes them."

First, the attractiveness of a shot doesn't matter -- only whether it goes. Second, Thornton's actually doesn't "make them" -- he's a well-below-average shooter from the floor.

Something bugged me from this scout's ramblings. His assessment of players were almost exclusively devoted to their offensive games. Even his thoughts about their athleticism were related to how those attributes affected their ability to play offense.

[closg00]

From the SI "scouts" preview:

"Thornton has an ugly shot, but he makes them."

First, the attractiveness of a shot doesn't matter -- only whether it goes. Second, Thornton's actually doesn't "make them" -- he's a well-below-average shooter from the floor.

Something bugged me from this scout's ramblings. His assessment of players were almost exclusively devoted to their offensive games. Even his thoughts about their athleticism were related to how those attributes affected their ability to play offense.

Try ESPN's pre-view, they have 10 guys giving their snapshot read of the Wiz.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/preview20 ... 11-Wizards

[montestewart]

From the SI "scouts" preview:

"Thornton has an ugly shot, but he makes them."

First, the attractiveness of a shot doesn't matter -- only whether it goes. Second, Thornton's actually doesn't "make them" -- he's a well-below-average shooter from the floor.

Something bugged me from this scout's ramblings. His assessment of players were almost exclusively devoted to their offensive games. Even his thoughts about their athleticism were related to how those attributes affected their ability to play offense.

Try ESPN's pre-view, they have 10 guys giving their snapshot read of the Wiz.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/preview20 ... 11-Wizards

Saw that yesterday. Pretty shallow, but their predictions don't seem much different from the board's predictions for the team, and some still seem to like Arenas. Maybe knowing your opinion is going to be lined up next to ten other analysts keeps you from going off the deep end too much. Hollinger's grim assessment seems collectively informed by the most negative positions stated on this board.

[20MexicanosIn1Van]

Tim Legler and Brian Windhorst were the only ones who didn't say anything negative about Arenas and the majority of them said some along the lines "When Gilbert gets traded...".

[jimij]

I think years of covering LeBron has caused Windhorst to lose his mind in that ESPN preview. How can anyone say that getting Yi is a key component in a playoff run....

Brian Windhorst, ESPN.com | Windhorst's picks
Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld did a great job giving this franchise hope with his moves over the last eight months. Yes, No.1 pick John Wall makes them intriguing but the steals of Kirk Hinrich and Yi Jianlian are what return them to respectability. Plus, Gilbert Arenas is still pretty good.

[fishercob]

Colin Cowherd with a completely unsurprising bashing of John Wall:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcspor ... .html#more

"Much like I called out Greg Oden, I'm gonna call out John Wall....Before the game started, he spent 34 seconds doing the Dougie. That tells me all I need to know about J-Wow. Then he opened his mouth later and confirmed it: not a sharp guy. All about him. In that line last night, that 29-point line, when he was out of control, he had 8 turnovers. By the way, Rajon Rondo had 17 assists last night, 0 turnovers. Rajon's got rings, Wall will never have one.

Happy reading!

[miller31time]

He makes some good points. I mean, who could possibly forget Rajon Rondo's 3rd career game, ironically against the Wizards, more ironically in a loss, where he scored a jaw-dropping 4 points. But wait, because the statistical domination doesn't stop there! He also racked up 0 assists and, to show how multifacited he was threw in 2 rebounds AND 2 turnovers.

Color me impressed.

[fishercob]

Steinberg's right. Commenting on this too much plays wright into Beck's -- I mean , Cowherd's -- hands.


But......

To me, the holding up of Rondo as the anti-Wall comes off as a transparent attempt to insulate CC from accusations of racism. And yes, I think a lot of CC's uninformed, ignorant criticism of Wall is rooted in racism. Cowherd's a lowest common denominator, dark hearted dude. I wish he'd just go away.

[queridiculo]

Colin Cowherd with a completely unsurprising bashing of John Wall:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcspor ... .html#more

"Much like I called out Greg Oden, I'm gonna call out John Wall....Before the game started, he spent 34 seconds doing the Dougie. That tells me all I need to know about J-Wow. Then he opened his mouth later and confirmed it: not a sharp guy. All about him. In that line last night, that 29-point line, when he was out of control, he had 8 turnovers. By the way, Rajon Rondo had 17 assists last night, 0 turnovers. Rajon's got rings, Wall will never have one.

