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Felton's fadeaway allows Bobcats to edge Wizards
by Mike Prada on Feb 9, 2010 9:27 PM EST
in Recaps
14 comments
They hit their tough shot at the end. We didn't. Oh well. Gotta credit them for battling down the stretch.
Personally, I'm ready for the all-star break, and I'm a fan. I'm guessing the players are really ready for the break.
14 comments | 0 recs
Washington Wizards vs. Charlotte Bobcats: Regular Season Game 50 Open Thread
by Mike Prada on Feb 9, 2010 6:37 PM EST
in Game Threads
246 comments
The Essentials:
Wizards (17-32) vs. Bobcats (24-25)
7 p.m.
Time Warner Cable Arena
TV: CSN
Radio: 106.7 The Fan
Notable Bobcats numbers this season
12th in expected winning percentage (.533)
27th in pace (90.7 possessions per game)
24th in offensive efficiency/offensive rating (103.8 points/100 possessions)
5th in defensive efficiency/defensive rating (102.9 points allowed/100 possessions)
Pre-game links
Rufus on Fire, SB Nation's Bobcats Blog
Queen City Hoops
Rufus on Fire game preview
GameDay Charlotte
| Tonight's Projected Starters | ||
|---|---|---|
| Wizards | vs. | Bobcats |
| Randy Foye | PG | Raymond Felton |
| Mike Miller | SG | Stephen Jackson |
| Caron Butler | SF | Gerald Wallace |
| Antawn Jamison | PF | Boris Diaw |
| Brendan Haywood | C | Nazr Mohammad |
Charlotte is a great defensive team and a terrible, yet pesky offensive team. In other words, they win by out-efforting you. Those types of teams tend to beat the Wizards every time. Throw in the fact that the WIzards haven't been home because of the snow and the fact that it's the last game before the all-star break -- which, trust me, the Wizards, more than ever, need because of all they've gone through -- and there's major letdown game potential tonight.
Then again, Charlotte just lost to a Chris Paul-less New Orleans team on Saturday, so they're kind of limping to the break as well.
Tyson Chandler's coming back for Charlotte, though I doubt he starts. Nazr Mohammad's doing just fine, and John Hollinger, for one, has him on his all-underrated storylines team (wait, that sentence made no sense). There's also a rumor going around that Charlotte's closing in on a trade that would send D.J. Augustin to Boston for Glen Davis, which makes sense because Boston needs a point guard and Charlotte needs a power forward. Finally, Gerald Wallace is in the dunk contest. That's what you need to know about Charlotte.
GO WIZARDS!
246 comments | 0 recs
How aggressively the Wizards look to unload contracts as they try to pick up the pieces from Gilbert Arenas’ suspension depends on how a fundamental internal disagreement is resolved. Some elements of the Wizards’ power structure favor "completely blowing it up," according to one source, while others are holding out for a more patient approach.
Ken Berger. I know, I know, another trade deadline rumor, but this is the first rumor I've read indicating there's internal disagreement on the direction of the franchise.
This week's SB Nation Power Rankings
Where I make a crack about Caron Butler breaking the play at the end of the Orlando game, among other things.
Michael Lee: Antawn Jamison fined for missing practice
At least there's equal justice.
The NBA will soon announce the re-scheduled date on Saturday's ATL-WASH game. It will now be played Thursday, March 11 at 7 pm.
Arthur Triche's, Atlanta's head PR man.
UPDATE: As NBA.com John Schumann points out, this means the Wizards are playing three straight nights, which is kind of BS.
1 day ago
Mike Prada
6 comments
0 recs
Why the Wizards can afford to wait on trading Caron Butler
by Mike Prada on Feb 8, 2010 1:29 PM EST
in Rumors
19 comments
There are several reasons for wanting to move Caron Butler ASAP, even before Antawn Jamison. Unlike Jamison, Butler has been a really poor fit for Flip Saunders' offense and hasn't really tried hard enough to fit in. Unlike Jamison, Butler is often playing like he wants to be elsewhere. Unlike Jamison, Butler has been consistently unproductive this season. Unlike Jamison, Butler has been on a clear downward trend since his career year in 2008. Unlike with Jamison, there have been clear complaints about Butler's attitude behind the scenes (though we do need to consider the source of said complaints).
All these reasons make sense in a vacuum. But this isn't a vacuum. This is 2010, and drastic financial changes are on the way. The NBA landscape after 2011 will look very different than it does right now. Contracts will be much smaller and likely much shorter. Cap exceptions could be a thing of the past. Guys with long-term deals past 2011 that are properly paid now could be dramatically overpaid in the future.
For a rebuilding team like the Wizards, this means cutting out all contracts past 2011 to preserve cap flexibility when the dust settles should be paramount. So why is it that the Wizards are demanding more than cap relief for their contract past 2011, while sounding like they'll settle for luxury tax relief for the player whose contract expires before the new CBA?
Yeah, I don't get it either
19 comments | 1 recs
The Wizards' desire to move Butler has only increased in recent days, since they found out they will indeed get some cap relief from the NBA this season after losing Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton to suspension for the rest of the season. Washington's cap number will be reduced almost $4 million, according to sources -- pro-rated amounts of the remainder of Arenas's $16.1 million and Crittenton's $1.47 million salaries -- taking its cap number to a little more than $74 million. The cap threshhold is $69.9 million, meaning Washington could avoid paying tax if it can pare another $4 to $5 million in salaries off its books.
That means Butler, though I suspect the Wizards will ask inquiring teams to remove Mike James and/or DeShawn Stevenson from their payroll as well.
Butler winding up somewhere in Texas is most likely, with Washington probably deciding between Dallas' and Houston's competing offers before next week's All-Star Game. The Wizards are determined to get a young player back, though, and the Mavericks' only non-geezer is rookie guard Rod Beaubois -- while Houston has a young guard like Kyle Lowry and an expiring big man contract in forward Luis Scola to pair with McGrady's $22 million expiring deal.
David Aldridge. He also says Portland is interested in Butler and that the Wizards aren't looking to move Jamison and Haywood right now.
I'll have more later on why moving Butler before Jamison is a misguided strategy.
1 day ago
Mike Prada
5 comments
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Next 5 Games
Denver
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Fri 02/19 | 7:00 PM EST |
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@
Toronto
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Sat 02/20 | 7:00 PM EST |
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Chicago
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Mon 02/22 | 7:00 PM EST |
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Memphis
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Wed 02/24 | 7:00 PM EST |
Last 5 Games
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Charlotte
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Tue 02/09 | L 92 - 94 |
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Atlanta
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Sat 02/06 | 7:00 PM EST |
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Orlando
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Fri 02/05 | W 92 - 91 |
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New York
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Wed 02/03 | L 85 - 107 |
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Boston
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Mon 02/01 | L 88 - 99 |
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