Reactions to the McGee/Nene/Young three-team trade

When all hope was lost that Ernie Grunfeld wouldn't be able to pull off any sort of deal at the NBA trade deadline, David Aldridge of TNT casually said the following at 3:31:

Source: Wizards and Nuggets in serious talks on trade that would send Nene to DC for JaVale McGee and Nick Young...
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) March 15, 2012

That was quickly followed by this tweet from Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski two minutes later:

The Clippers have traded for Washington's Nick Young as part of a three-way deal, source tells Y! Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) March 15, 2012

Soon after, we learned the details of the three-team trade involving the Wizards, Nuggets, and Clippers: The Wizards got Nene, Brian Cook, and a 2015 second-round pick; the Nuggets acquired JaVale McGee and Ronny Turiaf; and the Clippers ended up with Nick Young.

Similarly to how Redskins fans cheered when distractions Donovan McNabb and Albert Haynesworth were traded away, Wizards fans seem to be in agreement that some combination of McGee, Young, and Blatche (or all three) had to be shipped out of town. McGee and Young are now gone, and Blatche likely only has the rest of this season in Washington until the team amnesties him. (There's no way another team takes on his contract; Grunfeld presumably tried his best to sucker another team into doing just that.)

McGee and Young both had their share of positive moments on the court, occasionally showing that they belonged and that they were getting it. Really, though, they weren't, and it was increasingly evident that even if they ever did, it wasn't going to be with the Wizards. Above all else, they'll be remembered for doing goofy and embarrassing things on and off the court. Neither ever got in any trouble off the court like Blatche, but while certainly entertaining they were sporadically effective. And that's not exactly a recipe for winning basketball.

Besides the culture shock of losing two of the oddest characters in the league, the other important factor of this trade is Nene's contract. In December, the Nuggets re-signed Nene for five years and about $67 million. After this season, he will make $13 million in each of the next four seasons. That's a total of $52 million. Nene has also missed 15 games this season and has dealt with various injuries in his career, including suffering a serious knee injury (torn ACL) in 2005. And at 29, he also may be on the downside of his career. Still, as long as he's somewhat healthy and is able to play most of the time, Nene presents a significant upgrade.

I'm mostly on board with the trade, though Nene's injury concerns don't exactly inspire confidence -- especially considering how eager the Nuggets were to part ways with him and his newly signed contract.

So what do some other NBA writers/analysts think of the Wizards' haul?

"It's a safe move, losing two players of unquestionably bad influence to take on one of the game's more well-rounded players; and though we don't envy Nene having to leave the only team he's known in a decade of NBA basketball to take to a lottery-ready Wizards team, he should be able to make the switch with ease. Washington has plenty of options, both in the open market or trade market, moving forward." -- Kelly Dwyer

"As for Nene’s present, the Wizards have acquired the same solid two-way big man in place of two the players most responsible for poisoning the atmosphere around John Wall — the only must-keep player on the team. And Washington’s cap sheet was so clean going forward that adding Nene’s major deal doesn’t do much damage. If the Wizards use the amnesty provision on Andray Blatche, that would leave Wall and Nene as the only two players with guaranteed money on the books for the 2013-14 season, giving Washington huge potential cap room next summer. And if they amnesty Blatche and buy out Rashard Lewis before next season, the Wizards can get all the way down to about $46 million in salary charges this coming summer, leaving them with about $12 million in cap space to sign a solid veteran or two." -- Zach Lowe

"The Wizards were unsure McGee would stop goaltending when the ball was on an obvious downward arc. They were tired of waiting for him to routinely grab a meaningful defensive rebound instead of gloating over a meaningless triple-double. They were tired of his mother, Pamela McGee, berating their coaches from her seat behind the basket near the Wizards bench at Verizon Center. For all McGee’s shot-blocking prowess and catch-and-slam forays above the rim, the Wizards were really worried he might never eliminate the brain freezes that manifested themselves in some of the most no, he didn’t bloopers that played on national cable shows." -- Mike Wise

