Bleacher Report - Caron Butler

The Wizards' Talk Is Cheap and Getting Old

Joe G — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:53:54 -0500

When is enough, enough?

We've heard all of the championship chatter from multiple players on the Wizards this season. Jamison believed. Butler had his take. Then you have the one guy who we expected to be a prognosticator who didn't talk, but now he does which leaves some asking after the latest set of media interviews whether he should go back to being Quiet Zero.

Gil told us last April that he doesn't want to be a distraction this season and laughed at the reports that he could be a handful for the next coach to deal with.

From the Washington Post, "I know everyone thinks I'm going to be the big head case," Arenas said. "But I don't fight with anybody. I don't fight with the coaches. I don't fight with the players. I don't really say anything—only to the media. I'm just a hype man. It's all smoke and mirrors with me."

So how is it that 12 games into the 09-10 season, a season where the expectations have been set at Championship, or bust and the Wizards are being mentioned in the same breath as their wonderful NFL counterparts who set up shop in Ashburn, VA?

This Wizards season has been nothing short of a soap opera and we haven't even gotten out of the first month yet. What the hell is smoke and mirrors when you are quoted saying, "Everyone's got their own individual goals, I guess," "Hidden agendas. You can't win like that. I've never been on a team where you have eight free agents next year. I've never played on a team like that. I've never seen it turn out well. Sometimes it works out for the best because everybody's hungry and everybody's fighting. Sometimes it works out for the worst when everybody's out for their own."

Then we hear from Michael Lee today via Twitter that "Just for clarification, Gilbert Arenas & Brendan Haywood do not have a rift. Their comments were not directed at each other."

So who the hell is the rift with? When your franchise player, and let's not sugar foot this, Gilbert is the franchise player, but when he says that 14 out of 15 guys get along, somebody needs to come forward and say let's cut the BS. It's about that time for Antawn to step forward and insert a giant Adidas into somebody's ass and get all 15 of these guys on the same page.

The real question we have left to ask ourselves at this point is why did we believe them in the first place? Kyle Weidie from TruthAboutIt.net asked that very same question back in September. But the issue doesn't start there, it goes back further.

Why is it that year in and year out DC is promised great green pastures and championship dreams only to end up with a huge steamy pile of manure at the end of every season? We've become accustomed to this as we take the losing season, go into the off season and basically forget what it tasted like and get right back in line for another serving.

Even the Capitals which now have the most exciting player in hockey and seem poised to break a two decade long championship drought may have trouble breaking through that nightmare called the Penguins. It just always seems that the local teams in the four major sports cannot get breaks (the good kind anyway).

Going back to Wizards, is it really just coincidence that nothing seems to ever fall the right way? Could there really be credence to the Curse of Les Boulez?

Back in 2007 Michael Wilbon penned an article for the Post in which he outlined some of the bad "misfortunes" of the Washington Wizards, which included these memories:

Bernard King becoming an all-star, then injuring himself after the break and essentially never playing for the Bullets again?

Mark Price coming to town in 1995 to be the point guard the Bullets needed before suffering injuries that would limit him to a total of seven games here?

John "Hot Plate" Williams, the 6-foot-7 phenom out of Louisiana State whose game was so sweet he made Magic Johnson rave . . . until Williams ate himself out of the league.

"Dinner Bell" Mel Turpin did the same. Kevin Duckworth seemed to weigh about 280 when the Bullets acquired him, but got up to 325 or so before training camp.

The Bullets were poised and ready to draft Reggie Miller out of UCLA in 1987, but the Pacers unexpectedly snatched him and the Bullets wound up with Muggsy Bogues...for a year until he left in the expansion draft. Gheorghe Muresan appeared to be the giant centerpiece for a pretty imposing front line with Chris Webber and Juwan Howard, except that Muresan hurt his back filming the movie "My Giant" with Billy Crystal over the summer after that 1997 playoff appearance and for all practical purposes was done.

