Ah yes, our seven-man smorgasbord of veterans with faults and unproven youngsters.  Depending on who you ask, this unit may or may not need to be consolidated or upgraded, but for the time being, it's what we've got.

And what, exactly, do we have?  We have two solid starters, one that's an absolute ace offensively and normally a sieve defensively and one that's awkward offensively and an underrated presence defensively.  We have two veterans who are limited, but are trusted by the coach even when they are blocking players who deserve some of their minutes.  Then, we have three young guys, all with the potential of being a difference maker, but all projects that need playing time despite being in different stages of their development.  

You don't have to be Eddie Jordan to have trouble allocating 96 minutes a game to this group.  (Though he's particularly "good" at it).  

There are so many trade-offs to consider.  Play Etan Thomas for his rebounding...but do so at the expense of Brendan Haywood's defense and (maybe) attitude.  Play Darius Songaila for his offensive smarts...but do so at the expense of Andray Blatche's much-needed development.  Play Antawn Jamison 40 minutes a night for his essential all-around contributions...but do so at the expense of providing developmental minutes to Blatche, JaVale McGee and Oleksiy Pecherov, projects drafted to eventually replace him.

96 minutes, seven guys, all power forwards or centers. How would you specifically allocate the minutes? 

Some considerations:

• Last year, only Jamison played more than 20 percent of the team's minutes at a position other than power forward or center.  Otherwise, these guys were exclusively playing the 4 or the 5. 
• In 2006/07, when Haywood played more than 25 minutes in a game, the Wizards were 18-8.
• According to Basketballvalue.com, Darius Songaila had the second-highest adjusted plus/minus on the team last year, behind only Jamison.  
• The highest PER of any reserve on the team last year belonged to Andray Blatche at 15.5.  In 2006/07, that honor belonged to Etan Thomas.
• To review: Though Haywood has never posted a higher defensive rebound percentage than Thomas in a year both played, the team's defensive efficiency has always been better with Haywood on the floor instead of Thomas.  

Good luck!

Some of you are probably looking at that title and wondering what lip syncing has to do with has to do with the Wizards.  Others are probably looking at that picture and thinking to themselves "Boy, Etan Thomas has really let himself go.  And when did he win a Grammy???" 

I can assure that the answers to all of your questions will be answered, but in order to do that, we need to first have an understanding of how the art of singing without actually singing has developed and changed over the years.

Continue reading this post »

I'll be honest, I really don't how to preface this post, so let's jump past the thin candy shell and right into the ooey-gooey chocolate center of the post shall we?

WHAT THE WIZARDS WOULD BE IF THEY WERE CANDY

Gilbert Arenas = Pixy Stix: The complaints about both are the same: Very sweet, good for a quick thrill, not a whole lot of filling substance.  Yet you rarely see fans of either complain about feeling empty.

Andray Blatche = Twizzlers: Both could benefit from being a little thicker.

Dee Brown = Skittles: In the interest of full disclosure, nothing about Dee Brown's game reminds me of Skittles, but whenever I watch him, he reminds me of a hyper kid running around after eating a whole bag Skittles.

Caron Butler = Snickers: With a Snickers bar, you're getting a nice, diverse package of chocolate, nougat, peanuts, and caramel.  Caron also gives you a little bit of everything and puts it into a sweet package that everyone can enjoy.  (Not to mention, that every so often you see both wrapped in gold.  But let's not talk about the alternate jerseys right now.)

Antonio Daniels = Hershey's: Sure, there's stuff out there that might taste a little better, or have some fancier packaging, but these two give you what you're looking for every single time.

Brendan Haywood = Peanut Brittle: At first look, they both look kind of clumsy.  Brendan isn't exactly Pete Maravich and peanut brittle looks like a rejected batch of semi-processed peanut butter.  But when you get down to it, you realize that both are pretty doggone good.

Antawn Jamison = M&M's: A timeless classic.  And like Jamison's shot, you can find M&M's in just about every variety imaginable.