"I like bringing in Nene for this reason — it’s about changing the culture. Denver fans will tell you that Nene didn’t play through pain and was not tough, but he’s not a headcase like JaVale McGee. They had to make locker room changes and guys like Nick Young are out. They are not a lot better on the court, but they are making changes that can start to take them down that path. [Trade Deadline] Grade: B-." -- Kurt Helin

"The Wizards couldn’t find any takers for Andray Blatche, but will look to move him near the draft, according to a league source. And if the team is unable to deal Blatche this summer, the Wizards also have the amnesty provision at their disposal, which would allow them to waive him and have his salary removed from the cap." -- Michael Lee

"The answer: not all that much. Essentially, the Wizards decided they'd rather pick up the four years and $52 million left on Nene's deal than give a comparable contract to McGee. At the end of the day, if the Wizards use the amnesty clause on Andray Blatche and buy out Rashard Lewis for $13 million, the Wizards' total team salary will be just over $41 million. Add in about $4-5 million for the salaries of their first-round pick, and the Wizards will probably have about $12-13 million in cap space. That's not enough to chase a maximum player, but it is enough to get some pieces. And they should get some pieces. You don't trade for someone like Nene, then pass on free agency." -- Mike Prada

"I can be convinced to like this trade, but I was more of a proponent of getting rid of Blatche and Young, but trying to keep McGee. JaVale does things that you just can’t teach (although, McGee has, in other ways, certainly demonstrated that he’s un-teachable). Big picture: this trade is contingent on two things: Nene’s health and the Wizards’ ability to wisely play the free-agent market this summer—can’t say the franchise has instilled the confidence to prevail in either of those areas." -- Kyle Weidie

"McGee gets to go from being the poster boy of futility in Washington, to a role player on a playoff contender. Winning can bring the best out of players. It's tough to go out and do things when you're playing on a team like the Wizards. But get in a place where your bonehead play might end up costing you home court advantage or a playoff game and you'd be amazed at how knuckleheaded players play. McGee gets to play in a situation where he means something, and that could bring out the best in him. Finally." -- Royce Young

Hey everyone, your booing is affecting Andray Blatche

In last night's 120-100 loss to the Warriors, the Wizards were unprepared from the very beginning and were outscored in the first quarter by 17, 41-24. They never recovered. As you'd expect, the Wizards' defense was particularly awful, allowing open shot after open shot. As a team, the Warriors shot over 54 percent, and they knocked down 15 of 23 three-pointers. That's undoubtedly some impressive shooting, but again, only a bad defensive squad allows that to happen.

In his second game back after sitting out the entire month of February with a calf injury, Andray Blatche played 13 minutes and finished with four points (2-6 shooting) and four rebounds. He and Shelvin Mack also had a game-low +/- of -20.

During the game, Blatche was basically booed every time he touched the ball, and it's been that way for a large chunk of the season. Like several other Wizards, he's not playing well at all, and as you'd expect, the fans' constant booing is getting to him:

"It's tough when you're at home and people that are supposed to have your back don't have your back," he said. "Instead of encouraging you to get better, they actually push you down and make you worse. In the long run, it's not only hurting me, it's hurting my teammates."

"That's what I feel most upset about because I can't help out and perform for my teammates, because I'm letting the crowd get into my head and making me second-guess, not let me be the player that I am," he added. "It's very frustrating. Hopefully, I'm just trying to fight to overcome it."

Blatche has become the scapegoat for this underachieving, terrible team. JaVale McGee and Nick Young receive their fair share of blame for spotty, underwhelming play, but Blatche is this team's second-highest paid player and still has three years and more than $23 million left on his contract. Blatche's deal isn't horrible, necessarily, but he's supposed to be contributing much more than he is and is supposed to be a team leader. Neither has happened, and fans are tired of Blatche's presence on this team. Remember, this is the same guy who complained after the very first game this season that he wasn't getting the ball in the paint more. And it's not like there's anything about Blatche that makes you think he's some kind of efficient low-post threat.