Webber, who represented as much hope as Arenas and Butler together when he arrived in 1994, suffered a shoulder injury and went off to titillate Northern California with playoff runs there. Even when Howard remained with the Bullets, via a David Stern mulligan, his $105 contract turned the town against him.

Part of me, however irrational this sounds, was convinced the Wizards needed to move out of Capital Centre, that a nice shiny new arena would change everything...and I was proven wrong. Ike Austin came and was terrible here after being really good in Miami. Ben Wallace went away before he became one of the great defensive forces of the last 10 years. The franchise finally gets the No. 1 pick in the draft—and the only thing worse than having the No. 1 pick in a year when there's no great franchise-altering player, is taking a high school kid. Kwame Brown turns out to be the worst No. 1 overall pick since LaRue Martin in 1972. Michael Jordan, the second greatest winner in league history after Bill Russell, couldn't get the team to the playoffs.

Stuff just happens to people. Andray Blatche got shot before he played his first game. Mitch Richmond, who played 3,000 minutes in a season four times before he got here, apparently had left it all on the court in California before he got here.

I know the Wizards people, the ones who remember it all so clearly, don't want to see this recounted today and it's understandable...but so many of the rest of us can't see Butler and Arenas go down without connecting the dots...without saying in a very high-pitched tone," How can this happen again?"

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/05/AR2007040502262.html

That is a lot of crap for one franchise to go through, no doubt about that, but a good portion of the Bullets/Wizards FAIL was due to the crappy management we had for the longest time. Abe Pollin's loyalty to Wes being the main culprit. That's why this was supposed to be different though. Ernie Grunfeld is a proven winner, a bona fide, well respected GM among many NBA circles.

But if this team doesn't get significantly better in a hurry how can you not start to point the finger at the architect of the plan? This is his team, his coach.

The one thing we don't need more of is excuses. If it's not injuries, it's not getting along, or the young kids don't understand the system. Perhaps the system doesn't work for the personnel. Maybe it's the coaches fault. Could it be because Gilbert is too selfish? Is it because Gilbert doesn't talk? Now Gilbert talks too much. Gilbert needs to pass more.

Whatever your flavor may be, all we have heard since we were leading the Eastern Conference in 2006/2007 and sending our coach and all stars to Vegas has been excuse after excuse after excuse.

The Big Three seem about this distant now

This city deserves better.

The fans deserve better.

Imagine how nice it would be to finally root for a team that actually lived up to the hype that THEY put out there. You wanna be a championship basketball team, first things first, act like one. Stop the finger pointing.

It's time for every member of the Washington Wizards to take a deep long look in the mirror and remind themselves why they play this game. If you don't play to win championships, you need to get the hell off the team.

All the teams that have won championships have done it with star players, role players and bench players. The most important group out of those three could arguably be the role players. But if you've got role players who want to be stars and bench guys who whine and bitch about playing time you will end up where we've been for the last 3 decades, watching the Finals from home.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4Lhw4M-GTg[/youtube]

I learned a long time ago that if you need to brag about what you've done to help others or how much you've sacrificed, you really haven't done sh*t. Your actions should speak louder than anything you could possibly say.

I guess the bottom line is, enough with the chatter already, can we just have a team that wins at any cost?

Can this team simply shut up and play basketball before the season gets anymore out of hand?

Then again, who the hell am I kidding, these are our Washington Bullets/Wizards, this is where....

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdK8s4Dc-Rs[/youtube]

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Washington Wizards' Record, Optimism Fall as Losses Mount

Shaun Ahmad — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:41:21 -0500

There is a clear and distinct difference between being optimistic and being naive. Believing our economy will recover is being optimistic. Believing Lindsay Lohan's career will make a comeback as she sheds a life of partying and drugs...that's being naive (or high on whatever Lohan is smoking).

Through the first six games of the Washington Wizards' season, I was optimistic. I was hopeful. Picture me as the guy on Wall Street in 2006 nodding his head and convincing investors that the market will be fine, despite having 24,593 clear warning signs in front of me.

"So what if Arenas had more failed surgeries than successful ones over the past couple of years?

