Rivalry? You betcha.

by JakeTheSnake on Mar 14, 2008 1:44 PM EDT in Recaps

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Highest Plus/Minus: Darius Songaila (+12)
Lowest Plus/Minus: Antonio Daniels (-6)

Well, that was a perfectly crazy game. A game like that requires something special, like say a corny graphic?

We'll be referring to the chart throughout the post so make sure you have it committed to memory. I'd read it from the bottom up, it'll make more sense that way.

Caron Butler = Phenomenal: After last night's game Caron said that his swag was at "an all-time high" as well it should have been. He had a birthday, played well in his first game back and got the W. Not bad. Eddie probably should've given a little more rest, because as we all know it's a great idea to give a player that's been out for over a month MORE PLAYING TIME THAN ANYONE ELSE ON THE TEAM. I understand giving him some time to get in a rhythm and see where he's at but 41 minutes? You're better than that Eddie. Even with that considered it was still a strong performance for a rust game from Caron.

Darius Songaila = Struttin' (with Cold Blooded facial expression swag) Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I think Darius has really stepped it up lately. He's still not a great rebounder or defender by any means, but he's been shooting the ball better and he's managed to get more steals recently. I guess what I'm trying to say is that he's hasn't been a liability recently, and I'll take that from him.

Team Rebounding & Free Throw Shooting = Somewhere below laid back: Yes, Anderson Varejao and Ben Wallace can't do jack squat shooting wise, but if you let them grab all the rebounds then they give the guys that can score more chances to do it, and that's not good. As for the free throw shooting last night, bleah. Hopefully that's just a one game funk.

The Crowd = Numb Face: I have to say, I was impressed from what I heard from the crowd. Granted, most of it probably had to do with the polarizing effect of the Cavs fans in attendance, but if it works, it works. Best of all, no one in the crowd said anything to tick off LeBron (unlike Toronto and Portland) which always helps. Speaking of ticking off LeBron...

DeShawn Stevenson = Off the charts: Just in case you haven't seen it, here's what DeShawn had to say about LeBron:

He's overrated, and you can say I said that.

OH. SNAP.

Not only did he dis him, he told them to write it down. I don't think I've seen that happen since Shaq's infamous Sacramento Queens quote (which you can see at the start of this video). Swag like that needs a whole new category:

When you can pull off a quote that simultaneously riles up a fanbase, gets people to call you stupid, and manages to get you inducted into the DCO HOF then you've pulled off quite the trifecta. I'm not sure if he was right (especially considering that being under or overrated is extremely subjective and hard to define), or if he should have even said it. I think I'll stick with Brett Edwards' opinion on the matter:

Overrated? No, definitely not. [Ed. Note: Maybe just a little. In an overrated but still the MVP kind of way.] But there is something to be said for not being afraid to get under another player's skin as a defensive tactic, especially a player as good as LeBron. It seemed to work last night, especially in the fourth quarter. James made only one field goal, and shot just 1-5 in the period, with four of the missed shots coming off of three-point attempts. That's clearly the sign of a player who would rather not deal with his defender, so on this night, DeShawn's bravado paid off. Of course, there's always the possibility that LeBron's mind was simply on other things.

I'm sure there will be more discussion on the matter in the future, but right now the important thing right now is that the Wizards are back at .500, Gilbert should be coming back soon, and as Caron gets back into a rhythm the team should only get better from here.

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LeBron is Overrated

A debate on whether LeBron is overrated is, frankly, pretty dull. Like Jake said, it's entirely subjective on how good you think LeBron is and how good you think everyone thinks he is; and entirely meaningless, because you can be the best player ever and still be overrated. It's the kind of discussion I could only get excited about if I was drunk.

That being said, I LOVE Deshawn calling LeBron overrated. It gives me goosebumps and I'm not even close to being drunk. It's the verbal equivalent to drawing a charging foul on Lebron in the last few minutes. It's so poetic to imagine DeShawn bothering LeBron with verbal jabs after bothering him physically all game. It's the kind of statement you would expect to give LeBron one of his famous "you forgot to mow my lawn" scowls that I hate so much. It feels like revenge for the head games LeBron pulled on Gilbert at the foul line a few years ago. It even managed to create a flurry of comments in the usually quiet Wizard Insider blog from irate and petty Cleveland fans.

What it really does is help fuel a rivalry between Cleveland a Washington. A rivalry that Cleveland likes to quash with their superiority every time it starts to heat up. I would love to see a playoff battle with Cleveland, even if Washington matches up better with Orlando, just to watch this play out some more.

by Aldo on Mar 14, 2008 3:32 PM EDT 0 recs

I love the fact that he said it as well-

and that there was so much trash talk going on in the game. Caron early in the game called someone a motherf****r and I think NY was also saying some things. It just makes me feel like this Wiz team has a toughness that they haven't had before and that they aren't afraid to take on anyone. I also think it is very refreshing to hear someone say that about one of the league's biggest stars that the media endlessly hypes up. I like the fire behind it. I also like this Cleveland/Wiz rivalry too. I had forgotten about Shaq's comments about the Kings but that ended up being a phenomenal rivarly as well between the two teams for a bunch of years. I loved the corny graphics. Very apt for this team.

by ooba on Mar 14, 2008 4:10 PM EDT 0 recs

LeBron is a Wussy-boy who belongs in the D-League

OK, maybe not.

I don't think LeBron is overrated, but it's awesome to hear DeShawn get after him like that. The toughness and chippiness these Wizards show wasn't nearly as evident in years past. We're still a finesse team rather than a power squad, but we're not going to give in just because. I'd like to see the rooks, especially Laser and Pesh, adopt that kind of 'tude too.

"Now, obviously individual production does not unilaterally equal better team production, but there's a high level of causation."

by Vanilla Gorilla on Mar 14, 2008 6:00 PM EDT 0 recs

I've been the first to criticize D-Song

But I want to echo Jake - Songaila has been playing much better as of late. Even against milwaukee (where he started 3 for 10 or something) he was aggressive and feisty - thought he played well. I like his movement without the ball and his desire to take it to the hole more than he was earlier this year. For a while all he was doing was taking 19 ft jumpers with a hand in his face, but now the D can't close out on him as easily.

I don't know what prompted the change, but I would venture his improvement is all confidence-based. On a related note, Ayers and Jordan really have this team in a mode where everyone does what they are good at. There is very little (compared to previous years) of players trying to perform outside of their individual skill-sets. I think part of it is Arenas being out all year, but part of it is just the maturity of the players and the general cohesiveness of the team. I credit the coaches.

"My swag [is] phenomenal."

by Icantfeelmyface on Mar 14, 2008 11:40 PM EDT 0 recs