Get Your Popcorn Ready

by Jake Whitacre on Apr 14, 2008 8:01 PM EDT in Silly Stuff

(Scroll down for the game thread. It's not a long journey. -Jake)

Regardless of what happens tonight, stay tuned for the postgame. There could be some notable quotables:

DeShawn Stevenson is going to play tonight despite a painful lower back but that's nothing new. He also said that he's serious about getting Soulja Boy a courtside seat for games against Cleveland at Verizon Center in the first round. And, he said he's serious about putting Soulja Boy in one of his game jerseys.

"Oh, he's going to be there, watch," Stevenson said though he said it with a smirk that made it hard for me to tell if he was serious. I guess we'll have to wait and see. He also said that he'll have some "good stuff" for us after the game. My read: he's going to call LeBron James out some more.

This whole DeShawn-LeBron thing is slowly turning into Napoleon Dynamite: It's incredibly stupid, but you can't help but watch and be entertained by it.

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Yeah....

I dont know about all of this, im really not down with pissing of lebron james, until the cavs made that trade i was with the belief that he was King James, hes looked human since then but i think deshawn and gilbert are taking this too far.

by Wooz on Apr 15, 2008 12:09 AM EDT reply actions

LeBron Hasn't Responded Well to Being Called Out

I read a commentary on the whole DeShawn/LeBron escapade linked to from this site that basically compared LeBron James to Michael Jordan and DeShawn Stevenson to John Starks. The problem I have with that analogy is that Jordan wouldn't have played poorly after being called out by John Starks, not even for one game.

LeBron, on the other hand, looked clearly rattled by DeShawn the last time the Wizards and Cavaliers met. With DeShawn constantly jawing into LeBron's ear, James missed two very easy layups, only shot 9 for 22 from the field, and missed 6 of his 7 3-point attempts, including the game-winner. If that's the way LeBron James responds to trash talk, then I say talk away, DeShawn.

Plus, I like the fact that DeShawn Stevenson is drawing attention to himself. I think it would be awesome if Stevenson took the floor against the Cavs with his 3 All-Star teammates, but DeShawn got all of the attention on defense. That may be exactly what DeShawn wants. I love it.

"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 Apr 15, 2008 7:57 AM EDT reply actions

God I Hate LeBron!

This is what I love about making the playoffs four straight years. Nothing allows you to work up a rightous hate of an opposing player that facing them over and over like this. F King James. He is a punk-ass bitch! F his stupid crown and throne and his silly diamond grille. His ass is GOING DOWN BABEEE!!!Oh yeah and F big Z, too. Sorry, much better now. Hope their flaming scoreboard explodes.

I knew Manute Bol, and you sir are no Manute Bol!

by houserocker on Apr 15, 2008 11:26 AM EDT reply actions

Kinda like what DeShawn is doing

Of course, I also kinda liked Napoleon Dynamite. Best. Dance Scene. Ever.

If Lebron blows up and scores 40 ppg against the Wizards, then Deshawn gets noted in the history books as a cautionary tale about messing with the king. Okay, fine. If he averages merely superstar-esque numbers (say 27, 5, and 5) though, and particularly if his team loses the series, then Deshawn Stevenson becomes known as the Bruce Bowen of the east.

There's gotta be something unsatisfying about being known as the best defender on a poor defensive squad. And as Prada has pointed out before, there's only so much a guard can do on defense without Tim Duncan or KG lurking behind him.

This is now going to be the one eastern conference playoff series that gets much national media attention. I think the wizards are in a great position to win it, with Mason and Deshawn shooting better three balls than Pavlovic and Szerbiak, Brendan traditionally pwning big Z, and me being unable to even remember who Cleveland is using as a PG these days. Cleveland's second option is Z and their third option appears to be Joe Smith. The Wiz can win this, Deshawn has just made it a must-watch series, and that could maybe get the team some street cred on the national scene.

We'll have to see how it all works out, but like the dance scene in Napoleon Dynamite, when you start watching it you're like "oh God, really?" but then as it keeps going, it just seems more and more brilliant. Anybody else hungry for tots all of a sudden?

by sierradave on Apr 15, 2008 11:43 AM EDT reply actions

Mixed feelings -

I'm really enjoying the calling out. Its entertaining and ballsy. But I also think you should let your play speak for itself. The one thing it does is gets me all fired up. I'm ready to go toe to toe with some Cleveland fans. I absolutely hate Cleveland and Lebron's whining and getting all of the calls. This is going to be one intense series.

by ooba on Apr 15, 2008 2:30 PM EDT reply actions

Keep up the good work D-Steez

I greatly appreciate all the ridiculous antics surrounding this "Rivalry" these days. Deshawn, has bitten the bullet and gone out on quite a limb to try to take down "The King" (A title that makes me want to puke on myself).

I think this team needs a little dirt under it's fingernails, so to speak. A lot of our guys come across as the quiet good-guy type, which makes them difficult to hate. Personally, I have trouble understanding why anybody would dislike any of them - with the exception of Deshawn, Gilbert, and maybe Brendan (cause he kind of looks like a prick). So for Deshawn to make things a little more interesting - while it may bring out more in our opponents - it also allows us to get into their heads a little more.

Getting into the heads of a weak team like Cleveland could be incredibly valuable in a 7 game series. If nothing else, it will make an already exciting first round even more entertaining.

by T Really on Apr 15, 2008 2:37 PM EDT reply actions

LOVE it

LeTravel took over a few games this season when fans ragged on him, but he didn't seem to respond the same way when DeShawn got in his ear in the last game. No matter how LeTravel responds, I think the whole thing adds spice to the series and brings some attitude to what's a generally pretty understated team personality for the Wiz.

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

by Vanilla Gorilla on Apr 15, 2008 4:18 PM EDT reply actions

i'm primed

i think we get through cleveland this year. i think the wiz are ready. it'd definitely be sweet to win a series against them. i'm looking forward to the wiz showing their continually improving moxy to the nation.

by DarrellWalkerFan on Apr 15, 2008 5:47 PM EDT reply actions