Rotation, expectations heightened at camp
It’s Eddie Jordan’s go-to colloquialism.
“Bigs” is the term the Wizards coach uses to refer to the tallest members of his basketball team. Through much of Jordan’s five-year tenure, however, it’s been a contradiction. His “bigs” have often come up small.
Last year, 7-foot Brendan Haywood did his best to alleviate the perennial problem. This year, he’ll get more help.
Etan Thomas (6-10), out last season after undergoing heart surgery, is back. Oleksiy Pecherov (7-0), hampered last year by a gimpy ankle, is healthy. Andray Blatche (6-11), plagued by inconsistency, is another year older. And athletic JaVale McGee (7-0) was acquired in the draft.
At training camp this week in Richmond, “bigs” is no longer a derisive term.
“[It’s] a lot of seven-footers across the board with different skills,” said Jordan. “Andray is multi-skilled. Pech can step out to the [arc] and he’s very physical inside. Brendan and Etan are veterans, fighting and clawing their way. JaVale is a long rookie that goes after every shot.”
The Lakers (four) are the only team in the NBA with more 7-foot players than the Wizards (three). Using a committee of big men was a strategy successfully employed last year by league champion Boston.
While the Wizards can’t match the bulk of Celtics’ bruisers P.J. Brown (6-11), Kendrick Perkins (6-10), Glen Davis (6-9), and Leon Powe (6-8), they at least will be more imposing than in the past.
Arenas timeline
» The Wizards will end camp with a Friday night scrimmage at VCU’s Siegel Center.
» Gilbert Arenas’ latest blog posting came Monday night. He spoke of his recent engagement, a case of food poisoning, and why he failed to speak on Media Day, “It was time to give the players who will be on the court to start the season their due.”
» The Wizards open the preseason Tuesday night at Dallas, followed by a game at Memphis Wednesday.
