Today after practice, Brendan Haywood cracked everybody up with a response. Putting on a sorrowful expression and speaking in a high pitched, whining tone, Haywood said: "Ooooh, they're trying to hurt me!"
Going back to his natural voice he added: "He wears 23, he wants to be Michael Jordan. I can respect that, he's a great player. But you saw what Mike when through. Mike got fouled way worse than this. No one's trying to hurt him. Everyone's trying to play basketball and trying to be tough. Play basketball and leave it alone. He's trying to hurt me! [whining tone again] C'mon.
Sorry for going FanShot heavy today. We'll make it up to you in the coming days.
almost 4 years ago
Mike Prada
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Getting buckets since 2003.
by Icantfeelmyface on Apr 28, 2008 8:00 PM EDT reply actions
LeBron started it
This is what I hate. It’s okay for LeBron to say something ridiculous, but it’s not okay for Brendan to respond? Talk about a double standard.
Winning and losing has nothing to do with it.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
All I hear is
“Mommy…..he started it.”
I haven’t heard LeBron mocking anyone yet….especially players who are better than him. And if you want to play the “he started it” game, it’s safe to say Stevenson and Arenas “started” it well before this series started.
Anyway, not that I really care. The Cavaliers struggle with focus and motivation, and the Wizards can’t help themselves and keep running their mouths and giving the Cavs motivation, and I’m thankful for that. If Cleveland can close out this series and has to play Boston, I’m more worried about motivation because Boston is a classy team that doesn’t need to resort to cheap shots and asinine public comments. You won’t hear anyone on the Celtics call LeBron overrated….I can promise you that. And you won’t hear the Boston fans chanting it, either.
Wow
First you concede that Lebron started it, and mock Prada for bringing it up.
Then you say LeBron has never mocked anyone. And if he has, they were worse than him. And if he did, the Wizards started it.
Then you say you don’t care!
You win, dude.
Actually
I conceded that Stevenson and Arenas started it. Not LeBron. And, I’m not mocking Prada in any way. I have nothing against Prada or this site. It’s the Wizards players (Stevenson in particular) that I think are kind of dumb for running their mouths nonstop.
and you dismiss trash talking
by coming on the wiz site and talking trash… hmmm. why does this seem familiar to me?
by DarrellWalkerFan on Apr 29, 2008 8:45 AM EDT up reply actions
I'm not talking trash
I didn’t say the Cavs were going to win this series. I said “IF” they win. I didn’t call the Wizards overrated. My only reason for posting a comment here was because I was surprised that even now, with their backs against the wall, the Wizards still can’t bit their tongue. I find that surprising, and I do think its indicative of some of the problems they have winning in the playoffs.
I find that surprising too
But really it’s only stevenson, and again, that seems more personal than anything to do with basketball.
by five by five on Apr 29, 2008 10:11 AM EDT up reply actions
Agreed
It’s definitely personal now between Stevenson and LeBron, although I don’t really know why. Was there something between the 2 of them before DeShawn’s “overrated” comment? Does it all go back to Drew Gooden somehow? I can’t say with 100% certainty on either one of those questions. But as Wizards fans, don’t you kind of wish the team would have cooled it a bit with all the talking before the series? I am NOT saying LeBron is even close to Michael Jordan, but I do remember when the Cavs would make comments about MJ and it would always make me sick to my stomach a bit. Like, why give they guy even more motivation to beat you, you know?
I do wish deshawn had cooled it
but i understand b/c again it’s about more than basketball with him and lebron.
The word from stevenson is that lebron made insulting comments about deshawn (personally and bball wise) and about the wizards to gooden. Which is where the overrated and trash talking comments from our game back in march.
by five by five on Apr 29, 2008 11:21 AM EDT up reply actions
Yeah
But LeBron claims that he never said anything about Stevenson to Gooden. So who knows who’s telling the truth. My guess is that none of us will ever truly know everything that’s between these two guys.