Who cares if the team is banking its success on three players who have spent more time injured together than healthy together?

Don't worry about how the Wizards didn't bring in any talent to improve on defense during the off-season.

They'll be fine! Relax!"

That was me about a month ago. How quickly times have changed.

Now I'm spending more time second-guessing my rationale than Bill Belichick did after his loss to Indianapolis. How did I overlook and miss the warning signs? What on God's green earth convinced me that this team would stay healthy?

Why did I believe that a Gilbert Arenas- and Antawn Jamison-led team would finally give a rat's ass on defense? WHY DID I...?

(Okay. Deep breaths, Shaun. Deep breaths.)

Here's the bottom line: Losing games by a couple of points due to your biggest offensive threat being rusty is one thing.

Getting run up and down the floor, out-hustled, out-rebounded, and thoroughly beaten by sub-.500 teams is a whole different story.

The game of basketball isn't complicated. Score more than the other team. That's it.

Unfortunately for Wizards fans, the team has done that just three times out of 12. They have given up over 100 points in eight games and (shocker), lost seven of them. They have scored over 100 points in five games and won three.

There is no need for me to go into a deep analysis or shower you with more statistics like I have in the past. Here's what you need to know at this point in the season:

The Washington Wizards stink. They are a bad team. Nothing more, nothing less.

Through 12 games, they have shown little life on offense, and not a thing to look forward to on defense. Not a single iota for a fan to grab onto and say, "Hey, at least they're leading the league in steals!"

At least if the team shows some grittiness on the defensive end of the ball, you know that they are trying and are playing with heart. Offensive woes can be overcome by strong defensive play, but when it comes to poor defensive outings due to lack of effort, it becomes impossible to surmount.

What's more troubling than the lack of enthusiasm on both sides of the ball is the finger pointing that is already beginning. You don't play the blame game after 15 percent of the season unless you are the Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks, or Terrell Owens.

Following the embarrassing loss to the San Antonio Spurs, guard Gilbert Arenas had the following remarks:

"Everyone's got their own individual goals, I guess. Hidden agendas. I guess when you start losing, everyone wants to start pointing fingers everywhere else.

I converted my game to try and get people involved. I think the only person who actually had to sacrifice [to win] was me."

Earth to Arenas: You hold the distinct honor of being the first Wizard to point any fingers in the media this season. Congratulations!

I'll address the post-game comments with the following two points:

Point No. 1: If you have ever read any of my articles relating to the Wizards, it doesn't take the I.Q. of a neurosurgeon to conclude that I am a Gilbert Arenas apologist. I like the guy.

I love what he did for the Washington organization and for the city when he arrived from Golden State. I love his passion, his work ethic, and how he is a completely different character than the cookie cut-outs that you see all across the league.

That being said, his postgame comments shouldn't have even crossed his mind, let alone come out of his mouth in the media. He is supposed to be one of the leaders on this team, but he came off like a whiny sixth man that is upset about not getting enough minutes.

The tone that he had would have made me think the Wizards were 3-19 instead of 3-9. Lead by example, especially when you know that the entire team watches how you carry yourself and feeds off your demeanor.

Quick example. Imagine that in his State of the Union Address, President Obama seemed completely dejected after his first year as Commander in Chief.

What if he sat at his desk in front of the camera, shrugged his shoulders and said, "This sucks. Things aren't going as I planned and...(sigh )...I don't know. I guess things will get better...(pause )...but probably not. Whatever."

Would that inspire anyone? Would that make any of the institutions that are pillars to this country get up and say, "We need to rise to the occasion and get our acts together"? No! The only ones who would benefit are liquor store owners.

Point No. 2: Yes, Arenas has taken a different approach to his game where he is trying to involve others more. But let's not pretend that his sacrifice is what's ailing this team. Look no further than Arenas' shooting as one of the reasons for the Wizards' woes.

His 39% field goal percentage and 38.6% three point percentage, coupled with over four turnovers a game, are doing Washington no good. While Arenas may believe he's sacrificing a ton, his field goal attempts per game (19.4) are the third highest in his career. So what exactly is being sacrificed?

