Great season, folks

by Pradamaster on May 2, 2008 9:46 PM EDT in Recaps

As the game wound down, the blowout clearly in hand, I was keenly listening to see what kind of ovation these starters received. This game hadn't gone well, and this series was about to end in bitter disappointment, but I wondered anyway whether this crowd would have the entire season in mind.

Because really, this might have been my favorite Wizards team to follow. When I think of the 2007-2008 Wizards, the only word that comes to mind is resiliency. Before the season even started, Etan Thomas went out with a serious heart ailment. Five games into the season, we were already calling for everyone's head. Eight games into the year, its best player went out for virtually the entire season. In the middle of the season, when it had finally found a formula for success, it's new star went out for 24 games. Then, at the end of the season, faced with a difficult schedule and the prospect of having to reincorporate everyone, it still pushed hard to the postseason, taking head on the challenge of facing the team that always beats them.

There's plenty of time to focus on the negative. Whether it's the failed trash talking, the lack of mental stability in this series, or the fact that they rolled over in tonight's clincher, that's going to dominate the discussion for the next couple months. And it should, no doubt.

But I have a confession to make. There were times this season where blogging was the last thing I wanted to do. I wondered if my heart was in it anymore, every time our team suffered yet another setback. The Arenas injury, the Butler one, and the long losing streak in the middle of the year were examples of when I had those moments. I had so many other things going on, so I kept wondering if something needed to give. Worse yet, I wasn't looking forward to this offseason, when everyone and their mothers would ask me about every single rumor out there.

Yet every time, this team reeled me back in. They refused to quit. They kept soaring all the way back to their playoff perch. And this community reeled me back in. BF has grown incredibly this year, and it's been so great to be able to discuss this team with so many regulars. You have all made this place so great, and that enough has been worth this incredible ride this season.

This offseason is going to be incredibly murky, and this is probably the worst image of the season, but even so, Wizards fans were on their feet when everyone checked out of the game. Right now, I feel the same way. It's been a great ride, and this team deserves a lot of props for even being where it ended this season.

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Great blog, good season

Thanks, Prada and Jake for a great blog. Its been loads of fun having the Bullets Forever community to share the season with. Really enhanced the experience. Disappointing game. Like you, there were times where I gave up on the team only to have them pull a stunner. Beating Dallas on the road right after Gil went out. Then to beat Boston that second consecutive game in Boston. Their 6-3 record following 20 point losses shows the heart that the team had. Kudos to Brendan Haywood and Roger Mason for being 2 of the most improved players in the league. I love the professionalism that Antonio Daniels brings to the game and hope to see him coach in the NBA one day. Caron and Antawn were great this year. Loved the young guys, MacGuire, Young, Pesh, and Blache. They were tons of fun. And I want to give a big shout out to Deshaun Stevenson. I’m probably one of the few who is glad that he had the stones to stand up to Lebron James. He played tough all year and really helped the team throughout. Sorry this has been so long, but even though I’m disappointed by another loss Cleveland, I’ve really enjoyed watching the team this year.

by hotplate on May 2, 2008 10:32 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs

hope this is in the right place

Sorry, not sure what I’m doing here. I’ve read this blog for a while now, and this is my first post. I was at all 3 home games, and this one was just heartbreaking. The fact that we lost this game at the Verizon Center is just mindbogglnig. As I am sitting here typing, I’m having trouble putting my feelings into words. It’s like a nightmare that I soon hope to wake up from. I sat in my seat for a good 15 minutes after the final buzzer sounded, really not knowing how to react. I followed this team all season, and the same drive I saw earlier in the year jst wasn’t there. I apologize once more, but this is possibly the only place that I will get some comfort out of writing to. I didn’t know where else to turn. I’ll post more in the future but for now all I can say (and as much as it pains me because I hate everything that is pro-Boston) is go Celtics. I dont’ want to see the Cavs advance any further.

by #9Section433RowJSeat1 on May 2, 2008 11:02 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs

This is certainly the right place

And I totally understand your thoughts. If I had been there, I imagine they’d mirror yours.

Welcome to the community.

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Pradamaster on May 2, 2008 11:24 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

Now We Know

Like Prada, this season seemed like it was going to rip my heart out every other game. I looked forward to this season more than any other, especially since I found this blog over the offseason. The analysis here was (and is) excellent, drawing me further into each and every Wizards game. That made every heartbreaking loss even tougher to take, since I actually felt like part of this team.

Yet, strangely enough, I wasn’t heartbroken after this game. It was actually quite enlightening. Like everyone else here, I really thought the Wizards were the better team coming into this series. I sincerely felt that if the Wizards didn’t win this, it would be a huge let-down akin to the Patriots performance in this year’s Super Bowl. I know some people, like the new member who posted before me, feel this way now. But I no longer feel this way.

