Welcome to the NBA, John Wall

By Ben Linton

Ladies and Gentlemen, John Wall has arrived. In only his sixth game as a professional basketball player, John Wall recorded a triple-double in a 98-91 win over the Houston Rockets last night. The rookie from Kentucky scored 19 points, had 10 rebounds, and 13 assists, not to mention 6 steals to give the Wizards their second win of the young 2010-2011 season.

With this game, Wall becomes the third youngest player of all-time to record a triple-double, just 11 days short of Lamar Odom and 45 days short of LeBron James. Wall also became the sixth player in NBA History to record a triple-double within his first six games, a list that includes Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson. These aren’t just good players, these are Hall of Famers and All-Stars.

This game really was Wall’s coming out party, and no better place to do it then at home in the Verizon Center. Wall was flawless in all aspects of his game, he could penetrate and kick it out to open three point shooters, or use his amazing speed to blow by everyone on the fast break. Now there is no doubt that Wall was the right decision as the No. 1 pick, and there will be no Kwame Brown part two in this case. This kid will be a superstar.

The Wizards may only be 2-4 this season and may not be the most competitive team at times this year, but the future looks bright. If Ted Leonsis can bring in players to compliment Wall, this team could be very dangerous and possibly make a title run within years to come. Yes, John Wall is that good.

Wizards Start Season 1-2

By Jesse Jones

The Washington Wizards began the 2010-2011 season under new leadership.  No, not a coach, but a rookie point guard by the name of John Wall.  The future of the basketball team is to be built around him, and he has many expectations to live up to.

Wall and the Wizards tipped-off the season last Thursday in Orlando against the Magic, a favorite in the Eastern conference.  The game was not a good one for the Wiz.  The team lost 112-83 thanks to a big night from Dwight Howard (23 pts, 10 rebounds) and a vintage night from Vince Carter, who went 8-12 for 18 points.  John Wall did not shoot the ball well, as he went 6-19 for only 14 points.  He did have nine assists however.  The only bright spot for the Wizards was the play of Cartier Martin, who put up 17 points in 24 minutes.

Two days later the Wizards traveled to Atlanta to face the Hawks.  The team played a much better game, but still lost 99-95.  John Wall had 28 points and 9 assists and had help from Al Thornton and Andray Blatche, who had 28 and 24 points.  However, the Wizards only had 10 bench points, all from Yi Jianlian, and allowed Joe Johnson to take over the gamein the fourth, scoring 14 of his 25 points in the quarter, and grabbing the win against the Wizards, dropping them to 0-2 on the season.

Tuesday night, the Wizards had their home opener against the 0-3 Philadelphia 76ers and the second overall pick Evan Turner.  It was a back-and-forth game that saw greatness from John Wall and Lou Williams.  Wall had his first double-double of the season, and was one steal away from a triple-double, with 29 points, 13 assists, and 9 steals.  Williams came off the bench to score 30 points.  Down by 3 with 3.1 seconds left, Wall inbounded the ball to Cartier Martin who hit a game-tying three as time expired, sending the game into overtime.  Just the like regulation, overtime was back-and-forth.  But a key play by John Wall was eventually the deciding factor in the game.  On a Andre Iguodala fastbreak which appeared would result in an easy slam to put the Sixers up by 2, John Wall came from behind and fouled/blocked Iguodala, sending him to the line.  Iguodala only hit one free throw, and thank to two free throws by Andray Blatche, the Wizards took a one point lead.  The Sixers wouldn’t be able to make get another basket, and Washington won 116-115.

The Wizards are now 1-2 on the season.  Their next game is at New York Friday night against the Knicks, followed by a home game against the Cleveland Cavaliers Saturday night.  John Wall has played very well, the rest of the team just needs to come together.  Washington is also waiting for the return of Gilbert Arenas and Josh Howard, who have both been out with injuries.

Oh yeah, if you didn’t already know, you ain’t messin’ with John Wall’s dougie:

Arenas Fakes Injury For Young, Gets Fined

By Jesse Jones

In the first preseason game in Washington for the Washington Wizards, it was reported that Gilbert Arenas would not play because of a knee injury.  In his place, Nick Young started against the Atlanta Hawks.

However, Wednesday, Arenas told the media that he does not have a knee injury, but instead he faked the injury so that Young could start.  “I told [Young] I’d sacrifice playing tonight so he can get some time in because I know he’s kind of frustrated he’s not getting a chance to crack the [small forward] position, especially since we’re going three guards,” Arenas said.  “So I told him I’ll go and fake an injury or say something’s wrong with me so you can start.”

