Yesterday the All-Rookie teams were announced and (again) Dominic McGuire was blackballed out of any votes.  That's the bad news, the good is that Nick Young was much closer to make the All-Rookie team than anyone on the team was to making the All-Defensive team.  Had he made it, he would've been the first Wizards to make it since Jarvis Hayes back in 2004.  Bonus points to whoever knows who was the last Wizard to make the team before Jarvis.  No cheating!

Nick didn't end up making either team, but he's still looking like a good pick from Ernie Grunfeld.  Just going on simple fact that the player taken 16th in the draft ended up 13th in the rookie voting speaks to the value of the pick.  It gets better when you realize that three of the rookies that got more votes (Jamario Moon, Luis Scola, and JC Navarro) weren't even taken in this year's draft, so you could say that the Wizards wound up with the 10th best rookie from the '07 class, based on the voting. However, I would be quick to mention that Greg Oden was out all season, so 11th would probably be a little more fair.

It'll still take a few more years before we can really evaluate whether taking Young was the best move, but the early returns are looking pretty good for the high-flyer.  Now if only we could get him in the dunk contest...

Press Conference References:
Washington Post
Wizards Insider
USA Today

Like most postseason press conferences, there weren't any bombshells, but there was some interesting tidbits from Ernie's little chat Thursday afternoon.  Let's start with the big stuff and work are way down.

The core is staying put: Ernie Grunfeld more or less squashed any doubt that he's thinking about a shakeup.  He said he has no plans on making a coaching change, and it looks like he wants to keep the Big 3 together as well:

Our intent all along has been to have both of those players back and to keep our core together. And at the appropriate time, we'll sit down with both of those parties and see what we can work out. We're going to be fair with our players. These players have done a lot for our franchise and we hope to have them here for a very long time.

Granted, Antawn could still end up deciding that he's got a better shot at winning a title somewhere else and Gilbert is liable to do just about anything, so it's definitely not written in stone that they'll both be back at this point, but it seems very likely.

Roger on the other hand...: If you were hoping that you'd see Roger Mason back with the Wizards next season, don't get your hopes up.  Here's what he had to say about the Potomac Rainmaker:

We'd love to have Roger back. I don't know yet. We'll have to wait and see how everything develops from a financial standpoint. ... But we are pretty loaded at that 2-guard position.

Translation: We like Roger, but Nick Young isn't going to get a chance to participate in the Slam Dunk Contest if Roger is eating up all of his minutes.

If you were planning on buying that Brook Robin Lopez jersey, you're probably going to end up disappointed: All 3 reports mention that Grunfeld is open to trading the #18 pick, if the right offer comes along.  In other words, he's saying, "No more locker room re-arrangments, please."  With Young, McGuire, Pecherov, and the still youthful Blatche on the squad, the lack of young legs isn't going to be a concern next season.  Look for Ernie to either swap the pick for some veteran help, or for future draft considerations.  I'm not sure which of the two he's looking for, but I'm pretty sure he'll find it, based on this quote from Ivan:

Grunfeld is one of the most aggressive GM's in the business. When he wants something, he will keep calling you and calling you until he gets what he wants.

I'd hate to be Ernie's pizza guy.

The Wizards might not produce the number of highlights that you'd see with teams like Phoenix and Denver and Golden State, but there were still a lot of great plays from this season from several different players

Which one stands out above the rest?  After the jump, a better look at each of the top play candidates...

No voting for Ramon.

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Like Prada said, it's been a great season.   It might not have the best ending, but I still don't think this team has anything to be ashamed of.  Before we start delving into all the off-season stuff, let's give some thanks for the season that was.

Thanks to Ernie Grunfeld for putting together a team that's been able make the playoffs for 4 straight years, something that hasn't happened in the district in 20 years.

Thanks to Eddie Jordan for never giving up.  There were several points in the season where you could've thrown up the white flag and gone into tank mode when different players went down, but you never gave up on this team.

Thanks to Antawn Jamison for being the epitome of consistency and professionalism all season long.  Your 20-10 season won't soon be forgotten.

Thanks to Caron Butler for the big shots, the posters, and everything in-between.

Thanks to Brendan Haywood for finally putting an end to the instability at center this year with career highs all across the board.

Thanks to Antonio Daniels for holding down the fort at point guard while Gilbert was injured most of the season.  Your on-court leadership was a big part of why the Wizards were as successful as they were this season.

Thanks to DeShawn Stevenson for being the Wizards' Iron Man.

Thanks to Roger Mason Jr. for being such a pleasant surprise this season.  You showed this season that you don't have to be a brick layer to have an appreciation for architecture.

