How can Ted endorse this embarrassing Article

[Jay81]

yet he did on Ted's take...Come on Ted

http://dimemag.com/2011/04/the-wizards- ... anchise/2/

[verbal8]

yet he did on Ted's take...Come on Ted

http://dimemag.com/2011/04/the-wizards- ... anchise/2/

I don't see too much wrong with the article. It might overstate the potential of Blatche, McGee and Crawford.

[dobrojim]

that article is quite uncritical/unrealistic in its assessment of
Blatche/McGee.

Did Rosie Scenario write that piece?

[nate33]

Seriously. How did we lose any games last year with this much talent on the roster?

[popper]

Maybe Howard ought to turn over his Supeman cape to Blatch and McGee. Were we not one of the worst rebounding teams in the league last year? I agree we are headed in the right direction but get real.

[Ruzious]

Wow, that was bad. I'll never intentionally read another article from Dime Magazine again.

[TGW]

Dime Magazine is a bunch of fanboys who fawn over "cool" players. Iverson was their old god.

[LyricalRico]

He may have been laying it on a little thick, but I think we all feel good about Wall and Young. He also said that Crawford was the "perfect reserve", which again is in line with where most of us see him longterm. I don't think those parts of the article were all that out of line with discussions here. Had he toned it down a notch and did an article strictly on the backcourt, I think most would have been applauding it.

The part where I threw up in my mouth was the part about Blatche/McGee. Using "Blatche" and "count on" in the same sentence shouldn't be allowed, and I disagree with his projection that McGee could be an "elite" defender. I also think it's pre-mature to talk about the draft when we still don't know the order of the lottery.

He also should have mentioned Ernie more.

[fishercob]

yet he did on Ted's take...Come on Ted

http://dimemag.com/2011/04/the-wizards- ... anchise/2/

He didn't endorse it. She shared it, just as he shares articles that are critical of the Wiz. You clicked the link, formed an opinion, went to talk about it on a message board. He's feeding the best -- keeping the Wiz in your consciousness, even though the season ended weeks ago. He knows what he's doing.

[closg00]

Ted, full-time in sell/hype mode. I see that you subscribe to the Bleacher Report emails also Jai, I just got that linked article as-well.

[Induveca]

Do a bit more digging..........this is an online only article written by an 19 year old intern who goes to St. John's University in NYC.

http://twitter.com/#!/SubZEROxPaste

That's the kid who wrote it. He's an intern. He's remote, he does this for no pay......he has no real NBA knowledge beyond telling Dime he "loves the NBA" and accepted doing the work for college credit.

Unfortunately in these times of recession, traditional physical publications such as Dime and most others have resorted to interns and "guest blogging" techniques to get the content they so desperately need at no cost. This gets them more pages on which to place/sell advertising, nothing more. If it's somewhat passable, it goes up on their sites. The editorial staff must want to shoot themselves.

For Leonsis to use this garbage to lend credibility to his "rebuilding approach" is pretty sad. Then again, to give him a break I'm sure he cut and pasted the article as soon as he saw the headline. I could barely make it through the article myself.

[Nivek]

I know Ted wants to promote the team, but his latest string of "check this out" articles are starting to worry me.

Okay, let's go point-by-point.

1. Wall is the future -- agreed. Good rookie season, and he should get better.

2. Young is the REAL Most Improved Player. No. He had a nice season. He did get better. But it's wishful thinking to proclaim the most improved player in the league. Especially since the writer never actually makes a case that Young deserves that title. Young became more efficient on offense and became at least acceptable on defense. He even added a half rebound per 36 minutes. He got to the free throw line more frequently. But...that efficiency dipped once he became a starter. He still gets distracted on defense. He's still a terrible help defender. He still doesn't pass. He still needs to get stronger.

3. McGee and Blatche are "as solid as a rock." WTF? I loved this passage about Blatche: "He possesses the post moves and offensive ability you can rely on for points in the paint. If he gets any better down there, he’ll be approaching the level of dominance that would make the Wizards’ inside-out game almost unguardable." WTF? Blatche is one of the most inefficient offensive players in the league.