Right or wrong, Blatche will keep getting booed. He's an honest guy and has some redeeming qualities, but he's just not getting it done on the court. In a perfect world no one would get booed, but admitting that it is affecting his game and leading to him "second-guessing" while on the court is only going to make fans boo louder. The only way to make the boos stop is to start playing well, but there's a bigger chance that Blatche is traded or amnestied in the near future than fans cutting him some slack.

There's a very small chance that Blatche is on the team next year, and the same can be said for Nick Young. McGee may end up on the trading block, but I'd still be mildly surprised if he's not on the team next year. But if McGee is still around and Blatche is gone, he better prepare for the boo birds to be focused on him if he's not playing well and is still making bone-headed plays.

Notes from the Wizards' 124-109 win over the Blazers

I didn't have a chance to watch the Wizards' game last night, so I was pleasantly surprised to check the score this morning and see that not only did they beat the Blazers, but they scored a whopping 124 points. That's pretty remarkable for such a bad offensive team.

Here are some interesting box score notes from the team's seventh win:

- Nick Young scored a game-high 35 points and shot an insane 7-8 from three-point range. Overall, he made 12 of 17 shots and committed just one turnover in 40 minutes. He also didn't have an assist, but, you know, whatever.

- John Wall played 41 minutes and had 29 points on 10-14 shooting. He had 5 turnovers but also dished out nine assists, had two blocks, made eight of nine free throws, and even made a three.

- Overall, the Wizards shot 60 percent from the field and outrebounded the Blazers 43-31.

- As a team, the Wiz were 9-17 on three-pointers. Without Young's threes, the Wizards shot 2-9 from long range.

- Every Wizards player had a positive +/- differential. Jordan Crawford led the way with +24. In 30 minutes, Crawford had 21 points on 9-16 shooting and chipped in four assists, three steals, and two rebounds.

- JaVale McGee added 18 points (7-13 shooting) and 11 rebounds. He also didn't commit a turnover!

- Other notable efforts: Trevor Booker had six points and six rebounds, and Jan Vesely grabbed nine rebounds and also had three assists and two blocks.

Not bad at all. Also worth mentioning: Since 1985-1986, the Wizards have shot over 60 percent and scored at least 124 points just seven other times. The most recent game came in 1993 against the Warriors. So, yeah, it's been a while.

After firing Flip, Wiz still need massive organizational overhaul

The Wizards dismissed head coach Flip Saunders yesterday, making him the first person to lose his job after the team's dreadful 2-15 start to the season. Randy Wittman takes over, which is not an upgrade. Wittman is no coaching medicine man -- far from it. Fans won't be happy with him if he continuously plays Rashard Lewis and Andray Blatche 35 minutes a night and keeps Chris Singleton, Trevor Booker, Jan Vesely, and Shelvin Mack tethered to the bench. Hopefully Blatche and Lewis see reduced minutes, but that won't happen. Look how many games it took for Mack to receive backup point guard minutes. Regardless, there's not much of a chance that Wittman sticks around after the season.

I don't think there's a single person out there who thinks this whole mess is simply Saunders's fault. He's certainly no one's top choice to lead a bunch of young players and is much better coaching a veteran-laden team, but he still deserves some blame. Everyone involved with this debacle does. The Wizards are a team without a direction. They're rudderless. Under general manager Ernie Grunfeld, things could not get much worse than they are now.

The Wizards have lost three times to the aging, 7-9 Celtics, with the most recent loss against Boston coming when the Celtics were without Rajon Rondo for the entire game and Ray Allen (left with an ankle injury) in the second half. Within the last month, the Wizards have lost to the T'Wolves by 21, scored just 64 points and lost by 14 against a Bulls team playing without Derrick Rose, dropped a game by four to a Nuggets team playing without Nene Hilario, and have been dismantled three times by the Sixers by a combined 64 points.

