Keys to the Palace: Say hello to the face of the franchise

by Jake Whitacre on Mar 1, 2010 2:02 PM EST in Keys To The Palace

Just about everything except the uniforms have changed since the last edition of Keys to the Palace. Almost everyone on the team is new or adjusting to new roles, which makes it harder to evaluate players until they adjust. That's why Keys to the Palace was waived last week, since there just wasn't enough time to make fair judgments. Now that the new crew has more time under their belts, we can return to doling out keys, guest passes, and locks based on each player's performance.

Andray Blatche

If you haven't realized Andray Blatche is the top option for the Wizards, odds are you stopped paying attention right after you heard Antawn Jamison was headed to Cleveland, or more likely, right after you heard Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton had a little disagreement. If you haven't been paying attention, you should really consider tuning back in and watch 7 Day Dray at work. Sure, he still has his moments of goofiness, but Andray has been producing at astronomical levels since the roster shake up two weeks ago.

Earl Boykins

You don't normally see an early season free agent signing become a team captain, but you don't normally see a lot of things that have happened this year happen. Earning the title of captain hasn't done much to change Boykins' role with the team. His playing time fluctuated between 10-20 minutes all week and his numbers have stayed consistent with his season averages. I guess part of leadership is staying consistent even as your job title changes, right?

Randy Foye

Unlike most of the team, Foye did not see an immediate up-tick in his production after the roster revamp, but he came back to form this week. 16.5 points and 7 assists per game during the week sounds about right for Foye. The Newark native also buried two baseline jumpers in the final minute to beat New Jersey which gives him just enough to earn his way back into the palace.

Mike Harris

If you go to Mike's page on SB Nation, it lists his career potential as "Energy Forward". Isn't that what people said about Michael Ruffin?

Grade: Incomplete

Shaun Livingston

I'm giving Livingston an incomplete grade since he's only played seven minutes with Washington. But if we're being honest with ourselves, couldn't we give Livingston an incomplete grade for his entire career? The guy just can't catch a break.

Grade: Incomplete

JaVale McGee

According to HoopData, only three players have a higher block percentage than JaVale McGee. Considering all three of those players (including the legendary Paul Davis) racked those percentages up in extremely limited minutes, you can make a pretty compelling argument that McGee is the best shot blocker in the NBA this season. Once he learns how to defend in other ways than flat-out rejection, we could have a stud on our hands.

Mike Miller

If Mike Miller can keep his averages the same for the rest of the season, he would become only the 3rd player in NBA history average 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 three-point attempt per game while shooting over 50% from beyond the arc. The other two players? Detlef Schrempf and Michael Jordan.

Fabricio Oberto

Oberto wasn't someone I thought would see his production go up after the All-Star break, but he has come through with better play. He didn't turn into Darius Songaila overnight or anything, but he's gotten back to providing that steady veteran presence off the bench.

Quinton Ross

When people talk about Qunton's struggles on offense, normally they're talking about his scoring woes (career average of 4.4 points per game, but he's not helping his cause by not getting assists either. He has one assist in his 95 minutes of playing time as a Wizard.

(Yes, this was probably harsh, but I had to give a lock to someone, right?)

James Singleton

James isn't the first Wizard to play college ball at Murray State. Popeye Jones also played for the Racers in his college days. Popeye Jones may have better career numbers, but he never got a cool nickname like Big Game James. Advantage: Singleton.

Al Thornton

Thornton has a PER of 18.6 since arriving in Washington. The only Wizards who have posted higher PERs this season in Washington are: Paul Davis, Mike Harris, Josh Howard, and Gilbert Arenas. Hooray for small sample sizes!

Nick Young

While Andray Blatche has made the most of his opportunity to shine, the same can't be said for Nick Young. His effort against Memphis went largely unnoticed by the coaching staff, but he struggled in the other three games this week. He needed 11 shots to score 9 points in those games and only added 2 assists and 1 rebound.

Flip Saunders

It would easy to understand if Flip just let the team go after stats, since most of the players are facing contract years and he's in no danger of being fired, but he is maximizing the effort out of a team that's lacking the talent and chemistry of most of their opponents.

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Comments

Mae.jude@yahoo.com

what ! you give nick young a lock you no nothin bout basketball lyin snake !

Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. LOL.

"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 Mar 1, 2010 2:08 PM EST reply actions

beat me to it

though you used a little punctuation, so I don’t know if it counts!

by sierradave on Mar 1, 2010 2:26 PM EST up reply actions

To Be Fair

He usually throws in a punctuation mark every now and then, although I can’t remember if he’s ever actually used an exclamation point. His writing style makes me think he’s always ranting, which is why I added them.