Thanks to Darius Songaila for providing some much needed front court consistency off the bench.  Best of luck competing with Lithuania in Beijing this summer.  Hopefully everyone there appreciates your Borat impressions.

Thanks to Andray Blatche for his continued improvement.  You'll only get better as you get more experience under your belt.

Thanks to Gilbert Arenas for trying his best to get back on the court and help the team.  it didn't work out the way we all would've liked, but the intent was clearly there.  Let's hope this off-season finally gets you back to form we all know and love.

Thanks to Nick Young for the dunks.  Here's to many more highlights and dunk contest invite next season.

Thanks to Oleksiy Pecherov for all the humor this season.  Don't get me wrong, your play was solid this year, but the comparisons to Stewie will never stop being awesome.

Thanks to Etan Thomas for showing what true strength is all about.

Thanks to Ivan Carter and Mike Jones (who!) for all the great reporting on the beat this season.  Great work as always.

Thanks to all the great Wizards and non-Wizards blogs for their .

Thanks to WaitingForNextYear and And One for coming over and sparking some good discussion and providing analysis from the other side during the playoff series.  You're welcome here anytime.

Thanks to everyone that's come here and left comments and FanPosts and everything else this season.  Win or lose, you're what makes this fun.

Finally, thanks to Dominic McGuire.  You're what makes the future (and the present) bright.

Box Score
Post Recap
Times Recap
Live Blog (look down)
Gilbertology Recap

The Other Side:
And One Recap
Waiting For Next Year Recap
Le Cavs Recap

(There are many other great links out there. but for the sake of time and my sanity, I'm just sticking to the big ones here.)

Highest Plus/Minus: Andray Blatche (+7)
Lowest Plus/Minus: Brendan Haywood (-19)

All in all, I don't think that was too bad.  Yes, like cuppetcj, I'm  concerned about the late game execution, but I'm not panicking yet.  As a general rule, the home team is going to have the edge in an intense, highly emotional game like that and I think it manifested itself in the closing minutes.

The game reminded me a lot of game 1 of the '06 series, just this time the crowd was in a frenzy because of the smack talk instead of the thrill of making it back to the playoffs.  When you compare the two opening games, you have to say that Washington weathered the opening storm much better this time than they did in '06 where LeBron put up a triple-double and Cleveland dominated throughout.  I know it's too soon to say if the rest of the series will be anything like that one, but I'm encouraged that it was much closer this time around.

Despite losing, I think the Wiz did a lot of things well, including (in no particular order):

1. Rebounding!  Obviously, a lot of the credit here goes to Jamison who pulled down 19(!!!) boards.  He's not going to be able to keep that up all series, but I liked the intensity.  If he keeps that up, he'll be fine.  Haywood had a strong game on the glass as well, not as good as Z, but he kept it close, and I can live with that.  I know Blatche didn't play much, but I'd like to see more out of him on the glass (not to mention scoring).
2. Guarding LeBron when he had the ball.  No, they didn't shut him down, but if you anticipated that coming in then you're going to leave disappointed every time.  For the most part, I think they had a good defensive plan to deter LeBron from driving and creating extra opportunities for himself at the foul line and creating open shots for others.
3. Hibachi!  Gilbert is probably the only player who can go from firing a hideous airball on his first shot to nailing 4 straight bombs from outside and make it look completely natural.  He tailed off at the end, but that happens when you're not 100%.  He showed how dangerous he is, but at this point, I still think he's better suited coming off the bench.  Maybe by Game 3 or 4 he'll be ready, but I'd still hold off on putting him in there just yet.

Now as for what they could improve on (again, in no particular order):

1. Drive. Drive. Drive. Drive.  Memo to Caron: When you take it to the hole, good things happen.  When Delonte West gets to the line more than you do, good things aren't happening.  Cc: Gilbert Arenas (since he probably won't hit 4-5 from deep every game).
2. Guarding LeBron off of the ball.  As good as the defense was on LeBron when he had the ball, it was just as bad when he was off the ball.  Granted, there's no defense for this, but there were far too many times that he was getting open off screens  and getting alley oops.  Yes, I'd prefer having him limited to being just a scorer rather than a slashing/passing/rebounding manbeast, but I'd rather keep him from doing both.
   
3. Make them come outside.  Memo to Antawn: The Cavs aren't respecting your outside shooting skills.  They're challenging you to beat them from outside.  Don't settle out there, but don't let them get away with it either.  Cc: Roger Mason, DeShawn Stevenson.