Young took full advantage of this opportunity, as he scored 24 points on 10-14 shooting, including 4-7 from three, and 2 steals.  Along with 19 points and 7 assists from John Wall, the Wizards would win the game 107-92.

The move ultimately came with consequences for Arenas.  Head coach Flip Saunders has fined him an undisclosed amount.  Arenas still expects to play Thursday, in what would be his first game back in action in D.C.

Although Arenas lied and was fined, I don’t see this as anything major.  Arenas put the team first, which people have always wanted him to do, and by doing this, allowed Nick Young to show what he can do and after his performance last night, Young’s confidence has had to have risen.

And let’s not forget, this is a preseason game, it doesn’t mean much.

New Look Gilbert

By Jesse Jones

Don’t expect the fun-loving, always playing around personality from Gilbert Arenas this year.  Expect a new look, new number, and new personality from Arenas.

On media day, the Arenas showed up with a beard, switched his jersey to number 9, and had the facial expression that lacked the comical personality most of us have become used to.  When asked why he had no smile throughout the session, Arenas said that he only wants to smile on the court.

Apparently not everybody believed this response, so when he was asked whether he was happy or not, Arenas responded, “I’m very happy.  In the past, I used to show happiness on the outside. There’s no need to do that anymore. Now I can just play the game the right way and play with my passion, and that’s really the focus.”

Head coach Flip Saunders said that Arenas is more focused and serious now, and that showed as he was the first one to pass Saunder’s conditioning test.

Arenas’ media session was cut short, so to find out what his beard was all about, reporters turned to Nick Young.  Young said the beard is a bet between the two, and his part of the bet is to grow an afro.

Yes, the Wizards are in a rebuilding mode, and with the new superstars on the Heat, and the Magic still being a championship contender, don’t expect anything great this season from the team.  But there is a lot of optimism surrounding the team this year, and the playoffs are a reachable goal.  Gilbert Arenas seems to know this, and is changing the way he approaches the game.

Arenas Not To Talk About Guns, Wizards Get New Unis

By Jesse Jones

Gilbert Arenas met with NBA Commissioner David Stern Tuesday to discuss Arenas’ standings with the league and his future.

Stern told Arenas he is in good standings after all the heavy prices he has had to pay, and that he is excited that Arenas is back.  But that was not the only thing Stern had to say.  Stern told Arenas not to mention anything about his gun scandal last season to the media.  “I said, ‘You know what Gilbert, I just want to tell you, I’m delighted to have you back, you’ve paid a heavy price, but you’re in good standing and, as far as I’m concerned, you should be talking only about the future and not about the past. And if anyone asks you why, you can say the commissioner told you,’ “ Stern told Arenas.

You can’t blame him for not wanting the past brought up can you?

In other news, the Washington Wizards will be changing their colors, and possibly their logo.  The team is under the new ownership of Ted Leonsis, who also owns the Captials.  So it should not be a surprise that the team is switching it’s colors back to the red, white and blue of the Bullets days.  The change will take place in the 2011-2012 season.  A name change has not been reported yet, even though there has been widespread calling to go back to the Bullets or get away from the Wizards, but a change in colors and uniforms is one step closer.

Wizards Schedule Released

By Jesse Jones

The National Basketball Association announced the league schedule the other night, so here is a quick glance at the Washington Wizards’ schedule.

• The team opens the season in Orlando against the Magic Thursday, October 28 at 8 PM.  This will be John Wall’s debut.
• The home opener is Tuesday, November 2 at 7 PM against the 76ers.  John Wall will face off against the second overall pick Evan Turner.
• November 6 Cleveland visits, marking the first time Antawn Jamison comes back.
• They first play Miami Monday, November 29 in Miami at 7:30 PM.
• February 26 the Mavs come to town (Caron, Haywood, and Stevenson’s first time back).
• The team plays 21 back-to-backs, and 11 of their last 17 games of the year are on the road.
• The Wizards have 8 nationally televised games, 5 of them being on NBA TV, with the rest on TNT (Oct. 28 @ Orlando, Nov. 25 @ ATL) and one on ESPN (Jan. 21 vs Phoenix).
• The holiday games include: Thanksgiving @ ATL, New Years Eve @ Indiana, New Years Day vs New Orleans, and MLK Day vs Utah.
• The longest road trip is 5 games from March 22-28, as they play Portland, the Clippers, Denver, Golden State, and Utah.
• Washington has two 4-game homestands.