"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 Mar 1, 2010 2:41 PM EST up reply actions

Ever think of entering the Hemingway competition, cupp

Blatche works hard. He earns his way with honest sweat. It wasn’t always this way. Now it is.

by khrabb on Mar 1, 2010 5:01 PM EST up reply actions

So Am I the Opposite of Mae.Jude?

I must really hate Nick Young, if that’s the case.

"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 Mar 1, 2010 9:18 PM EST up reply actions

shutup

flip keep sayin nick young gotta play harder but its the same as antawn and caron when they was here either way they gonna make shots and yall is sad

by Young Hovey on Mar 1, 2010 9:37 PM EST up reply actions

Did Mae.Jude make a new account?

by Oldbuckwilder on Mar 1, 2010 9:54 PM EST up reply actions

I think he was

riffing.

Its always Roger Mason (Jr.) time!

by Sean Fagan on Mar 1, 2010 10:36 PM EST up reply actions

I leave for a few days on vacation

and you guys bring in someone with perhaps the most insightful commentary on the board? And an avatar that has Mario smoking weed?

that makes me so angry that i feel like a buttercup bout to bloom up that face with a monster nick young game that you dont know what you are talkin

Its always Roger Mason (Jr.) time!

by Sean Fagan on Mar 1, 2010 3:24 PM EST up reply actions 3 recs

.....aaaand rec'd

"how ironic - you came here with a mouse in a bottle, now YOU are the mouse in the bottle" - B.M. Smith

by little stevie colter on Mar 1, 2010 3:28 PM EST up reply actions

LOL!

i scrolled down to see what Mae was going to say, but that was just hilarious.

by tw10 on Mar 1, 2010 9:43 PM EST up reply actions

actually laughed out loud at the headline/photo combination

hell of a franchise we got ourselves tied to.

"how ironic - you came here with a mouse in a bottle, now YOU are the mouse in the bottle" - B.M. Smith

by little stevie colter on Mar 1, 2010 2:27 PM EST reply actions

i actually agree to mae jude to a certain extent

i’m a total NY1 fan as well, but i gotta admit he hasn’t seriously taken advantage his opportunities. He got THREE MINUTES of burn last night. Even Q-Ross got four minutes. If guys like fab and ross can get minutes, why can’t Nick? and if Flip has a serious problem with the way Nick plays, then shouldn’t he, as the coach, take a proactive stance and try to help the kid with his problems?

by Marine4Life51 on Mar 1, 2010 3:20 PM EST reply actions

Nick has a terrible bball IQ

and he has gotten enough minutes to prove himself. This has been establish.

Nick can(and sometimes does) sometimes end up with more shots than he has minutes! what does that say about his game?

by tw10 on Mar 1, 2010 9:46 PM EST up reply actions

well

i’d say he was pretty consistent and played smart (relatively) while mike miller was out, and ever since miller has been back he hasn’t really been able to shine again. I just think that he has loads of talent. If the coaches and player development guys could just give him some guidance we might see some more consistent play. If there’s something wrong with what he does on the court, shouldn’t guys like cassell be helping him out and helping him improve?

by Marine4Life51 on Mar 1, 2010 9:48 PM EST up reply actions

eek its jude with punctuation :-)

Nick is like the little girl with the curl… When good, he’s very, very good… When he’s bad, he’s awful… And you never really know which Nick you are going to get (Oops now I am making him sounds like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates, except there every flavor is a winner so long as you like marzipan)…

Thing is, while Dray was a #47 pick, Nick was a guy in the Green Room on draft night. Rashard Lewis was once the last man sitting anxiously (in tears actually) in that room. I hope that Nick can rise to that level of performance for us, but the clock is ticking.

by khrabb on Mar 1, 2010 5:09 PM EST reply actions

McGee...

will be 255 next year and end up at 275 in a few years. Once Shaq is gone, he’ll be able to hold his own.

by Izman on Mar 1, 2010 7:25 PM EST reply actions

he definitely has added some upper body bulk this year

hopefully the trend will continue. i’m sick of seeing him get destroyed in the post every game

"Guess you guys aren't ready for that yet... but trust me, you're gonna love it." ~Marty McFly

by mr. 91 on Mar 1, 2010 8:30 PM EST up reply actions

275? noooooooo wayyyyyy he has too thin of a frame. Adding pounds without getting less athletic is difficult. But he does need to get stronger. Marcus Camby is strong but has a thin frame. I think that is best case scenario for Mcgee. Marcus Camby. Why haven’t i ever thought of this and why hasnt anyone mentioned this? they are very similar.

by tw10 on Mar 1, 2010 9:48 PM EST up reply actions