I think most of the problems from Game 1 can be fixed in time for Game 2, but in order to make it happen, they're going to need to make the realization that Mike Wise talks about in his latest (brilliant) column:

 But you do have to wonder when and if the Wizards are going to realize they have more weapons, more depth and too much talent to let one great player and a smattering of very marginal role players ruin Washington's postseason for the third year in a row.

If they can make that realization and play with the confidence that comes with it, they'll be fine.

So here we go, the final regular season game of the 2007-2008 season.

via farm2.static.flickr.com

Quarter One

I'm a little surprised that Dominic McGuire is getting the start instead of Andray Blatche. But when you think about it, the move makes sense. Andray needs to stay used to coming off the bench and providing a 2nd unit spark. Songaila, Stevenson, Daniels and Haywood join The Cleaner on the floor for the opening tip.

11:24: DeShawn looks slightly ginger from the get-go and turns the ball overs on the frist Wizards possession. He should play no more than 10 minutes.

10:07: D-Mac loses a baseline Turkoglu, 4-0 Magic. I guess awareness will only come with experience.

8:47: Haywood doesn't do the best job of blocking Dwight Howard out as Super Buddy Jesus gets an offensive rebound and bucket while four Wizards watch. Nothing doing on offense for the Wiz kids so far, Eddie Jordan elects to call a timeout. 6-2 Magic. O-Pech and The City come in for Stevenson and Songaila.

7:17: The four Wizards points so far have come off two Brendan Haywood mid-range jumpers.....you think Howard is going to guard him out there in the last regular season game? 8-4 Magic.

6:36: Blatche and Mason come in for Haywood and Daniels.

5:52: Andray is too passive going for a board.....you gotta get aggressive kid! Luckily, the ball winds up in Mason's hands for a jumper. 8-8 tie game.

All Blatche wants to do is get "look what I found" offensive rebounds and pass the ball out. It's not like the young Wizards are playing particularly bad, it just seems like they are concentrating on running the offense too much. Nothing is coming natural and there is no aggressive presence on the court...maybe some gunners though (Pech and Young).

2:33: That jump shot Blatche just hit looked pretty confident. 17-12 Magic.

Would one of those "Soul Glo" jerry-curls look better on Nick Young? Seems like the style would fit him well. In fact, I imagine him to be just like Darryl Jenks.

0:08: This time AB gets the o-board and attacks the basket (misses the shot, but gets fouled). Hopefully, Eddie put the idea of mental toughness in his head.

The first ends and the Magic have the 24-19 lead.

No surprise that Rashard Lewis dropped 12 in the 1st, considering who was guarding him. And my 'huh?' moment comes when I see that McGuire is 0-3 from beyond the arc. As I've said before, Dom needs to make Dave Hopla his best friend this summer. Andray leads the Wiz with 7 points, but his 4 offensive boards are deceiving since the ball found him a couple times.

Quarter Two

Givin' up the trey ball on the season....yea, the Wizards set a franchise record with 571 makes, but they gave up about a hundo more than that to opponents.

9:07: D-Song gives up a dunk to Hedo coming off the ball screen. He turns and says something to his defensive comrade, Nick Young (whose man set the screen). Now, I'm betting that, even though Songaila went to high school and college in the U.S., Nick Young nether understands nor cares about what Darius just said to him. 30-25 Magic.

Eddie Jordan: "Good players make good coaches and bad players get you fired."

7:45: Nick Young is starting to find his spot in the offense. He hit a nice jumper from the corner earlier, then makes a strong driving layup, and then, as I'm typing, gets a transition dunk as the Magic lose track of him and open up the lane (D-Song also had a helluva block out to clear space for Nick). He has the last 6 Wizards points. 32-29 Magic.

6:46: Aww...how cute. Turkoglu burns Nick Young with a pump fake and bucket....they both smile coming up the court. Nick proceeds to miss a "get-back" jumper.

5:09: JJ Redick checks in and Steve Buck points out that Amway is just about the only NBA arena in the country where he doesn't get booed. Not sure what they do in Toronto.

About 40 seconds left in the 2nd and the teams have been stuck on 44-37 Magic since the three minute mark.

0:29: Execution gets Blatche an open baseline jumper.

0:03: Antonio Daniels goes behind the back, spins in traffic and gets the rock to a cutting Blatche for a layup. And that rounds out the 1st half. It's a little hard to feel any type of emotion for this game...but I'm glad the Wizards aren't getting blown out. 47-41 Orlando Magic.

Half Stats: After I initially got on him for lack of aggression, Andray looks good with 13 points, 7 boards and 2 assists. The Wiz are shooting better than Orlando, 46.5% to 43.9% and have a +2 in both the assist and rebound categories, but they are 0-7 from three point land and have only gotten to the FT line twice.

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