I'm not trying to pile on Arenas and make him the scapegoat for Washington's problems. However, if you are going to make passive-aggressive comments about your teammates not getting the job done to the media, you open the door to having your performances openly questioned and critiqued.

While Brendan Haywood, Andray Blatche, and Mike Miller have excelled, Arenas, Caron Butler, and DeShawn Stevenson have hindered Washington's attack.

Antawn Jamison's return will help, but it will take more than his contributions to steer the team back in the right direction.

The Wizards' problems are both on and off the court right now. As I pointed out previously , they are fortunate that the season is still young.

After all, they are only six games out of .500. That being said, time to waste is no longer in abundance.

In a long 82-game season, it is difficult to decide when to really worry. My theory is, you should only fret when the season is near the point of being lost and some immediate, significant changes are needed.

While I don't think Washington is at that stage yet, each mounting loss carries more weight than the previous one.

As my optimism fades and reality begins to set in, I am inching closer towards pressing the panic button on the Washington Wizards' 2009-10 season.

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Washington Wizards Waste Opportunities, Lose Momentum

Matthew Brown — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:34:58 -0500

The Washington Wizards silenced a few critics with a big win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in their second meeting of the season. The honeymoon didn't last long as the Wizards lost by 19 points a mere 48 hours later.

So much for Antawn Jamison's return making all the difference.

The win over the Cavs was, by any other name, an apparition. Cleveland was without Shaquille O'Neal and Anderson Varejao, or 18 points and 15 rebounds.

Stats aside, Cleveland lost a decided size advantage, and had to rely on the ever-aging Zydrunas Ilgauskas to fill the void.

In the absence of Shaq and Varejao, the Wizards out-rebounded the Cavaliers 49-35.

The Wizards may have made the most of the opportunity presented to them in Cleveland, but had no answer for the youth, and full health, of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The game was a showcase of offense, young talent, and absolutely no defense. All three facets went the Thunder's way.

By no means did the Thunder play a pretty game, but they did more with the opportunities given to them. As a team, the Thunder shot 53 percent from the field, 52 percent from beyond the arc (11 of 21) and 84 percent from the free throw line.

The Wizards did not slack on offense, but couldn't compare to the Thunders' three-point and free throw percentages. The team shot 70 percent from the free throw line and made just seven three-point shots.

Defense has never been a strong suit for the Wizards, but they have added an inability to hold on to the ball or take quality shots.

The Wizards have turned the ball over at inopportune times in all of their losses and given opponents too many second-chance opportunities. These were supposed to be the new and improved Wizards, but it seems they're just more of the same.

The season is still young, but a few things need to change. With everyone healthy, the Wizards are finally able to put some interesting line-ups on the floor.

The starting five is just the beginning of the possibilities. Head coach Flip Saunders could experiment with Gilbert Arenas at shooting guard and Randy Foye running the offense. It would play to their respective strengths without causing a hit in production.

It wouldn't hurt to get some of the younger players involved, either.

Andray Blatche's minutes have been more than cut in half since Jamison's return and Nick Young, JaVale McGee, and Dominic McGuire haven't seen any significant time on the floor at all this season.

Blatche is more deserving of minutes with what he has done in Jamison's absence, but the Wizards need to do something to put them on the winning track. Why not put some of the young guns to the fire every once in a while?

It makes more sense considering that injuries always hit the Wizards hard. If they expect to have Caron Butler, Mike Miller, Brendan Haywood, Jamison, and Arenas for an entire season, they would be wise to lighten their loads a bit.

There is nothing wrong with averaging a high amount of minutes, but the health of the Wizards starting five has been a major question already this season, and dating back to the last two.

There is always more to winning than just one player, and Jamison's return is no exception. It is going to take more than just a few games to right the ship for the Wizards.

The Wizards have the look of a season-long construction project. It is too soon to look toward next season, but it is too much to expect an instant return to the playoffs.

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