Airing of Grievances

by JakeTheSnake on Dec 23, 2008 12:23 PM EST in The clubhouse Comment 9 comments

I know I've already touched on this subject, but with today being Festivus, it seemed like a good time to discuss some things that I've got problems with.

The East isnt that much better this season. Really, it isn't: Most of the talk over the off-season was about how this would be the year that the East finally started to narrow the gap with the West and in a way, it has. Boston, Cleveland, and Orlando give the conference it's best 1-2-3 punch since 1998 but once you get past that trio, there's not a lot left to talk about.

4. Atlanta - One of the few teams in the East to live up to the hype this year.

5. Detroit - A team hovering right above .500 that''s debating whether or not their superstar guard is helping or hurting their team. Doesn't this sound a lot like the team that was the East's #5 seed last year?

6. Miami - The return of a healthy D-Wade, Shawn Marion, and Michael Beasley has brought the team back to respectability and the playoff hunt. They're also currently one game over .500 despite having the easiest schedule so far this season.

7. Chicago - A solid team that's survived a tough schedule to this point, unless Derrick Rose hits the rookie wall with a thud, they should be able to maintain this spot and more than likely move up a spot or two.

8. New Jersey - Like Miami, they've benefited from getting healthy and getting contributions from their younger players. Also like Miami, they've played one of the easiest schedules in the league so far.

I think we'll hear from Milwaukee before this is all done and maybe Philadelphia if Brand gets healthy soon and the team can get into some sort of rhythm, they could still make a run but more or less, we're seeing the same story with the East that we saw last year. There are three teams that are head and shoulders above everyone else, one team that will finish with 45-50 wins, a group of about six teams that will fight for the final four playoff spots in the East though they wouldn't finish any higher than 10th if they were in the West, and then there's five teams range from mediocre to painfully bad. The teams that fill those roles have changed from last year, but the conference is more or less just as strong (or weak) as it was last year.

Pick on someone your own size: This is probably going to come off as sour grapes, but how is this the dunk of the night?

I give Marreese bonus points for actually dunking on the defender (with authority!) as opposed to around him, but it's not like he was throwing it down on someone that had a chance of blocking him. When you're six inches taller than the player that you're trying to throw it down on, you better be able to dunk it, or else you'll end up on the wrong kind of highlight reel. Let's save the Dunk of the Night for Feats of Strength.

Tinsel: I find it distracting.

We don't show Darius Songaila enough respect: You might have heard that Darius was Wake Forest's honorary captain at Saturday's Eagle Bank Bowl at RFK.

(Ned Dishman/NBAE/Getty Images)

Now keep in mind that at game time, when this photo was taken, it was 38 degrees with the wind chill around 30 degrees and Darius Songaila is wearing a collared shirt. That takes some toughness, people. The army officer wasn't even tough enough to go without a jacket out there. While I'm sure that Darius would gladly accept a coat as a gift for Christmas, he'll probably just end up re-gifting it because he has no need for your silly winter gear.

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One Bone to Pick

Now keep in mind that at game time, when this photo was taken, it was 38 degrees with the wind chill around 30 degrees and Darius Songaila is wearing a collared shirt. That takes some toughness, people. The army officer wasn’t even tough enough to go without a jacket out there.

Having been in the military (enlisted Air Force), I can tell you that what the officer is wearing in this picture over his t-shirt is not an optional part of his uniform while in public. He is required to wear his BDU jacket, especially since he is representing his armed service at a public event. That said, Darius Songaila is still one bad-ass MOFU.

"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier

by cuppettcj on Dec 23, 2008 12:33 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Very true

But even if he wasn’t required to wear his jacket, Songaila probably would’ve forced him to wear it. That’s just Darius being Darius.

Bullets Forever: A blog dedicated to the Washington Wizards with analysis, commentary, and more YouTube videos than your eyes can handle.

by JakeTheSnake on Dec 23, 2008 2:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The East

Yea, the two teams that most expected to make vast improvements, Philly and Toronto, aren’t doing much at all.

Hey, we’re only 8 games out the playoffs…yay!!

Representing DC with Wizards & Stuff - Truth About It Dot Net

by Truth About It on Dec 23, 2008 12:35 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

They drove my family out of Bayside!

Three of these are Wizards-related, one’s general>

The Wizards coaching situation: First it was Eddie Jordan burying the young guys for no good reason in order to play Etan 10 disastrous minutes or watch Juan Dixon shoot his way out of the game, but be on the court long enough to keep shooting. Now Tapscott has been really uninspiring. Look, I realize that the team is in a holding pattern until Arenas and/or Haywood returns, but teams who have fired their coaches like Sacramento and OKC have put in solid, even promising assistants who don’t look completely lost. Other than Blatche’s improvement and more playing time for Taser, though, there hasn’t been a whole lot to recommend Tapscott. He leaves guys out on the floor for way too long, and his rotations are more reactive than proactive. The fact that Stevenson had to be the one to take himself out of the lineup (or that that’s the story and no one’s questioning it too much) speaks volumes.

Wizards coverage: I respect the guys covering the team, but the overall quality of the stories written this year has been really, really poor. Who asks a coach if they have a doghouse? No coach is going to admit that. And stop complaining about Andray Blatche. DeShawn missing 18 of 20 shots in a game is a slump but suddenly Blatche going 5-8 in a quarter is a problem? Give me a break. I know I’ve only been using examples from Ivan, but across the board there hasn’t been much worth reading about the team.

Nick Young: Speaking of that lineup change, the starting spot should’ve been yours. The TNT crew should be talking about Monumental Air right now. I know some of that’s not your fault (getting sat down for most of the second half a few games ago after going off in the first), but when you’re on the floor you need to take control of the game. Jamison and Butler are practically begging for you to come through. You’re getting outperformed by Mike James right now. Mike James! No offense to him, but that should never happen. Hopefully you take getting passed over for the starting nod to heart and start killing things. And don’t worry about who you hurt in the process; most fans won’t, either.

The 2010 situation: Please, stop talking about it. Stop asking players about it. Stop writing about how everyone is writing about it. Worry about it next December and instead enjoy how many amazing performances we’re getting this year.

by Jon L on Dec 23, 2008 1:45 PM EST reply actions 0 recs