I’m just going to skim over the obvious Washington Wizards bullet points and save the majority of capitalonian focus for the most intriguing player in the NBA.
John Wall’s good and going to get much, much better. Hopefully all those summer games don’t sap his legs for the ultra 66-game grind.
We all know they should still be the Bullets.
The MJ era was awkward, but at least introduced us to a world where his Airness is far from infallible. At some point, we had to expect it and the Washington experience was just the first step toward mortality.
Jordan Crawford on Jordan Crawford, “I don’t tell nobody, but I feel like I can be better than Michael Jordan.”
Now that the boring shit’s out the way, let’s dissect JaVaaaaaaale McGeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…
In the eyes of his peers, JaVale holds a unique place:
Ron Artest on JaVale:
“He potentially could be a really good player. I think he got to go to school a little bit more. He’s got to work on that IQ a little bit. He got to watch more tape. I don’t think he watches tape. I think he plays video games. I do. I don’t think he watches tape. I think he plays video games and I think he could possibly have an Atari. He should upgrade to a Play Station.”
Kenyon Martin on McGee:
“He’s shooting the ball like he’s Kareem. I know I’m not good, but I’m not calling for the ball.”
Lamar Odomsharing his thoughts after playing with JaVale at team USA try-outs in 2010:
“He’s not here by accident or mistake. He’s one of the most athletic players I’ve ever seen in my life…He’s 7-1, got like a David Robinson build, springs off the floor real quick, goes over the rim. If he can just get his feel for the game together, he can have an impact on a team. Because the game is called basketball, not run and jump.”
While the National Run & Jump Association has a certain ring to it, Lamar’s right. McGee’s physical talents make him one of the most captivating players in a league made up of world-class athletes and part of the reason I decided to dedicate 90% of this Wizards preview to him alone.
The director of USA Basketball, Jerry Colangelo, saw him up close during those same try-outs and added this:
“He’s very raw, he’s very young, he’s a real babe in terms of game experience and he has a real future. So that’s really how we left it with him: Keep working on your game and you may get a call sooner rather than later. You don’t know. We’re playing that by ear.
With the exception of K-Mart getting after him a bit, there’s a trend of inconsistency and lack of focus here and anyone who was willing to sit through the madcap Wizards’ antics last year knows exactly what I’m talking about. I can’t even fathom the trials and tribulations Wizards coach Flip Saunders goes through on a nightly basis:
“The cinnamon thing, that thing doesn’t cut it.”
And of McGee’s misplaced inclinations to take a defensive rebound and push the ball the length of the court?
“We’re going to eliminate his full-court dribbling, that’s what we are going to do. We’re going to eliminate or he’s going to be sitting with (reporters) at the press table for a while. Because I’ve watched that on film and that’s not good.”
Even his teammate, the 21-year-old prodigy John Wall, can see the potential impact McGee’s shenanigans have on the team:
“I don’t know what they (McGee and Nick Young) got going on. They got their own little stories, and their own little movies and they rap sometimes during the season. Basically, as long as they’re being serious and doing the right things and not playing around when its game time or when we’re having a meeting or on the road, anything like that, that’s all I can really focus on.”
McGee’s in a precarious situation in Washington. Like most youngsters, he could benefit greatly from the presence of a few veterans and some stability. Instead, he’s surrounded by other young’ns like Wall, Andray Blatche, Crawford and Young—he’s not that young by NBA standards, but still acts a fool from time to time. In the midst of that prankster-loving environment, McGee’s improved his game in each of his three seasons. His points, rebounds, blocks, field goal percentage, minutes played, games played, PER and offensive and defensive win shares all reached career highs last year. Just beyond the desperate cries for consistency from all corners of the NBA globe is the truth; JaVale’s rapidly improving and he’s only 23.
It’s a lot easier to get excited about a guy before he arrives. It’s the reason people have been flipping their shit about Anthony Randolph since he left LSU and the cause for Rubio mania. If we get a glimpse of that shining star potential, we’re hungry and imaginative about a cosmos full of possibilities and all the while the kids we pin these hopes on are just that … kids; still growing, still developing, still becoming. Some make it, some don’t and then some do this:
Deep in the heart of the south, in a place marked by crisscrossing highways and oppressive heat; an NBA franchise and its fans live in dull, apathetic pain. The strange ownership saga that began back in 2005 when the Atlanta Spirit group purchased the team is finally over, but the 2011 team, like its predecessors dating back to the Dominique Wilkins days seem destined to forever be a potential playoff spoiler and nothing more. Where Nique’s Hawks were at least entertaining, this bunch has become plodding and predictable (they ranked 27th out of 30 teams in pace last year).
The Hawks’ current path can be traced back to July 8th, 2010 when they made the decision to re-sign a then 29-year-old Joe Johnson to a six-year, $119million deal that will wind up paying him just under $25million in 2016, when he’s 35. This is the same Joe Johnson who’s made just one All NBA team (and it was an All NBA Third team) in his ten-year career. The same Joe Johnson who completed the 2010-11 season with his least productive numbers since 2006 and he’s going to be eating up nearly half of Atlanta’s cap space for the foreseeable future.
Then there’s Al Horford, Josh Smith and Jeff Teague who provide at least a glimmer beyond the dull glow of an annual second round playoff defeat. I’m trying to find something to get excited about with this team, but I’ve seen them play, there’s just not much to look forward to. At least last year Jamal Crawford had the imagination to occasionally captivate the audience. Now there’s just Jeff Teague; a 23-year-old point guard entering his third year enveloped in hopeful curiosity after his performance as a fill-in for the injured Kirk Hinrich in the playoffs. Teague could be what the Hawks have previously resisted (I won’t revisit the painful details of the 2005 draft): a pace-pushing starting point guard. The eight-game audition last spring isn’t enough to start pulling back flips and actually buying tickets to Hawks’ games, but at least it’s a departure from what’s become routine from Joe, Horford and Josh Smith (stop shooting those threes!).
With $65million committed to just nine players they have under contract, don’t expect many recognizable free agents heading to Atlanta. And since they had just one pick in the 2011 draft (Keith Benson from Oakland University), we’ll see the same crew they trotted out last year—minus Crawford and with Teague seeing more of a featured role early in the season while Hinrich recovers from shoulder surgery.
It’s not all bad though. With Boston’s big three getting older and losing some of that bark (looking at you, KG) and Orlando being distracted by new trade rumors every day, there’s an opportunity for the Hawks to be the third best team in the conference. It seems like the front office is content in that three-to-five range where they’re guaranteed to make the playoffs and, so their logic seems, at least have a chance to win it all. I blame these low expectations directly on the 2008 playoffs when the upstart eight-seed Hawks captivated the basketball world by taking the eventual champion Celtics to seven games in the first round. It was at that time that someone in Atlanta’s front office came to the conclusion that the underdog can win in the NBA and the teams they’ve built over the past three seasons have reflected that flawed rationale.
I’m sure the good marketing people in Atlanta are cooking up some compelling reasons to support the Hawks, but until this team redesigns its aesthetic and commitment to winning, I’d be hard pressed to spend money watching this them and based on last year’s attendance numbers, the residents of the Peach State agree.
Dancing With Noah 