I actually agree with the guy's comments about McGee. He is athletic. I think he'll become a force. He did get experience this season.

4. Jordan Crawford is waiting to break out. Yeah, maybe. He was exciting to watch. Like a lot of players who catch the fan's fancy, he's a scorer who scores a lot because he shoots a lot. His usage rate was extremely high, but his shooting was terrible -- efg of .418. He made just 23.8% of his 3pt attempts -- but still attempted 4.2 per 36 minutes. His offensive rating was 94 (average was about 107). He MIGHT be a breakout star. He also MIGHT be this year's Courtney Alexander.

5. NBA Draft brings even more possibilities. Well, yeah -- that's why they have a draft.

[Nivek]

Do a bit more digging..........this is an online only article written by an 19 year old intern who goes to St. John's University in NYC.

http://twitter.com/#!/SubZEROxPaste

That's the kid who wrote it. He's an intern. He's remote, he does this for no pay......he has no real NBA knowledge beyond telling Dime he "loves the NBA" and accepted doing the work for college credit.

Unfortunately in these times of recession, traditional physical publications such as Dime and most others have resorted to interns and "guest blogging" techniques to get the content they so desperately need at no cost. This gets them more pages on which to place/sell advertising, nothing more. If it's somewhat passable, it goes up on their sites. The editorial staff must want to shoot themselves.

For Leonsis to use this garbage to lend credibility to his "rebuilding approach" is pretty sad. Then again, to give him a break I'm sure he cut and pasted the article as soon as he saw the headline. I could barely make it through the article myself.

I was just about to wonder whether the guy got paid for it. It's pretty clear that Slam is a crappy place to intern. A decent editor would have turned it right back to him and told him to get serious.

[MF23]

I know Ted wants to promote the team, but his latest string of "check this out" articles are starting to worry me.

Okay, let's go point-by-point.

1. Wall is the future -- agreed. Good rookie season, and he should get better.

2. Young is the REAL Most Improved Player. No. He had a nice season. He did get better. But it's wishful thinking to proclaim the most improved player in the league. Especially since the writer never actually makes a case that Young deserves that title. Young became more efficient on offense and became at least acceptable on defense. He even added a half rebound per 36 minutes. He got to the free throw line more frequently. But...that efficiency dipped once he became a starter. He still gets distracted on defense. He's still a terrible help defender. He still doesn't pass. He still needs to get stronger.

3. McGee and Blatche are "as solid as a rock." WTF? I loved this passage about Blatche: "He possesses the post moves and offensive ability you can rely on for points in the paint. If he gets any better down there, he’ll be approaching the level of dominance that would make the Wizards’ inside-out game almost unguardable." WTF? Blatche is one of the most inefficient offensive players in the league.

I actually agree with the guy's comments about McGee. He is athletic. I think he'll become a force. He did get experience this season.

4. Jordan Crawford is waiting to break out. Yeah, maybe. He was exciting to watch. Like a lot of players who catch the fan's fancy, he's a scorer who scores a lot because he shoots a lot. His usage rate was extremely high, but his shooting was terrible -- efg of .418. He made just 23.8% of his 3pt attempts -- but still attempted 4.2 per 36 minutes. His offensive rating was 94 (average was about 107). He MIGHT be a breakout star. He also MIGHT be this year's Courtney Alexander.

5. NBA Draft brings even more possibilities. Well, yeah -- that's why they have a draft.

Good post, I agree with all of those points. I really can't figure out Crawford. Larry Drew made a comment that comes to mind when you watch him play. The comment was about whether Crawford could play in a structured team offense. My guess is he wouldn't be able to handle more than a few minutes a game in that situation. He reminds me of James Hardin without the polish. Flip Saunders offensive coaching could benefit Crawford by making him understand good vs. bad shots without diminishing his confidence.