Maryland: It seems like Jamison is pretty fed up and disgusted with some of the younger players....

Maryland: It seems like Jamison is pretty fed up and disgusted with some of the younger players. My question for you is, does Caron seem to share his feelings?

Ivan Carter: I wouldn't characterize it as fed up and disgusted. Just more like an older brother who thinks the young fellas need a good whoopin' every now and then. Caron feels very much the same way but doesn't vocalize it to us nearly as much. He's more likely to use humor. Before one game for instance, JaVale McGee was sitting and his locker and Butler said to him: "Hey JaVale, the weight room is down there around the corner. That's what Dwight Howard is doing right now. He loves those weights." Caron does that kind of thing.

Some interesting perspective from Ivan Carter on the whole vets vs. young guys thing in his latest chat. This is the kind of stuff that I'll miss when Ivan leaves.

almost 3 years ago Jake Whitacre 6 comments 1 recs |

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I found this comment interesting in the chat

Can you shed some insight into the Wizards’ thinking on players logging heavy minutes? Obviously, the fact that 32 1/2 year old Antawn Jamison is leading the league in minutes for one of the worst teams in the league is eye-catching. But it is consistent with this team’s philosophy — they give their top players heavier minutes than any other team in the league.

In the past four seasons, the Wizards’ top two players in minutes have ranked no lower than 12th in the league in minutes per game:

08-09: 5th and 8th (Jamison, Butler)

07-08: 4th and 12th (Butler, Jamison)

06-07: 7th and 10th (Arenas, Butler; Jamison was 18th)

05-06: 3rd and 9th (Arenas, Jamison)

There are 30 teams in the league, so on average each team should have one player in the top 30 of minutes played per game, and two in the top 60. In the four seasons listed above, only once did another team have a twosome that played more minutes per game than the Wizards’ top twosome (in 06-07, Kobe and Lamar Odom ranked 4th and 9th, respectively). So clearly the Wizards’ thinking on this issue is very different than the norm in the league.

Personally, I understand the strategy to make the young guys earn their minutes, but there’s no doubt they need to trim down the minutes from Jamison, Butler and hopefully eventually Arenas.

by Johnnie Futbol on Mar 17, 2009 5:48 PM EDT reply actions

Yeah, that was a great question

I like players who want to play big minutes too. It just doesn’t make as much sense this season.

Krem's Sports Blog

by Matt K. on Mar 17, 2009 9:08 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah

Players like Tony Parker (34 mpg), Tim Duncan (35 mpg), and Yao Ming (33 mpg) probably want to play 48 minutes a night too…. but they have a Head Coach that knows that a well rested All-Star plays better than one that is run down and beat up by playing 39 minutes a night…

Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......

by Rook6980 on Mar 17, 2009 10:15 PM EDT up reply actions