Last Saturday, Russ, his brother, a co-worker of mine, and myself went to see the Clippers battle the Wizards at the Phone Booth in DC. It was fun. Blake Griffin put up 26 in the first half and then rested on his laurels as his team looked drastically better than the Wizards. John Wall was fast. He got to the hoop often and quickly, but most of my attention was focused on how a promotional video of Wizards players singing The Supremes' "Baby Love" epitomized the state of their woeful franchise--they didn't know the words or the artist.
I wrote about it over at The Faster Times, but I felt that article left something out and it's the real difference between the likes of JaVale McGee/Andray Blatche and their young counterparts on the Clippers, Blake Griffin/Deandre Jordan. McGee and Blatch are tanks run amuck. They disregard history and tradition at all costs. Hell, McGee would rather play with multiple balls and multiple baskets. But the Clippers big men, as strange as it seems, are more reigned in than the Wizards big men. Think of them as mighty stallions harnessed to a stagecoach, which gives them their purpose. Think of McGee and Blatche as Neanderthals: They are dead ends with no higher calling. And the missing link is a man many of us have forgotten about this season, but a fossil of him was discovered Saturday night, in DC:
At first it was difficult to discern if the creature was indeed homo sapien kaman erectus, but a study of previous sightings confirmed that the confusion was merely him shedding his winter coat:
Some quick snippets from the Heat/Wizards game I attended last Saturday:
1) If I had been in a coma for the first two months of the season and I awoke to this game as my first viewing of the Wizards, then my first question would be, "When did Nick Young become the Wizards best player?". Obviously John Wall was not playing, but for who was on the floor, Nick Young was the most impressive and was carrying the Wizards offense through most of this game. Young has mastered the art of the fadaway jumper, and when he can consistently hit that jumper like he was on Saturday, he becomes unguardable. The Heat were crowding him, daring him to drive, but Young's quickness and height on the jumper made the defense obsolete. Fun to watch.
2) This leads to my second question after awaking from this coma, "Is Nick Young being the best player a good or bad thing for the Wizards?" I texted some friends after the game (including Teach) and everybody's response went from "not sold" to "Who is Nick Young?". Obviously Nick Young has improved significantly and can score in bunches, but after playing 46 minutes against the Heat, this was the rest of the stat line: 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, no blocks. This is the question for Nick Young. Can he be more than just the literal term of shooting guard? Instead of being a great scorer, can he become a great player? Can he be a Rip Hamilton instead of a JR Smith? So to answer my second question, "it depends". These last 60 games will answer this question. If the Wizards are smart, which I believe they are now with the track record Ted Leonsis has with the Capitals, they will give him the minutes with Gilbert Arenas now gone to see if he is in the future plans. I believe in Nick Young, and I'm getting on the small bandwagon now before it gets too full.
3) I think JaVale McGee is a lost cause until he learns how to play basketball. But he gets paid to play in the best professional league in the world, that doesn't happen if you don't how to play. It does if besides Blake Griffin you are the most athletic power forward in the league. I saw two plays that just epitomize JaVale McGee in this game.
A 2-on-1 fastbreak, instead of making the simple pass to Nick Young for the easy two, he tries to pull this off. People were talking about this five minutes after it happened. I never laughed so hard at a live sporting event.
Play two, with no YouTube unfortunately, was when he grabs a defensive rebound, panics while being pressured with the ball, and just throws the ball into the backcourt to no one particular. Heat grab it and make a quick three.
The guy has all the physical tools a person of his size can be given, but he will never be confused with the Big Fundamental. I just worry that its too late in his career to suddenly develop this talent, a talent that should be acquired in high school and college. McGee can produce highlights on a nightly basis, but you can't win with him on a nightly basis as he is currently constituted. I am much more skeptical of McGee going forward than Nick Young.
4) I am tired of Flip Saunders. Having Kirk Hinrich create the offense down the stretch instead of running plays for Nick Young was abysmal. He is the next on my list to go after Gilbert Arenas.
5) As for the Heat, they were sluggish which was expected being the second game in a back to back. They didn't win this game as much the Wizards gave it away in the last 40 seconds. They have found their stride and will win 55 games, but I don't see a long playoff run with Bosh, Ilguaskas, and Dampier playing major minutes inside.