Have you looked at the Wizards roster lately? The Wizards have one really good player: John Wall. His current game is not without flaws, but this post is not about picking apart Wall's game. He has things he needs to work on, no doubt; but if Wall played on a different team and was surrounded by more talent, not only would his numbers be much better, but that team would have several more wins. If Wall were even just playing with mediocre players who worked hard, this team would probably be better. Instead, there's a lot of average-to-good players who think they're better than they are, and that unselfish play has been one of the most disappointing and hard-to-watch characteristics of this team.

The next best player on the roster is probably JaVale McGee. Then there's some combination of Blatche, Nick Young, Jordan Crawford, Lewis, Singleton, and Booker. Mack and Vesely seem like useful young players, and they've been seeing more minutes the last few games. Singleton and Booker may be the two players who demonstrate the most hustle and toughness on the team, and they should unquestionably be receiving consistent minutes. But they are also flawed players and will never be stars. They can be serviceable role players, sure, but that's probably their ceiling.

The Wizards could use a superstar, or even a star, to play alongside Wall. I don't know if Wall can ever be the best player on a great, or even really good, team, but he needs some help. And that group of players after Wall and McGee is really where the problem lies. (Some also think McGee is a problem, and that may be true as well.) And that's mostly Grunfeld's fault. Grunfeld has failed repeatedly in the draft to hit on several players, many of them raw, athletic types.

Grunfeld was hired in June 2003. He's made a few shrewd trades and signings -- piecing Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison, and Caron Butler together, most notably -- but he has not done a good job when it comes to drafting players. Let's take a look.

2003: Jarvis Hayes (10th), Steve Blake (38th). The Blake pick was nice; the Hayes pick was not. Notable players taken in the first round after Hayes: Nick Collison, Luke Ridnour, David West, Boris Diaw, Travis Outlaw, Carlos Delfino, Kendrick Perkins, and Josh Howard.

2004: Devin Harris (5th), Peter John Ramos (33rd). Shipped Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, and Christian Laettner to the Mavericks for Jamison. Defensible move. Notable players taken after "Party John": Chris Duhon and Trevor Ariza.

2005: Andray Blatche (49th). Arguably Grunfeld's best pick. Arguably also Grunfeld's worst pick, because fans have to watch Andray Blatche. The Wizards had no first-round pick after trading that pick and Laron Profit to the Magic for Brendan Haywood. The pick ended up being 20th overall.

2006: Oleksiy Pecherov (18th), Vladimir Veremeenko (48th). Maybe Grunfeld's worst draft. Notable players taken after Pecherov in the first round: Rajon Rondo, Kyle Lowry, Shannon Brown, and Jordan Farmar.

2007: Nick Young (16th), Dominic McGuire (47th). Notable players taken after Young in the first round: Marco Belinelli, Daequan Cook, Jared Dudley, Wilson Chandler, Rudy Fernandez, Aaron Brooks, Arron Afflalo, and Tiago Splitter.

2008: JaVale McGee (18th), Bill Walker (47th). Walker was traded to the Celtics for cash considerations. Notable players taken after McGee in the first round: J.J. Hickson, Ryan Anderson, Serge Ibaka, Nicolas Batum, George Hill, and Darrell Arthur.

2009: Jermaine Taylor (32nd). The Wizards traded the fifth pick (which turned into Ricky Rubio), Etan Thomas, Darius Songaila, and Oleksiy Pecherov for Randy Foye and Mike Miller. At the time, the Wizards were risking everything on the big three working out. It did not, and it looks really, really bad now. Oh, and the Wizards again traded away a player (Taylor) for cash. So in 2009, the Wizards ended up with zero drafted players.

