There’s no rhyme or reason to how the NBA All-Star ballot is constructed. Sometimes it seems as if names were drawn out of a hat.
But sometimes the coincidence of landing on the ballot, as JaVale McGee did last week, couldn’t be more striking.
Since his name appeared somewhat surprisingly three games and seven days ago, the third-year Wizards center has dramatically transformed his game, replacing his conspicuously athletic but often frustratingly inconsistent performances with renewed persistence, focus and high energy around the basket.
“Ever since JaVale was put on the All-Star ballot, he’s played like an All-Star,” Wizards coach Flip Saunders said. “He’s played great in playing his role.”
| Going up | ||
| JaVale McGee has more than doubled his point and rebound averages in the last week. | ||
| McGee stats | PPG | RPG |
| First 10 games | 7.6 | 6.6 |
| Last three games | 18.0 | 15.3 |
In a season of rebuilding, McGee, 22, is starting to show the long awaited signs that he could be the franchise center the Wizards (5-8) need when they reach contender status.
The trick hasn’t been that McGee’s finally developed a go-to post move — with a long and lean 7-foot, 250-pound frame like his, that might never be his signature. Instead, he’s simply started embracing the idea that if he hunts down every possible missed shot and continues to block shots, he’ll have earned the chance at the spectacular plays he craves so badly.
“It’s just tired of Coach telling me I’m not rebounding,” said McGee, who needed a quarter and a half to get his third straight double-double Tuesday against Philadelphia. “I just don’t want to get yelled at anymore. That’s all I’m trying to do.”
McGee (10.0 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.9 blocks per game) even admitted that “scoring isn’t really my thing” after his season-high 24 points, one shy of his career high. Saunders concurred.
“We tried to run a play for him after he got going, and he shot an airball from five feet,” Saunders said. “He’s better getting the ball off the move and playing off other people. He’s just not ready to be the central focus of a play yet. That’s his next thing.”
For now, if McGee is on the court, there will be moments when jaws hit the floor. Sometimes McGee will, too, as he did after Sixers forward Elton Brand shoved him during an open dunk late in the fourth quarter Tuesday, earning a flagrant foul ejection on the spot plus a one-game suspension on Wednesday.
“My butt was hurting a little bit,” said McGee, who still managed to roll over and wave to Brand as he left the floor.
“He fouled me hard,” McGee said. “He had to go.”