JaVale McGee = Bacon Bar: At first, they both sound kind of gross (Chocolate flavored bacon?  An athletic 7-footer that has 3 pt. range but struggles with rebounding?) but they're both intriguing enough to make you want to try it out at least once.

Dominic McGuire = Shock Tarts: Need I say more?

Oleksiy Pecherov = Laffy Taffy: They give you some flavor, and they're good for a chuckle.  What more could you ask for?

Darius Songaila = Twix: What? He likes things dipped in chocolate.

DeShawn Stevenson = Everlasting Gobstopper: You can try to wear them down, but you know at the end of the day that they're too durable to let something like saliva or a knee injury keep them from playing.

Etan Thomas = Gourmet Chocolate: It's a decent product, just a little more pricey than it should be.

Nick Young = Airheads: Being the youthful player that he is, Nick Young makes some decisions on the court that make you wonder what's going on in his mind.  But then you remember that one day the maturity will come and then we can stop wondering about his head and we can devote all of our focus to his air.

Last season, had to be a bit of a relief for Ernie Grunfeld.  While other GM's had to try and shuffle rosters depending on injuries, D-League callups, and the like, Grunfeld roster set-up was quite simple.  The Wizards only carried 13 players on the roster (except for Mike Wilks' two week ) and Etan Thomas was on the Inactive list all season, so Ernie was left with 12 players to fill 12 spots on the active roster

Now with Etan getting healthy, as well as the addition of JaVale McGee, the Wizards have 14 players to fit into 12 spots on the active roster. In other words, two players are going to have to get used to watching the game from the bench in suits. In my mind, the only rational choices for the inactive list are JaVale McGee and Oleksiy Pecherov.  While part of the reason I say that is because they're the 13th and 14th best players on the team, the more important factor in my reasoning is a valuable asset that we can use to our advantage like never before: the D-League.

The D-League was made for players like McGee and O-Pec who need experience to help realize their potential.  Players in their first 2 years (a qualification both players meet) can be optioned down 3 times in a season, so we can let McGee and Pech get playing time that they need and wouldn't get in Washington and still have them available for when/if someone gets injured.  If there's a drawback in letting those two develop their games in Dakota, I haven't seen it.

The Wizards haven't used the D-League a lot in previous seasons, partly because of a lack of prospects and partly because of a lack of warm bodies.  Now that both of those issues have been resolved (for now), there's no reason why we shouldn't be using of the Developmental League to help develop our players this season.

In last week's edition of Pollin', where we asked if you would try to make a move to aquire Rasheed Wallace, we had our narrowest vote to date.  By two votes, the majority said no to making a move.  While I think most people would look past his faults if he could be acquired without sacrificing much, his salary makes it a tough move to make. 

The only trades that would have any chance of working would be this and this.  Obviously Detroit wouldn't want to touch Etan's contract, and the Wizards wouldn't want to give up 3 of their 4 best frontcourt players for a one-year rental, so I wouldn't run to the store to get your Wallace #36 Wizard jersey anytime soon.

Now, as promised last week, this week's poll focuses on biggest, non-trick shot of the year.  Since Caron's shot to beat the Cavs was already voted as the Play of the Year, it's also out of the running.  So essentially, you're voting for the biggest, non-trick, non-playoff shot of the year.

After the jump, a more detailed look at each of the candidates...

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Pradamaster: As far as this year goes, there really isn't much to say about Etan Thomas.  His heart problems surfaced early in training camp, and though he tried to come back, he kept having setbacks and never made it onto the court.  

But even though he didn't play, the center dynamic changed significantly (so I hope) because of Brendan Haywood's breakout season.  Whether Thomas' absence was a significant factor in Haywood's improvement can be debated, but it bears mentioning that Haywood's two best seasons (04-05, 07-08) came when Thomas played the least.  This seems pretty obvious, because the better Haywood plays, the more court time he sees, and conversely the less Etan sees, but I think it's more than that.  The two centers don't have the best history, and Eddie Jordan has consistently used Thomas as a leverage for when Haywood wasn't playing well.  Eventually, that leverage caught up to Haywood in 06-07, and without that leverage, Haywood was finally able to play as if he didn't have anyone looking over his shoulder.  Haywood's offseason dedication and excellent training camp attitude are big reasons why he had such a strong season, but Etan's absence also helped to a certain degree.