I wish Stevenson had kept his complaints in private
Only because it makes him look like an absolute tool, and I don’t like rooting for tools.
I don’t think it’s done much to affect the actual basketball being played.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
easy now
obviously there’s something personal between deshawn and lebron. It’s a shame that deshawn let it spill out into the media because it only makes him (and our team) look like idiots. The problem is the media has picked up on it and run with it dragging the entire team into the idiocy. Gil’s comments on his blog weren’t trash talking and taken away from the stevenson comments i don’t think they would have been seen as such.
As for the fans chanting overrated, it was funny. I was at the games. Everyone there knows lebron is not overrated, we’re just having fun. People in d.c. genuinely find the whole thing entertaining (hey, the hibachi taught us that we watch the NBA to be entertained). I bet a lot of your fellow cavs fans feel the same way, in fact it’s probably a lot funnier when you’re winning. So I’m not sure about why you’ve come here with such a negative attitude and slamming the bloggers here.
by five by five on Apr 29, 2008 8:45 AM EDT up reply actions
Again
Not slamming bloggers. I’ve been reading this site all series and I enjoy it more than any other DC sports blog (no pun intended). My comment was directed at the Wizards players.
As for things being funny, and being entertained….I dunno, most Cavs fans just want the team to win a Championship while LeBron is still in Cleveland. We don’t care so much about dumb chants or being entertained. We just want to win while we still have a chance.
This isn't about Stevenson or Arenas
It’s about LeBron’s comments that the Wizards are deliberately trying to hurt him, and Haywood’s response. What, would you suggest the Wizards just let him spew bs like that? Haywood’s merely responding to what LeBron said. If you’re going to chastise Haywood, equal justice also means you should chastise LeBron for making the ridiculous claim that the Wizards want to hurt him.
My point is, both sides are guilty, yet only one side (the Wizards) gets criticism. It’s unfortunate that we have to further glorify the winner and demean the loser.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Fair enough
My only question then is, how many flagrant fouls need to be commited on LeBron before he makes a valid point that the Wizards are perhaps trying to hurt him? I’m not sure I believe that the Wizards are truly trying to injure him….I find that a bit ludicrous. But have they been excessively physical? Perhaps.
But Haywood’s mocking tone he takes in this isn’t going to help matters for the Wizards at all, and that was all I was trying to say, I guess.
note that YOU took a mocking tone in your first two comments
which didn’t help your cause. i do appreciate your later posts though, which were clearly meant to cool things off.
the wizards may not have conveyed their points in the classiest of ways, but everything they’ve said through the media has been merited in my opinion. and the cavs, damon jones in particular, are trying to throw things in the wizards face JUST AS MUCH.
the major problem with the wizards in all of this is that they’ve been playing like crap on the court and, hence, look like chumps.
if someone can definitively prove that their approach to this series related to their anger, their taking things personally, and their talking is causing them to play like losers, then i’ll concede the point. but i don’t think that’s the case. particularly with haywood. he’s been talking all series and he’s playing the best ball of his career.
too bad the rest of the team isn’t showing up along with him.
by DarrellWalkerFan on Apr 29, 2008 12:23 PM EDT up reply actions
A couple things
First of all, I guess that’s the problem with written word vs spoken word. You might have taken my comments as mocking, but that wasn’t my intent.
Secondly, as far as Damon Jones is concerned, most Cavs fans think he’s a bit of an idiot, too. I don’t see why DJ needs to be making waves when he’s doing nothing but riding the bench.
