No Wizards fans can eat turkey legs without a guilty conscience

by Jake Whitacre on Nov 21, 2007 11:20 PM EST in Silly Stuff

The news about Gilbert's knee is pretty hard to swallow but you know what, it isn't the end of the world. With Thanksgiving tomorrow, now is a good time to stop and think about what the Wizards (and their fans) have to be thankful for (We'll all get to find out what turkey tastes like as vomit! Kidding.):

First and foremost, that doctors found out about Etan Thomas' heart condition before it became more serious.
We can moan and groan all day about losing the franchise player, but at least we have a franchise player to lose. How many times have Wizards fans been able to say that in the last 25 years?
With that said, the Wizards are no better equipped to survive his loss than right now.
Even without Gilbert, this is easily one of the most entertaining teams to follow in any sport.
Down to ten (and possibly nine depending Brendan's status over the next few days) we might possibly hear the words "Abe Pollin goes over the luxury tax."
Nick Young can fly.
Dominic McGuire got his first block tonight!
Brendan Haywood is this close to have the final permanently affixed to his first name.
This injury gives Gilbert more time to blog, which isn't the worst thing in the world.
Gilbert can still win the SportsHuman of the Year award. If a three-legged horse could win this year, a one-legged player/blogger can surely take the award this year!

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great effort last night

It was a great effort last night but I don't think the team can play on that "high alert" level for too long. The Texas trip next week has trouble written all over it. Following Golden State at home on Friday night, we've got Memphis, Dallas, San Antonio, and Philadelphia on the road. I think is will say good things about the team if they can win the first and last games of the trip.

Hypothetical question of the day: The Knicks buy out Stephon Marbury's contract (like they did Jalen Rose), would you sign him for the veteran's minimum to fill in until Gil comes back?

I say no but still think its kind of intriguing.

by hotplate on Nov 22, 2007 10:15 AM EST reply actions

OMFG NONONO Marbury

It'll be interesting to see what the team does about the tax situation. Gil's injury hurts the team's ball-handling perhaps worse than any other area. Watching Roger Mason try to deal with Charlotte's press last night was downright painful. Daniels is our ONLY reliable ball-handler. It's sad. Butler is probably #2.

But god help us all if we get Marbury. He's a team-killing cancer, pure and simple, and nothing more. Seriously, I don't think he could win in the NBDL. Fortunately, Ernie's too smart for that. We'll see if he's smart enough to come up with a way to deal with the loss of Gil.

I was extremely impressed with Blatche last night. He wasn't on fire like the night before, but he rebounded very well and blocked shots like crazy. Don't try to bring any weak shit in on Dray. Had some assists and some steals too. Just an all-around game-changing stat-stuffer. It's funny, because he's an entirely different player than Gil, but Blatche may be the guy most essential to the Wizards' survival without Arenas. And if he establishes himself as a force in Gil's absence, look out when our best scorer comes back.

Given Blatche's emergence, he really does need a nickname, and as has been discussed, Bulletproof is more of a painful reminder of an unfortunate incident. Allow me to re-submit "The Tarantula" -- a deadly predator with long limbs who strikes fear in opponents. Plus, when he starts rejecting dudes, it must seem like he's got 8 arms.

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

by Vanilla Gorilla on Nov 22, 2007 11:03 AM EST reply actions

HINDSIGHT IS 20/20

But how much would JCN help with Arenas out for 3 months... the thought crossed my mind when Gil missed the game against Philly and when the news came out yesterday, I had just finished reading JCNs name on a list of impressive rookies (which included NY)

Just say no to Marbury. We are good enough to hover close to .500 without Gil.

07-08 Reg Season Stndgs(predicted 8/6/07) 1 Chi 52-30 2 Was 51-31 3 Cle 50-32 4 Bos/Det 48-34 6 Tor/Mia 47-35 8 NJ 42-40 9 NY/Orl 41-41

by kdp922 on Nov 22, 2007 11:56 AM EST reply actions

Good response

See, thats the type of response I was fishing for. You're right, seeing Stephenson and Mason against the press was painful. I think we need to pick up someone who can handle the ball to back up AD . Probably the rest of the guys can cover most of the scoring loss, but like you said, AD is the only guy who's a good ball handler.
Whats really impressing me is about Blatche is his willingness to take the easy, efficient shot inside instead of something splashier. Several times in the last couple of games, he's grabbed a loose ball or rebound and simply flipped it in the basket using a very quick release (ala Jamison). His game just seems to have a high maturity level for someone so young.
In addition to a backup point guard, I'd love to have Calvin Booth back as 12th man (no kidding). Brendan's ankle injury scares me and there are going to be games where both Blatche and Haywood have foul trouble.

by hotplate on Nov 22, 2007 12:01 PM EST reply actions

Two good points

First, unless another guard goes down for a lengthy stretch, I don't see us signing anyone for more than a 10-day (and really, how worthwhile would a ball-handling guard on a 10-day be?). From a business standpoint, only the most extreme circumstances could force a tax-averse team into tax territory. It's just too big a difference from getting several million dollars back from the taxpayers to giving up several million instead. Even going over the tax by a penny essentially costs a team millions. The situation sort of handcuffs Ernie and Eddie, but unless it starts absolutely killing the team on the court, I don't see Abe Pollin taking the cuffs off.

Second, the situation at center is muddied further by Eddie's penchant to play Songaila there. I really like him as a backup 4 who has very good shooting and passing skills and knows how to play the game, but defensively, he's way to small and unathletic on the boards and in the post, and opponents drive to the basket with impunity, because he's no threat whatsoever to block a shot. The difference between him and Blatche or Haywood at the 5 is gigantic.

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

by Vanilla Gorilla on Nov 23, 2007 11:55 AM EST up reply actions