The Official Washington Wizards Thread

[Sticksboi05]

They're my technicians!

[WALL-LE]

i think we have a good shot to win this game with arenas comming back, any word on Josh howard?

[StillUnknown]

http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/e...48484/25659412

As for Wall's boss, Wizards owner Ted Leonsis, who recently purchased the Wizards from the Pollin family? Leonsis has Wall's back completely.

So much so that he is attempting to capitalize on the good buzz surrounding Wall's boogie down by promising to get in on the action. Writing on his blog, Ted's Take , Leonsis salutes Wall's play and says he will "Dougie" if the Wizards can sell out a home game.
History is being made at Verizon Center again. A rebuild is taking shape. A wonderful star is in the making. So far - so good.
We need your help. We play this Saturday night. We need and want you to be in attendance. The team plays better in front of a sold out building. Come support the team. Click here. Off of soap box now.
When we have a total paid sellout this season, I will do the “Dougie” - I promise.

Now this is a Mark Cuban-esque 21st century NBA owner at his best. In one simple blog post, Leonsis sells tickets, connects directly with fans and potential fans, hypes up his team, and provides cover for his young superstar in the face of some unnecessary criticism. In a league where so many ownership groups are anonymous and/or out-of-touch, Leonsis is the opposite, bringing creative, fan-friendly ideas like Midnight Madness and 3-D video introductions to the table in just his first few months of ownership.

After a 2009-2010 season that was a public relations disaster for the Wizards, Leonsis is instilling the right energy when and where it is needed most.

[Sticksboi05]

Hahaha, Leonsis will Dougie.

[ACW]

Hahaha, Leonsis will Dougie.

[Dukes and Skins]

Hahaha, Leonsis will Dougie.

Seriously can't wait to see that when it happens

[Upark25]

Hahaha, Leonsis will Dougie.

Hopefully it's better then that crap Skip Bayless did on ESPN a few days ago.

[Sticksboi05]

Hopefully it's better then that crap Skip Bayless did on ESPN a few days ago.

Hey, he's like 60 and he tried.

[Warhead36]

Gotta love Ted. He lets the basketball people run the show and genuinely cares about the fans. He's just so down to Earth. We're lucky that he owns not one but two of our sports teams.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

I cannot even imagine Ted with his short, T Rex arms trying to do the Dougie. Hopefully they announced it beforehand. I'm so there.

[BRAVEONAWARPATH]

Click on the link to read the rest.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...110407337.html

Andray Blatche finally rounding back into shape for Washington Wizards

Andray Blatche was scoring at will on his Washington Wizards teammates during a one-on-one drill this week in practice. He shook JaVale McGee with an up-and-under-move, darted around Hilton Armstrong and used a nifty behind-the-back dribble to pass Yi Jianlian.

Matched up again with McGee, Blatche tried to make a finger roll but McGee snatched the ball with his right hand and cupped it by his hip before landing. The sequence served as an example of Blatche's ability to score in a variety of ways on the low block, but also showed why he has been slightly reluctant to stay there through the first three games of the season.

"He does not have the same explosiveness that he had last year," Coach Flip Saunders said of Blatche, who is working himself back from breaking his foot last June. "As he continues to get in shape that explosiveness will come."

Since returning a few days into training camp, Blatche has been trying to get his conditioning back to where it was before the injury. He is taking extra sprints after practice, showing up at 10 p.m. to shoot and said he recently decided to remove red meat from his diet. But getting in shape remains a challenge.

Blatche admits that he often has a hard time sleeping at night and rarely closes his eyes before 1:30 a.m. If he's in bed before then, he'll click the remote and watch some television until he dozes off. But staying up late usually leads to cravings for snacks.

"I eat late, that's how I gain weight," Blatche said.

He once could cover for those poor eating habits through extra training, but they became a problem when the foot injury made him more sedentary. It also made his recovery more difficult.

"I hadn't been on the court for four months, so that's tough," said Blatche, who is averaging 15.7 points and 5.7 rebounds this season. "Without basketball, I lost some of my rhythm. I'm trying to gain it back. I'm just taking it a game at a time. Once I get it, I'm going to get back to the type of player I know I can be."

Blatche offered a glimpse of that near the end of last season, when he averaged 22.1 points and 8.3 rebounds over the final 32 games, and earned a three-year extension worth $28 million. But he said he is not seeking to duplicate that production this season now that he is surrounded by more talent, including No. 1 overall pick John Wall and summer acquisition Kirk Hinrich. Gilbert Arenas and Josh Howard will also eventually return from injuries, with Arenas listed as a game-time decision for the Wizards' game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Friday night.

Blatche has had to make some adjustments this season, as he regains his form and finds a comfortable role, but said he isn't motivated by detractors who referred to his late-season run as a fluke that came as a result of limited options for the Wizards.

"My thing is this: I'm not here to prove anybody wrong. How they feel about my game, that's how they feel. I'm worried about my team," Blatche said. "If people get mad at me that I'm not getting 20 and 10 every night and we're winning, I don't care. If we're losing, then that's going to be problem. If people get mad that I'm not doing what I did last year, then that means they want me to be selfish. I'm not a selfish player. We have better players, so I have the opportunity to pass the ball more."

After a rough outing in the season opener against Orlando, Blatche is starting to find his groove again, averaging 20.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in the past two games. He had season-highs with 23 points and eight rebounds in the Wizards' 116-115 overtime win over Philadelphia on Tuesday. He provided the decisive points with 7.1 seconds remaining from the foul line, where he made an impressive 13 of 14 free throws.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

I made a point of watching him Tuesday night. Blatche passed the ball twice the first 12 or so times he touched it. I was calling him the Blackhole (what goes in doesn't come out) all night. And it wasn't like he wasn't passing it cause he was getting nice looks. Hardly. But hey, maybe he felt he had to as Gil and Howard were out. I just know I'm still not sold. And saying the right things means very little. Words are words.

And he still doesn't go up strong. I don't care if he's fat or not. He's always done that and it drives me insane.

[dg28daman]

I made a point of watching him Tuesday night. Blatche passed the ball twice the first 12 or so times he touched it. I was calling him the Blackhole (what goes in doesn't come out) all night. And it wasn't like he wasn't passing it cause he was getting nice looks. \

This is the main reason I can't sell myself on Dray yet either. It's easy to put up numbers by being a chucker on a lousy team, when Gil and Josh come back, that'll show me if he really wants to win, or if what we're seeing is what we get.

[pjfootballer]

I hope when Ted doe the Dougie, the announce out loud, "This is for You Cowherd".

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

The gawd Buckhantz was just on 980. He dropped something I didn't know. A record John Wall set Tuesday night. He is the first player in NBA history to have as many as 29 points, 13 assists and 9 steals in a game. Not rookie, PLAYER. In the third game of his career. Also if he gets 10 assists tonight, he breaks Oscar Robertson's record for assists in the first four games of a career. I'm officially as hyped as I've ever been as a Wiz fan. Hopefully the Curse doesn't kick in