The thing is that Etan's 06-07 season was pretty solid by his standards.  To quote from our 2006-07 evaluation:

His rebounding jumped considerably, and he posted the highest true shooting percentage of his career.  His PER was above the league average, and after being a black hole in the post in the past, his assist rate jumped considerably.  About the only negative on that end was his turnover rate, which jumped to 16.2%, the highest since his rookie year.

2006-07 may have been Etan's best year since 2003-04 (which, of course, led to his six-year contract).  Offensively, the man has value.  He is an efficient scorer in the paint, grabs rebounds, sets good screens and can score with his back to the basket.  Defensively, however, is another story.  To rehash (since I ranted about this so many times last year), not only is Etan undersized, but he is a terrible help-side defender.  He tries to swat every shot instead of positioning himself to cut off dribble penetration.  His over-aggressiveness trying to block shots leads to offensive rebounds from the man who he was supposed to be guarding, which negates any rebounding strength Thomas possesses.  It's no secret that when both Haywood and Thomas were healthy, it was Haywood who had a significant positive contribution to the team's defensive efficiency.

Still, despite his contract, Etan has value.  The problem is when Eddie Jordan plays him as much as Brendan Haywood.  On this team, we need a good interior defender in the middle, and Haywood is far closer to that then Etan.  Etan's strengths are somewhat redundant, though I think he can be useful on a second unit that sometimes struggles to score.  Ideally, Ernie Grunfeld would trade him and his contract (which runs for two more years), but nobody will take him after the heart issues.  It looks like we're stuck with him, but that's not such a terrible thing.  For 15 minutes a game, he has decent value.  So long as his role is limited, and he is clearly the backup behind Haywood, he can help this team next year.

JakeTheSnake: While it's true that Etan is the most overpaid player on the team, we should remember that because a player is overpaid doesn't mean that he can't be useful.  Let's not forget, when he's healthy Etan can provide some solid offensive production in the low post, which never hurts.  Hopefully if Etan comes back next season he'll just take Songaila's minutes at center, letting Darius stay in his natural position and keeping Brendan's minutes in tact.  The absolute last thing this team needs is for the center controversy, which finally seemed to be resolved this year, flare back up again.

Truthaboutit: Etan Thomas' future is about as unpredictable as tagging along with Pac Man Jones for a night out on the town. The big question mark surrounds The Poet's heart....and in this case, no news is not necessarily good news. He tried to come back in mid-February, sported a chest protector, got hit in practice......and the next thing we know, the season is over and the word from Grunfeld is that Etan will make a full recovery by training camp. Not so says CBS Sportsline where Etan is listed as "questionable" for the 08-09 training camp (of course, that was last updated on 5/3). Basketball-Reference.com has taken the liberty of un-bolding Etan's name (even Penny Hardaway's name is bolded...ok, he played 14 games in Nov. and two in Dec.). What does this all mean? It means that Thomas coming back healthy is one thing, coming back as a contributor is another.

Etan Thomas does not first come to mind when you think of painted area defensive stopper, but maybe he doesn't have to be. Memory serves me that Etan is more agile than Brendan Haywood. Thus, in the Wizards match-up zone, Thomas has the potential to better play the passing lanes and defend the pick and roll. Etan is not going to match Haywood's output when the Wizards have the ball, as his Usage% has dropped in recent years.....(while his D-rating has increased ). If all systems are go in Europe in October , the Wizards would most importantly need Etan Thomas to be dominant on the defensive boards (which is easier to do in a match-up zone than a regular zone), contend for offensive boards, and keep track of his assignments on D.

Outlook: I'd rather Etan be the throw-in on an ingenious Ernie Grunfeld trade than depend on him to fill championship needs in 08-09.