Tonight’s game was relatively free from distractions. Yes, the Wizards were missing Songaila due to a suspension that everyone here agrees was petty. But I really don’t think it mattered in this game. Nor do I believe the Wizards blew this game because of Gilbert Arenas, who didn’t do anything crazy leading up to tip-off (you know, like try and tell Eddie he changed his mind and wants to start). Gilbert didn’t even blog before this game. Nothing he did had any affect. The Wizards also didn’t blow this game because of DeShawn Stevenson, who has been silent (AFAIK) since Game 4 and played hard. They didn’t blow it because of bad refereeing, they didn’t blow it because of bad luck, and they didn’t blow it because of poor leadership (Antawn and Caron really stepped up after Game 5). I honestly believe they didn’t blow anything; the Cleveland Cavaliers showed that they were clearly the better team.

So now we all know. This team, as currently constructed, just isn’t good enough to compete for a championship. They were outcoached, outplayed, and outmuscled for pretty much this entire series. I think I failed to see this before because of all the aforementioned distractions. But Game 6 was a crystal clear for me. Give the Cleveland Cavaliers the credit they deserve.

So now the ball is in Ernie Grunfeld’s court. He pretty much stood pat last offseason; I won’t be satisfied if he does so again. Gilbert might opt out. If he does, I don’t think Ernie should offer him max money. Ernie can build around Caron, who has the skills to be a franchise player and is willing to step up and be a leader. I wouldn’t mind seeing Antawn come back, but he’s about to turn 32 and doesn’t play good enough defense to warrant another 16 million a year contract. But this team definitely needs more help in the low-post. Simply waiting for Etan to get healthy won’t cut it. This team needs at least one big name addition to be a true contender; I wouldn’t mind seeing two or three.

This team also needs a new head coach. Eddie has done a respectable job, but respectable isn’t good enough. The fact that the Wizards were consistently outcoached by a man whose team’s fans think should be fired for poor coaching should be a real eye-opener. If only the Wizards were so blessed to have such “poor” coaching. Mike Brown completely shut a team with two legitimate All-Stars down offensively. Our coach can’t even shut the Knicks down offensively. Mike Brown took a team with one great player and several role players all the way to the NBA Finals. Our coach has only once gotten out of the first round, even when he had 3 All-Star caliber players healthy (2006). There are going to be a few big name coaches available this offseason, I really think Ernie should go get one.

My final thought is that the Wizards did have a remarkably good season. These guys overcame a lot of adversity and really gave its fans something to cheer for. But now it’s time to take the next step.

"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 May 3, 2008 12:02 AM EDT reply reply 1 recs

yea...but

i know there are a lot of positive things to say about the season, but lets not forget that EVERYONE, us and the national media, expected us to win this series. while fighting through all the injuries and disappointments during the regular season was nice, we cant deny that the playoffs were a disappointment. the game 5 win was amazing, but to me, it was offset by such a lousy performance in an elimination game AT HOME.

this is going to be a huge offseason. jamison and gilbert will be free agents (assuming he does in fact opt out). im not quite sure exactly where i stand as far as making major changes to the team, but right now im not so sure its a bad idea. as cuppettcj pointed out, this team is never going to contend for a title as currently put together. would it be such a bad thing to let jamison, arenas and jordan go and build around butler, our young guys and a new coach, avery johnson perhaps?

by joshp on May 3, 2008 6:28 AM EDT reply reply 0 recs

Like I said

We have the next three months to do that. Can’t we just remember the season that was for one day?

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Pradamaster on May 3, 2008 11:01 AM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

this is the best wizards blog, definitely

don’t think about shuttin down. I thoroughly enjoyed this all year. Thanks for workin hard at it, keep it up

by DC Pain on May 3, 2008 5:22 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs

We're definitely not shutting down, don't you worry

Offseason is one of our busiest times, because there’s so much to discuss. We’ll see you all there.

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Pradamaster on May 3, 2008 5:26 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

i was at the game

a lot of people were really disheartened, but i cheered to the end. i thought the team showed a lot of guts this year, and as vanilla gorilla already said, the game 5 win kind of summed up the whole year: the wiz battled adversity and gutted out a huge win. going down 4-1 to the cavs without winning a close one would have been much more devastating than losing 4-2 and actually having a series. i definitely think it matters for something. an all or nothing mentality is too severe to me.

also, getting the 5 seed in the playoffs was a pretty darn good year all things considered. they didn’t seem to have it game 6, but unlike dupree, kornheiser, and wilbon on FCP just now, i don’t think that makes the team a bunch of losers. on the whole, i’m pretty proud of the team this year and i enjoyed watching them and being a fan.

like cuppett, i also thought this loss clearly demonstrated that cleveland is a better team than the wiz right now. i had this wrong. would gil have put them over the edge? i’m not sure. it just seems like cleveland is much more efficient. they get lots of open looks, putbacks, and inside buckets, whereas it just seems the wizards have to work harder.

that also seems like a theme to me: the wizards had to overcome odds to win games. while i love the team for it, at some point it might be better to have a team that doesn’t need to overcome some kind of inherent disadvantage to win games. i’m not exactly sure what the disadvantage is, but it seems to be there. hopefully EG knows. hopefully there can be some discussion during the offseason to try to put our finger on what this is.

(after all, it’d be fun, and that’s the point.)

thank you prada, jake, and truth for the site and the content. i enjoyed it a great deal.

by DarrellWalkerFan on May 3, 2008 7:45 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs