Ten games into the season, the Wizards have found themselves exactly where they were after their first game: trying to figure out how to bounce back from a devastating blowout loss to one of the NBA’s elite teams. The only difference between Wednesday’s 114-83 shellacking at Boston and the season-opening 112-83 defeat at Orlando — besides an additional two points in the score — was that Gilbert Arenas was on the court vs. the Celtics and John Wall was injured instead of the other way around.
Getting the pair of dynamic guards on the court together — they were both among the names on the NBA Eastern Conference All-Star ballot on Thursday — will be one step toward enabling the Wizards (3-7) to be competitive against more than just the league’s lowest tier. But Washington’s overall ebb and flow has varied dramatically from game to game, personified by the erratic play of JaVale McGee and the inconsistency of Andray Blatche, two players the Wizards committed themselves to financially before the season started.
McGee is second in the NBA in blocks (2.9 per game), a good reason why he also ended up on the All-Star ballot, but he often finds himself relegated to the bench down the stretch because of his propensity for missing defensive assignments.
Up Next | ||
Grizzlies at Wizards | ||
Where » | Verizon Center | |
When » | Friday, 7 p.m. | |
TV » | Comcast SportsNet | |
Radio » | 106.7 The Fan |
Blatche was omitted from All-Star consideration even though he’s Washington’s second-highest scorer (16.3 ppg) and leading rebounder (7.5 per game). In his last four games, he’s followed a pair of 22-point games with muted outings of four and 10 points, respectively, in contests in which he was also exposed on defense.
“Honestly, he’s the laziest great talent guy in the league,” ESPN NBA analyst David Thorpe said in an online chat this week. “The single worst defensive player I’ve seen so far this year but extremely hard to guard on offense.”
Despite the challenge of changing these type of characteristics, Wizards owner Ted Leonsis remains optimistic.
“Things can turn around,” Leonsis wrote on his Ted’s Take blog Thursday. “We are improving game by game. I see it in lots of little ways. We have a million miles to go on our journey together, but I wasn’t embarrassed in the least last night. If it doesn’t kill you, it makes you stronger.”
Friday will mark the first D.C. return of former Maryland standout Greivis Vasquez since he was drafted 28th overall by Memphis (4-8) in June. After three brief appearances in the first nine games, Vasquez (2.8 ppg) has averaged 13 minutes in the last three.