Finally, this is where we have to agree to disagree….I personally do think that the negative hype and anger coming from the Wizards locker room has affected their play on the court. It seems to me like they’re more focused on trying to be physical and prove how tough they are, when that’s not their game. I think they would have been better served to keep quiet, let the Cavs wallow in their low energy game, and focuse on their own offensive efficiency.
those are fair points
i acknowledge the wizards are being somewhat low-class about all this. but i can see where they are coming from so i won’t begrudge them too much about it.
on the other hand, i really can’t defend lebron’s off the court talking or actions in this series. he really comes off looking just as low-class as stevenson, IMHO.
i guess the only thing you can say for him is that it definitely doesn’t appear to be taking away from his game on the court.
by DarrellWalkerFan on Apr 29, 2008 1:08 PM EDT up reply actions
There have been two flagrant fouls
One on Haywood in Game 2, and one on Stevenson in Game 4. There was also the alleged “standing over” incident in Game 1, but I think that’s more open to interpretation. We should be able to agree, however, that Haywood wasn’t trying to injure LeBron on that play.
That doesn’t seem like enough to justify a viewpoint that the Wizards are trying to hurt him. It’s all part of the defensive strategy. Cut off LeBron’s penetration, and when he does get to the rim, don’t let him get two points. It’s not about hurting him, it’s about tough playoff basketball.
Read Windhorst’s ESPN column about the new LeBron rules. The Wizards’ strategy is not to hurt LeBron, it’s to prevent him from dunking a million times in their face.
I personally don’t think Haywood’s comments are going to do anything, and I don’t really think anyone’s comments have done anything. The Wizards are losing because Cleveland has played better. Their role players have really stepped up, and LeBron is playing really under control. They aren’t losing because they ran their mouths. They made the playoffs with so many injuries using the same exact style. Cleveland has just been in all areas of the game itself. Saying that trash-talking makes a major difference is finding an easy answer instead of looking deeper.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Well, here's what we can agree on
You’ve followed the Wizards more than I have, and I’ve followed the Cavaliers more than you have. I’m just telling you, the Cavs played lethargic and disinterested basketball all year. Furthermore, some of LeBron’s best games this season came when he was irritated by either an opponent or someone in the opposing crowd. For better or worse, that’s just kind of the way LeBron plays. And there’s no doubt in my mind that the Wizards’ trash talking is partly responsible for the improved play of the Cavs so far in the playoffs.
As for the injuries, again, I don’t think the Wizards are trying to HURT LeBron, but I do think they are trying way too hard to be a physical and tough team, and that’s not their style. I think it’s negatively affecting their performance.
I'll agree with the second point
Though I don’t think the connection between that and the trash talking is clear enough to definitively say their strategy would be different if they kept quiet.
I’ll somewhat concede to the first point, I suppose. I find it hard to believe that, even as lethargic as LeBron sometimes looks, he wouldn’t display a greater sense of urgency if the Wizards kept quiet. This is the playoffs, after all. He’s going to come out with a vengeance no matter what, otherwise, he’s not nearly the player he’s made out to be. If that’s not the case, I’ll concede it, because you know more about LeBron than I do.
Additionally, you know more about Cleveland’s game, but here’s the way I see things:
I think Cleveland’s a bad matchup for Washington because Cleveland is so physical on the frontline, and Washington can be so thin up there. Rebounding was my biggest concern before the series, as was the physicality of Cleveland’s bigs. I figured we could mitigate that with our quickness, but Cleveland’s perimeter defense has been way better than I expected. That’s been the difference to me. Not that “LeBron is ticked off,” but that Cleveland has really stepped up their perimeter D in this series. Washington’s D really hasn’t been that bad, except for Game 2, but Cleveland’s defense, which struggled all year, is back to its 2007 level.
That’s where I see the difference. LeBron hasn’t been superhuman in this series, but he’s been good enough. Cleveland’s offense has struggled mightily at times in this series, but Cleveland’s D is so good that it doesn’t matter.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Well
We’ll never know how differently the Cavs or LeBron would have played had the Wizards kept quiet. You have your theories, I have mine. I’ve enjoyed the discussion, though. We could probably keep this going back and forth for months, so I’ll just end by saying good luck, and I truly think this series is far from over. I remember the Cavs potential series clinching Game 5 at home last year against the Nets (I remember so well because I was there) when the Cavs laid a complete egg and got embarrassed at home. I know how poorly Cleveland is capable of playing, and I think you guys have a better chance in this series still than you might think. I’m not gonna say I think Cleveland will lose the series, because I don’t. But I’m not counting any chickens yet. So, good luck.