With a whopping 62% of the vote, Brendan Haywood was selected as the Wizards' Most Improved Player this season.  In honor of his selection, here's some Tarheel-on-Tarheel action as Haywood blocks Vince Carter:

Roger Mason finished 2nd with 18%, Caron and DeShawn finished 3rd and 4th respectively.

This week, the question to ponder is "Which current Wizard would make for the best head coach?"  I got the idea from a post from Brian Scalabrine J.E. Skeets on Ball Don't Lie, who bounced some ideas for some players from around the NBA who would make for good NBA coaches, including Derek Fisher, Sam Cassell, Darrell Armstrong, and Antawn Jamison.

I think Jamison has what it takes to be a good head coach someday, although for some reason I get the feeling he'd rather coach in the college ranks than he would in the NBA, but that's just a gut feeling.

Antonio Daniels is another name that gets bounced around as a potential coaching candidate that gets bounced around a lot.  If nothing else, I think he'd have an advantage since it seems like veteran backup point guards almost always end up as coaches in one form or another.

I think it's safe to guess that Jamison and Daniels will gather the most votes this week, but don't look over some of the other players on the team.  Etan Thomas certainly has the IQ to be a good head coach someday.  It might be a little weird to see some 50 year old guy in dreadlocks writing poetry on the sidelines, but it could work.  How about Gilbert Arenas?  The offense might be a little unconventional, but you know that they'd be practicing it at each of the 5 daily practices the team would have.

As always, the choice is yours.  And since this is strictly a hypothetical question, any line of reasoning to come to your answer is acceptable.  Vote away!

Like Prada said, it's been a great season.   It might not have the best ending, but I still don't think this team has anything to be ashamed of.  Before we start delving into all the off-season stuff, let's give some thanks for the season that was.

Thanks to Ernie Grunfeld for putting together a team that's been able make the playoffs for 4 straight years, something that hasn't happened in the district in 20 years.

Thanks to Eddie Jordan for never giving up.  There were several points in the season where you could've thrown up the white flag and gone into tank mode when different players went down, but you never gave up on this team.

Thanks to Antawn Jamison for being the epitome of consistency and professionalism all season long.  Your 20-10 season won't soon be forgotten.

Thanks to Caron Butler for the big shots, the posters, and everything in-between.

Thanks to Brendan Haywood for finally putting an end to the instability at center this year with career highs all across the board.

Thanks to Antonio Daniels for holding down the fort at point guard while Gilbert was injured most of the season.  Your on-court leadership was a big part of why the Wizards were as successful as they were this season.

Thanks to DeShawn Stevenson for being the Wizards' Iron Man.

Thanks to Roger Mason Jr. for being such a pleasant surprise this season.  You showed this season that you don't have to be a brick layer to have an appreciation for architecture.

Thanks to Darius Songaila for providing some much needed front court consistency off the bench.  Best of luck competing with Lithuania in Beijing this summer.  Hopefully everyone there appreciates your Borat impressions.

Thanks to Andray Blatche for his continued improvement.  You'll only get better as you get more experience under your belt.

Thanks to Gilbert Arenas for trying his best to get back on the court and help the team.  it didn't work out the way we all would've liked, but the intent was clearly there.  Let's hope this off-season finally gets you back to form we all know and love.

Thanks to Nick Young for the dunks.  Here's to many more highlights and dunk contest invite next season.

Thanks to Oleksiy Pecherov for all the humor this season.  Don't get me wrong, your play was solid this year, but the comparisons to Stewie will never stop being awesome.

Thanks to Etan Thomas for showing what true strength is all about.

Thanks to Ivan Carter and Mike Jones (who!) for all the great reporting on the beat this season.  Great work as always.

Thanks to all the great Wizards and non-Wizards blogs for their .

Thanks to WaitingForNextYear and And One for coming over and sparking some good discussion and providing analysis from the other side during the playoff series.  You're welcome here anytime.

Thanks to everyone that's come here and left comments and FanPosts and everything else this season.  Win or lose, you're what makes this fun.

Finally, thanks to Dominic McGuire.  You're what makes the future (and the present) bright.