The recent Kobe for Gilbert trade rumors (shot down yesterday by Ernie Grunfeld — not that that means anything) should give you an indication that the Washington Wizards are at a crossroads season in regards to the franchise's future. Gilbert Arenas has gone on record saying he will opt out of his contract at the end of the season and Antawn Jamison is in the final year of his deal. Something's got to give...
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Last night at the NBA Draft, the West got better by picking some young talent (Greg Oden to Portland, Kevin Durant to Seattle) and the East got better by trading for talent (Zach Randolph to New York, Ray Allen to Boston). The Wizards got better by selecting USC shooting guard/small forward Nick Young. Young averaged just over 17 points per game last year at SoCal and is known for his mid-range jumper and fearless...
The Washington Wizards found out last Friday that they'd be without Caron Butler for the next 10 or so days, not exactly the type of thing you want to hear with the Miami Heat breathing down their necks for the division lead. As we're sure you all remember, the team was 0-3 without Butler earlier in the season. Lucky for the Wizards then that the struggling New Orleans / Oklahoma City Hornets (aka the...
Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler returned from their injuries over the weekend and the nearly full strength Wizards won a pair of games, defeating Atlanta 93-92 on Friday and winning a wild one yesterday over Golden State 107-106. We'll start with the Golden State game, as it had one of the strangest endings I've ever seen in a basketball game. Down two with just over two seconds remaining, Gilbert Arenas drove to the hole...
The Miami Heat took control of a close game last night by repeatedly feeding Shaquille O'Neal in the post and The Diesel responded by scoring 10 of his season high 23 in the fourth quarter, leading the visiting Miami Heat past a depleted Washington Wizards team, 92-83. With Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison out with injuries, the Heat ran multiple defenders at Gilbert Arenas all night, holding him to 15 points on 3-15 shooting....
After last Friday's win in Orlando and upcoming games this week against the Phoenix Suns and Detroit Pistons, Saturday night's game at the Verizon Center against the banged up Boston Celtics had all the characteristics of a trap game. The Celtics were without Paul Pierce, Wally Szczerbiak and Tony Allen, among others, and losers of seven of their last eight games. Should be easy pickings, right? Well, almost. The Wiz built up a big...
For the past two days the media have been wondering why no one double teams Gilbert Arenas when he has the ball. So the Knicks tried it last night to great effect. Agent Zero was held to 16 points on 4-14 shooting, but got the ball in the hands of his teammates consistently, which enabled the Wizards to take down the Knicks 99-98. Yes, it was another wild finish at the Verizon Center last...
Gilbert Arenas left the court at the Verizon Center yesterday as fans serenaded him with chants of "MVP! MVP!" after hitting yet another game winner at the buzzer. The Utah Jazz were Agent Zero's latest victim, falling 114-111 in an incredible Martin Luther King Day matinée. Arenas, who tied a Verizon Center record with 51 points, traded three pointers with Utah's Memet Okur down the stretch, but got the ball last and made Utah...
With all the attention Gilbert Arenas has garnered over the last month of the NBA season, it's easy to forget about his very capable teammates. Luckily for the Wiz, they were ready to pick up the slack last night when Gilbert had an "off" game. A look at the stat sheet might tell you the Bulls defense held Agent Zero to just 16 shots, but it wouldn't show Gilbert's determination to get his teammates...
Can it get any better for Gilbert Arenas right now? The Wiz may have lost at Toronto yesterday, but if you've been paying attention, that was almost inevitable after the week Gilbert (and the team) just had. It started early last week when Arenas was named Player of the Month for December. It continued on Wednesday when Agent Hibachi scored the game winner as the buzzer sounded against budding rival Milwaukee. On Friday he...
The Washington Wizards took another step towards the Mendoza Line last night with an emphatic 120-91 win over the visiting Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets entered the Verizon Center with an impressive 12-7 record and a viable MVP candidate in Baltimore product Carmelo Anthony. They left the court looking like a team that was in the middle of a five game road trip, wondering who would be shipped out of town in a possible deal...
After a three game losing streak, who would have thought a match up with the Cleveland Cavaliers, owners of the second best record in the NBA going into Saturday night, would be just what the doctor ordered for the Washington Wizards? Both teams were coming off games on Friday; the Wiz lost at Detroit and the Cavs pounded the hapless Timberwolves at home. In this topsy turvy start to the NBA season, the Cavs...
Pop quiz, hotshot. Your team is up three in the waning seconds and your opponent is inbounding the ball. Do you just play defense and hope for a stop? Or do you foul before the other team can shoot a three, putting them on the line so they can't tie the game in one possession? Last night at the MCI Center, Wizards coach Eddie Jordan chose the former and his team paid for it. The...
Don't look now, but the NBA season is just two weeks away. When last we saw the Washington Wizards, LeBron James was carving up their defense and talking Gilbert Arenas out of winning games from the line. The Wiz may not have made as much noise this offseason as last, but sure-handed (and recently re-signed) General Manager Ernie Grunfeld did make some moves. They include: 1) Re-upping coach Eddie Jordan for three more years....