Not gonna lie...
all his quotes on LeBron are kind of making me love Brendan.
Washington Wizards Playoffs 2008: "We're Bushing it."
by Gilbert4SpaceJam2 on Apr 28, 2008 9:13 PM EDT reply actions
I'll ditto that
He’s gone up about a million places in my estimation this season.
"Now, obviously individual production does not unilaterally equal better team production, but there's a high level of causation."
by Vanilla Gorilla on Apr 29, 2008 9:20 AM EDT up reply actions
In addition
All of Brendan’s comments have been said in a tongue in cheek fashion. At least that’s how they read as I haven’t actually seen them on video. Seems like he’s defusing the tension with some humor. But nothing I’ve seen indicates that Lebron or Mike Brown have a sense of humor.
Stevenson, on the other hand, seems genuinely pissed. But it wasn’t a closed fist and he did make a play on the ball. Nowhere near as bad as the great Jason Kidd’s foul.
DC
I thought this whole thing was silly until I heard that Lebron hosted a party in our city and mocked our team along with Damon Jones…first classless thing Lebron has done thus far…apparently Caron and his wife walked out before the situation got too tense…who the hell is Damon Jones? at least Deshawn gets playing time and was a lead scorer for one game…not that he’s been very smart either…
This whole thing has gotten outta hand, and that’s DEFINITELY more on the Wizards’ shoulders than the Cavs…Just play ball…both teams…
Interesting take
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider/2008/04/jayz_joins_the_lebrondeshawn_f.html
I have not seen anyone mention that LeBron “hosted” the party or that LeBron did anything to mock the Wizards. The only person who was on the mic, from what I’ve read, was Damon Jones. Where did you hear that LeBron was involved?
“That’s right, in the wee hours of Friday night at Love, the Northeast club which hosted Gilbert Arenas’ million-dollar 25th birthday party last year, the deejay played a new cut by Jay-Z. The hip-hop icon actually cut it Friday and had it downloaded for a party hosted by LeBron James at the club that night. Stevenson was told that the lyrics just eviscerated him—in his own town.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/26/AR2008042602240.html?hpid=topnews
I don’t think LeBron did get on the mic. That same article also says: “For his part, LeBron admits he’s called Stevenson’s game into question but said he’s never gotten personal, adding, “I don’t know DeShawn.”“
I respect your candor RockKing and points on your team
I wish Deshawn would have shut up but I agree with Prada that it has had nothing to do with the play on the court. If the Wizards could have made one or 2 three pointers at the end of game 1 and prevented a few Oboards or 3 point makes in game 4, this series is 3-1, Wiz.
Of course that is irrelevant because they did not, and the media has ran with all of this Deshawn/Lebron crap.
I watched Brendan’s interview this morning and thought it was funny. ESPN.com puts it on its 2nd story which it was not even close to being important. The media loves this garbage. I thought this Deshawn/Bron beef had to do with one of Deshawn’s ex girls.
Oh, I will be pissed if Lebron does not bring his A game to this summer’s Oylmpics and needs something else to motivate him other than bringing back the gold to the US.
What? They don't have TV in the D-League? Don't watch me, watch TV.
I think you're right -
from what i understood it really started over something LeBron said about DS and one of his girls. The “Lebron trashed our team and my skills” line was basically the media story…. Jay-z obviously references this with the line “hate only gonna make him spend the night with a chick you’ve been datin.”
Sorry i dont have the link but i’m sure if you hunt around on the Sports Bog or something you can find it. BTW, i didnt know that DS had dated TWO Destiny’s Child members!
Getting buckets since 2003.
by Icantfeelmyface on Apr 29, 2008 11:35 PM EDT up reply actions
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