Other interesting points on the schedule are Nov. 19 when Greivis Vasquez comes to town, and January 25 when Denver travels to DC (there has been rumored interest in Carmelo Anthony for this upcoming offseason).  The Lakers, Celtics, and Thunder only play in DC once each.

For the full schedule, just click here.

Wizards Decide To Keep Howard

By Jesse Jones

There was a lot of speculation as to whether or not the Washington Wizards would keep small forward Josh Howard to a one-year contract.  They decided to keep him.

The move makes sense, as Howard is a proven player in the league and can definitely help the Wizards, but he comes with some questions.  Howard is coming off of a knee injury that can potentially keep him out for the beginning of the season, despite talk that he is ahead of schedule and will be back by October.  Howard does not have the cleanest slate either.

But Howard’s game cannot be put aside.  He has averaged 15.3 points and 6 rebounds throughout his career, including three games with the Wizards last season.  He is also 78% from the free throw line in his career.

By keeping Howard, the Wizards starting line up should look something like this:

1. John Wall
2. Gilbert Arenas
3. Josh Howard/Al Thornton
4. Andray Blatche
5. JaVale McGee

Kirk Heinrich, Trevor Booker, and Nick Young are not bad bench players either.

Overall, keeping Josh Howard is a big plus for the city of Washington.

Wall Is Most Outstanding Player

By Jesse Jones

John Wall has been named the Las Vegas’ Most Outstanding Player. Wall led all players with 23.5 points and 7.8 assists in the four games he played in. He had two double-doubles, and scored a huge 18 points in the third quarter against the Hornets that gave the Wizards a one-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. His leadership was felt immediately, and his quickness and athleticism stunned the crowds.

Congrats John Wall. Keep the hype coming.

Wizards Split Last Two Of Summer League

By Jesse Jones

Friday night the Washington Wizards were looking to improve to 4-0 in the NBA Summer League against the New Orleans Hornets.  And what a wild game it was.  After being down 13 at the half, John Wall had an insane quarter, scoring 18 of his 31 points (Game Changer!) to help bring the Wiz back into the game.  The fourth quarter was a nail-biter, and it came down to the final shot.  With 2.2 seconds left, Craig Brackens hit a three to put the Hornets up 89-88.  But then, Lester Hudson hit the game-winning bucket that gave the Wizards the 90-89 win.  Wall finished the game with 31 points, 3 assists, and 3 steals.  JaVale McGee finished with 29 points and 8 rebounds.  Check out the last seconds of the game:

The following afternoon the Wizards were trying to keep all the momentum from the buzzer-beater win, and go for a perfect 5-0 record against the New York Knicks. However, the team would have to do it without John Wall and JaVale McGee, the two best players so far for the team. The game was a thriller, and had to go into overtime. In the end, the Knicks won the game 109-107 behind Leo Lyons’ 21 points. The Wizards had very solid performances from multiple people. Cartier Martin scored 24 points, Lester Hudson scored 19 points and had 9 assists, Kevin Palmer had 21 points, and Trevor Booker had 15 points and 7 rebounds.

Overall, the Washington Wizards 2010 NBA Summer League campaign was a huge success.  The team finished with a record of 4-1, saw great things from John Wall and JaVale McGee, and saw very good things from players competing for roster spots, such as Cartier Martin.

The excitement around the team is growing, and there is definitely much promise in the young talent.  Now the hard part will come, as Flip Saunders determines who to keep, and who to cut.

Wizards Win Third Consecutive Game

By Jesse Jones

The Washington Wizards truly looked like wizards on the court in the first quarter of last night’s 88-82 win over the Dallas Mavericks. The team got off to incredible start, as they grabbed a 15-0 lead early, and never looked back. The Mavs came close to taking the lead a few times, but they could not dig themselves out of an 18-point hole.

The Wizards were led by, who else, John Wall. Wall got his second straight double-double, scoring 21 points (13-15 from the line), and dished 10 assists. He was three rebounds away from getting a triple-double, with 7. JaVale McGee also came up big, scoring 18 points, and Cartier Martin, who played in 8 games for the Wiz last season after being called up from the D-League, was the top scorer of the night for the team, scoring 23 points total, and 15 in the first half. He also went 5-5 from three, and 8-10 from the line.

The Wizards are now 3-0 in the NBA Summer League, and will look for fourth straight win tonight against the New Orleans Hornets.