2010: John Wall (1st). After a flurry of moves, the Wizards also ended up with Kevin Seraphin (17th), Trevor Booker (23rd), and Hamady N'Diaye (56th). Wall is obviously the real prize; Booker seems solid, too. But here are other notable players in the first round picked after Seraphin: Eric Bledsoe (would've made little sense with Wall), Jordan Crawford (current Wizard), and Greivis Vásquez. It's still early, but overall 2010 doesn't seem like a very deep draft class.

2011: Jan Vesely (6th), Chris Singleton (18th), Shelvin Mack (34th). Too early to tell, but this class does have some promise.

There are way too many missed opportunities in those drafts. Of course, it's too easy to look back and see how badly Grunfeld messed up on various picks. All general managers have made bad picks, or at least picks they wish they could go back and change. Hindsight is 20/20, and all that.

It's possible that many of the drafted players who didn't pan out just weren't that good to begin with. But it's also worth looking at Mike Wise's JaVale/Pamela McGee article a little closer. Ignoring all of the "mother protecting her son" stuff, Wizards fans should notice an underlying problem: The Wizards are terrible at developing talent. Who is the best player the Wizards have developed in the last decade? Bullets Forever's Jake Whitacre said a few days ago that it might be Blatche, and he's probably right. How sad is that?

Why aren't the Wizards more open to doing all they can to develop their players? Couldn't they have brought in different coaches or more efficient specialists? Players like McGee seem willing to learn and improve. Every Wizards player may not be like that, but the fact remains that players don't come to Washington and get that much better. And that's an organizational failure.

Just like the organization, the players deserve their fair share of the blame as well. How often have fans complained this season (and previous seasons) about Blatche, Young, McGee, and Crawford? Are all of those guys doing everything in their power to improve their games? At times, it seems like those four only care about their numbers and are willing to sacrifice wins in order to get buckets. That just can't happen.

Regarding the future of this team, lots of questions remain, including: Has Grunfeld done enough to stick around? Has he given his coaches enough talent to win basketball games? Has he kept improving the overall depth of Wizards' rosters? No, he hasn't.

Because of how horrible this team is, the Wizards will have an excellent chance at a top three pick in the next draft, but I don't have much confidence that Grunfeld will select the right player. And unless better coaches are in place, I also don't believe that player will develop at the level necessary to help turn this team around. I also have little trust that even if he does make a strong pick that he'll be able to surround that player and Wall with the right types of pieces.

Grunfeld has used up all of his excuses. He has been around for nearly a decade, and look where the Wizards are now. He's more responsible for this debacle than Saunders ever was, and it's time for Ted Leonsis to clean house and start in a different direction.

Jordan Crawford vs. Nick Young

In Atlanta, Jordan Crawford wasn't getting consistent minutes (he's a rookie, after all), but that has changed in Washington. Crawford has gone from averaging 10 minutes in 16 games with the Hawks to over 22 minutes in 10 games with the short-handed Wizards. If Nick Young and some others were healthy, Crawford may not be playing quite as much, but that hardly matters since someone on the Wizards always seems to be hurt. Also, it's not the worst thing to see Crawford and some of the other youngsters getting minutes (even if the team is getting routinely destroyed by much better teams).

According to ShamSports, Young has a qualifying offer next season of about $3.7 million. He's likely going to want an extension, though, and if so he'll be looking for a raise. I'm not sure how much money Young would command on the open market, but he'd surely be looking at a bit more than $4 million, at least. The Wizards may want to keep him around, especially since he took a leap this season to scoring 17.7 points a night on 32 minutes per game.

The Wizards drafted Young in the 2007, which is another reason that they'd like to keep him around. They drafted him, he's gotten better, and it would be a shame to let him get away and start playing even better for another team. Still, it would be foolish to overpay for a player like Young, no matter the step forward he's taken this season. Yes, he has been more efficient on offense, but he's certainly not a well-rounded player. His defense has improved in his four years in the league, but he's not a shutdown defender by any means and has his fair share of lapses on the defensive end. He's also not very adept at passing the ball, averaging just 1.2 assists (and 1.4 turnovers). There's no question that Young is a scorer first (and second, and third, etc.).