Although the team is techincally on their All-Star break, DC United will take on the Columbus Crew tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Germantown, MD as part of the U.S. Open Cup. After losing to Real Salt Lake over the weekend, United will look to get back to their winning ways in a tournament they haven't won since 1996. There's a good chance Santino Quaranta will be back in the United line up after taking...
The visiting New York Knicks came into last night's tilt against the Wizards with the NBA's worst record and the league's highest payroll. With just 19 wins, the Knicks brass is paying roughly $6.5 million dollars per win. They, much like the crowd at the Verizon Center last night, aren't getting their money's worth. The Knicks came out flat and fell behind 14-2 in the first four minutes and never recovered on their way...
The first two times the Celtics and Wizards matched up this year the refs decided the games on dubious calls down the stretch. Last night they let the players decide the game and unfortunately for Washington, Paul Pierce had the ball last. Pierce, who led the NBA in scoring for the month of February, made a deep, off balanced 22 footer over Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler as time expired in OT to give the...
The long holiday weekend meant lots of local hoops action to go around for fans of every school. I spent the weekend in Philly, where Villanova has taken over the headlines from the rudderless 76ers. The Cats beat #1 UConn earlier in the week but were determined not to overlook Georgetown on Sunday, especially since the Hoyas also have a win over #1 to their credit this season. Unfortunately Georgetown couldn't match the energy and...
When we last checked in on them, the Washington Wizards were 8-11 and facing a tough five game road trip that would go a long way in deciding the outcome of their season. After losing their first three in L.A. (to the Lakers), Portland and Seattle, the team pulled out the last two games in Denver and Phoenix, giving them some much needed momentum when they returned home to face the Lakers last night....
DCist was lucky enough to get Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Brendan Haywood on our NBA fantasy team this year and so far all three are making us look like a regular Ernie Grunfeld. On Saturday night Arenas and Jamison combined for 53 points and 16 rebounds while Haywood pulled down 10 rebounds and added four blocked shots and the Wizards won their home opener 87-79 over the Orlando Magic. But the team's offense...
The Washington Wizards, fresh off of their first playoff trip in many moons, return to action tonight when the team travels to Toronto and tips off against the Raptors at 7:00 p.m. The Wiz had quite the offseason. They lost Larry Hughes, Juan Dixon and DCist fave Steve Blake in free agency and traded star-crossed former No. 1 pick Kwame Brown to the LA Lakers for Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins. Free agents Antonio...
It's been a good summer. For DCist it has, anyway, filled with cheetah cubs and buttersticks, Nats games and Borf sightings, and lots of sweaty, booze-soaked cookouts. But fall is coming, people, and it's time to put the flip-flops aside, say goodbye to the interns, and fill out your autumn dance card. DCist humbly offers the following suggestions. Oh, they grow up so fast. One day they're lil, playing hoops and making MTV videos, the...
The Washington Wizards ended their longest losing streak of the season last night beating the Milwauke Bucks 119-112 at the MCI Center. The Wiz were powered by Antawn Jamison's 32 points and a season high 13 assists from Gilbert Arenas, who scored only 8 points on 2 of 9 shooting. Perhaps this was a wake up call for Arenas. Washington is just 1-4 in games when he scores over 40 points. Last night he focused...
>> The nation's capitol is abuzz with all the local teams picked by the NCAA to make it to the Big Dance. Wait, what's that you say? Maryland didn't make it? OK, fine, what about Georgetown then? NIT bound you say? Then how about your Atlantic 10 Champions over at George Washington? You better believe they were packing their bags after winning their first every conference tournament title 76-67 over St. Joeseph's. The win...
It was quite a night for the local hoops teams, both on the college and professional level. Gary Williams and his terrible Terps traveled to Durham and took out the previously unbeaten and 2nd ranked Blue Devils in a 75-66 contest that was much closer than the final score indicated. Winning on the road is always impressive but even more so for the Terps coming off their blowout loss to NC State last Sunday. Nik...
Lost amid the Redskins “playoff push” and the whole DC Baseball brouhaha has been a quiet but impressive start to the season by that other pro sports franchise in town, the Washington Wizards. The Wiz were shot down by the Miami Heat last night 98-93, making them 0-4 against the Heat this season, but take away those 4 losses and the team is a very impressive 12-4. Even with them, their record is good enough...
Need some counter-programming to the barrage of election coverage sure to inundate the airwaves tonight? How about the opening of the 2004/2005 NBA season? TNT will broadcast a doubleheader tonight showcasing Houston traveling to Detroit to take on the reigning NBA champs followed by Team Kobe taking on the Denver Nuggets in La La land. Coverage begins at 8 p.m. And what of the Washington Wizards you ask? Well, count on them getting off to...
