It’s okay to believe the Wizards are going to have a good season, apparently. There were three reporters at Verizon Center on Monday for the Wizards’ final practice before their first game of the regular season. There must’ve been a dozen today.
The other thing that was impossible to notice was Javaris Crittenton traded in his walking boot for a cast and crutches. After being sidelined by a couple swollen ligaments and a bone bruise in his left foot since midway through training camp, he had exploratory surgery last Friday. He’ll be out of commission six weeks: four until he can play again and two more to work his way back into shape.
“It’s disappointing,” said Crittenton. “I wish the procedure would’ve happened, and I would’ve been recovered by now. They actually saw it on the x-ray a long time ago, but they had to continue to look at different CAT scans and x-rays to get it done. It’s tough, end of training camp, the whole preseason, now the beginning of the season’s going to be tough coming back, but I would rather have it done now than deal with it and try to play through pain during the season. I’m glad they cleaned it out.”
On a lighter note, Andray Blatche gave fresh evidence of his newfound professionalism. Remember, partly inspired by his mom, who said he had become lackadaisical, Blatche changed his number from 32 to 7 this year to reflect his focus on basketball seven days a week. Fresh off his 20-point, 7-rebound, 2-block performance off the bench in Tuesday’s season-opening win over Dallas, Blatche said he called Wizards assistant coach Sam Cassell last night and came over to Verizon Center for an 11 p.m. workout, getting up some shots but also an early taste of Halloween as he left the arena after midnight.
“I didn’t see nobody, really,” said Blatche. “I saw a security guard. It was kind of scary, I’m not gonna lie. I brought my best friend. I had to go in the locker room by myself, and I was a little scared. It’s so quiet, and it was dark a little bit. I promise you, it’s different at night time, but I was alright. I’m going to bring my dog with me next time.”
Blatche knows that only by being consistent, can he prove that Tuesday wasn’t a fluke.
“Right after the game, [Wizards head coach] Flip [Saunders] came and said, last game don’t mean [expletive] – excuse my French,” said Blatche. “Last game doesn’t mean nothing at all. Let’s see if you can do this every night from here on out.”