Crawford, meanwhile, is nearly three years younger than Young and is still under team control for the next few seasons. He's obviously a raw talent, and no one knows exactly what he can do yet, but he has been OK -- at least just as good, or better, than what fans expected when he came from Atlanta. In his 10 games with Washington, Crawford is averaging 11.0 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. He's also shooting just 39.3 percent from the field. He definitely has Nick Young-ish qualities on offense, particularly when it comes to dribbling too much, taking bad shots, and not passing the ball a whole lot. Still, he has shown a knack for getting after it on the defensive end (1.4 steals per game), and it would be difficult to debate his hustle on the court.

I like Nick Young. He's not only one of the best players on the Wizards right now, but he's probably the most entertaining personality of the group as well. But when it comes to overpaying for young, team-drafted talent, the Wizards may have learned their lesson with Andray Blatche. Young may return after this season, particularly since the Wizards will have some money to work with. But it wouldn't make a whole lot of sense to commit a bunch of money to Young with a player like Crawford now on the roster. I'm not saying that Crawford can be better than Young in a few years, but the chance exists. And the last thing the Wizards should be doing is handing out long-term deals to slightly better-than-average players.

Young leads Wizards to first win in February

Snapping their eight-game losing streak, the Wizards downed the Bucks last night, 100-85. Nick Young led the way with 26 points, and JaVale McGee scored 16 points and grabbed 17 rebounds.

As a team, the Wizards shot over 47 percent from the field, and they also outrebounded the Bucks 51-39. The Wizards essentially finished off the Bucks in the third quarter, but Milwaukee kept bringing the deficit back to about 10 or 12 points every few minutes. It was far from a well-played game, but the Wizards were pretty efficient, making 10 of 16 threes and 18 of 20 free throws as well.

John Wall finished the game with 15 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. Andray Blatche added 12 points and eight rebounds. The surprise of the night, though, had to be Cartier Martin, who played 23 minutes in Al Thornton's place (Thornton was out with a dislocated finger). Martin casually made five of his seven three-point attempts, which accounted for all of his 15 points off of the bench.

In terms of highlights, the Wizards had a few (a block and streaking dunk by McGee, a steal and lightning-quick breakaway layup for Wall, and a couple other nifty plays here and there). One of them was this steal and alley-oop combination completed by Wall and Young. But the play of the night took place in the second quarter, when Young drove baseline and dunked with authority over Ersan Ilyasova. Take a look:



Well done, Nick.

Young gets defensive, makes terrific play

After the Wizards lost to the Grizzlies on Saturday, Nick Young admitted that he had a problem with some of the plays the team was running. Apparently Young was just frustrated, and he called Flip Saunders on Sunday to explain his comments. Here's what Saunders had to say about that conversation: "One thing I said to Nick, that part of the problem, if that was the case, is we're talking about offense when it should be about defense. That's why we've lost 23 straight. Defensively, we haven't had that same presence. We've got to do a better job defensively."

Well, apparently Young got the memo, because last night he made a superb defensive play against the Mavericks. Take a look.



Unfortunately, the Wizards still lost, 102-92, pushing their road record to 0-24.

Nick Young on road losing: "It can't be us every night"

Really, it was bound to happen, though I'm surprised it took the Wizards' 23rd straight road loss for a player to start complaining and pointing a finger at someone else. And that player was Nick Young, who, more or less, expressed some frustration after the team's most recent loss, a 107-93 beating in Memphis.

According to The Washington Post's Michael Lee, here's what Young had to say:

But after the Wizards lost . . . Nick Young openly questioned the play calling as he slipped on his sneakers in the visitor's locker room. Young was upset that the team had abandoned the scheme it had used the night before in Oklahoma City, when it pushed the Thunder to double overtime.

"I don't know. We don't stay consistent with play calling," Young said. "It's crazy. It can't be us all the time. The same thing we run against the Thunder, we came out with a different plan. It can't be us every night."