Happy reading!

Unbelievably transparent. I just wish that guys like him would simply disappear from the media landscape. Being a cynical contrarian doesn't give you an edge, it just makes you look stupid to anybody with an ounce of objectivity.

Did I not hear Wall mentioning his need to cut down turnovers as one of the first things he said following the game? Did it get lost on Cowherd that Wall was simply looking to give the Washington fans a good show for the home opener when he performed the dougie, just like he did for Kentucky fans during midnight madness?

When I saw Wall bounce around after Martin made that shot and then saw him grinning from ear to ear on the ensuing break leading up to OT the last thing that was on my mind is how selfish Wall is.

Just plain stupid, there's really no other way to qualify CCs comments.

[montestewart]

Is Colin Cowherd the Slap Chop guy?

[cdouglas]

Is Colin Cowherd the Slap Chop guy?

He must be talking about an impersonator. He' DEFINITELY isn't talking about the John Wall we know in DC!! Wall doesn't fit the description of this guy in his article. Sorry Coward, he doesn't!!

[doclinkin]

Cowturd is literally unlistenable. On any topic. I swear I haven't made it past 85 seconds of whatever garbled bulljive he's bloviating about before I tap another pre-set. His smug and self-congratulatory ignorance is intellectually chafing; if he were on a metro platform I'd have to walk to another car to restrain the urge to clip him onto the tracks by accident. Change the channel. Dude is the auditory equivalent of a seeping rash.

[verbal8]

Cowturd is literally unlistenable.

I think that nickname fits well.

[jimij]

Pretty much agree with everyone else on CC. The only good thing about Cowherd is when I'm listening to the radio and hear his voice I automatically know its a good time to put in a CD as opposed wasting my time listening on in the hopes that there might be something interesting coming up.

[Wizardspride]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 07636.html

Arenas was set to come back for the first time since his 50-game suspension for bringing guns into Verizon Center's locker room - and for the first time since high school he wore a jersey other than No. 0. He was admittedly overcome with anxiety, with thoughts of the unknown permeating in his mind; the same worries that caused him problems last month, when fears about the reaction he would receive at a home preseason game led him to fake an injury.

"I didn't know what to expect, so I said I was hurt," Arenas said after coming off the bench to score 18 points in the Wizards' 112-91 loss to the New York Knicks. "It was one of those things, my nerves kicked in. Human nature I guess."

That uneasiness was apparent when Arenas's first jumper clanked hard off the backboard in the first period. Arenas was understandably rusty early after being out of action for nearly three weeks with a mild groin strain and also a strained tendon in his right ankle. But after finally settling down, Arenas scored 14 points in the fourth period, and even dove into the second row trying to recover a loose ball.

It's really been a long time," Arenas said. "They kept yelling for me to be aggressive and I was like, 'I forgot how to.' "

"I thought about retiring for a minute, because I really didn't know what to expect. I just thought it was too much negativity to come back and I just didn't know if I was mentally prepared for it again," Arenas said, jokingly explaining why he eventually had to get back on the court. "I couldn't stay home. When you're a father and you have kids, eventually you have to get out of the house."

Coach Flip Saunders called on Arenas to enter the game with about three minutes left in the first period and the three-time all-star said he was prepared to take on that role for however long it's necessary.

"I haven't been consistent with the team since training camp," Arenas said. "So those guys earned those spots. I'm surprised I got in as fast as I did. I'm appreciative of that. I should be coming off the bench for another couple weeks, couple of months. It's fine with me. When I come off, I got to be ready, like 'The Microwave.' "

"I'm disappointed how we lost," Arenas said. "I'm glad I got the first one out of the way. Now, we can get some team chemistry and start picking this thing up."

Saunders said afterward that it was good to have Arenas back, even in defeat. "I think if there's a bright spot, him getting out there, playing a little bit. For not having more than one practice in three weeks he can still score, and that's one thing he can do. Now it's a matter of seeing how we fit him all in with our guys."

[JWizmentality]

http://www.lagalaxy.com/news/2010/11/doing-john-wall

Yes, I'm a huge L.A Galaxy fan.