[. . .]

"We've got to be consistent really," Young said. "We got to work on just staying together really. I think that's what's making us go out there and play this way. Everyone feels they can change the game and be a game changer. We've just got to stay consistent with what we was running. We should've carried over what we had against the Thunder. We should've came out excited and ready to pump and going with the same routine."

Maybe Young is right. Maybe the Wizards coaching staff could call better plays and put the team in a better position to win. Many fans have been calling for Flip Saunders's job, believing that the Wizards should be playing better than they are and that Saunders hasn't done a very good job in his time in Washington.

But at the end of the day, players play and coaches coach. Young undoubtedly knows this and is disappointed with the constant losing on the road. But is Young really the guy who should be complaining about the plays that are called? In the double-overtime loss to the Thunder the other night, Young (32 points) took 33 shots -- 13 more than anyone on the team. He made just 13 of them. That's not terribly efficient basketball, but it's not surprising that Young favors the chance to take that many shots. Against the Grizzlies last night, Young made just two of nine shots and had eight points. (It's also worth noting that he played 28 minutes before leaving the game in the fourth quarter with a calf injury.) In two games, Young took 42 shots and made only 15 of them, yet he has the audacity to complain about play calling and possible coaching mistakes. Even if what he's saying has some truth to it -- and it does -- he didn't exactly pick the best time to make those comments.

For what it's worth, the Wizards shot 42.6 percent as a team against the Thunder. Against the Grizzlies, they shot 42.7 percent.

The Wizards' next two road games are at Dallas and at New Orleans, which won't provide any easy wins. The only light at the end of the tunnel appears to be a road game at Cleveland on February 13, but with a team that will probably be 0-25 on the road heading into that game, there is no such thing as a guaranteed victory.

At the end of the day, it's hard to be too upset with Young. Honestly, who wouldn't be frustrated after consistently losing on the road like this for nearly half a season? But Young -- and the entire team -- needs to play much better to eventually get that road win. And that means scoring 43 points on 42 shots in two games won't get the job done -- no matter the play calling.

Seven points, 13 seconds

I realize that the Wizards (10-26) are a really bad team. I also recognize that they did, in fact, win the game last night -- 136-133, in overtime, over the Kings. Nick Young also scored a career-high 43 points, which is great -- more on that below. But at some point, even the worst teams should be able to execute basic plays at the end of games. The Wizards, frankly, did not, and that's why the Kings forced overtime in the first place.

Let's go back to the last 13 seconds of regulation. After a Young turnover gave the ball back to the Kings, Jermaine Taylor grabbed an offensive rebound and dunked the ball to cut the lead to 125-121. Rashard Lewis desperately tried to find a teammate on the inbounds pass and forced the ball to Kirk Hinrich (under the basket) instead of calling a timeout. Beno Udrih stole the ball, which eventually ended up in the hands of Francisco Garcia, who not only made the layup, but was also fouled on the play. He made the free throw.

Now leading by just one, the Wizards got the ball to Young, who was fouled. At the free throw line, he made the first and missed the second. With seven seconds left, the score was 126-124. What happened next was absolutely indefensible: Pooh Jeter -- who the Wizards somehow allowed to score eight points and dish out 11 assists in 21 minutes -- drove right past John Wall for the game-tying layup. Wall was beaten badly on the play -- it happens, I guess -- but no one was behind him to alter Jeter's shot or even make him think about passing the ball. The lane was so wide open that it looked like the Kings were still in their pre-game layup lines. Not only did Jeter's shot tie the game at 126, but the play only took four seconds. It took just four seconds for the Kings to get a wide open layup. The Wizards obviously seemed concerned with giving up a go-ahead three-pointer, but there's no excuse for defense that poorly. None.

With three seconds left, Wall missed the game-winning bucket on the other end, and the game went to overtime. (Since the Kings didn't have the ball for the final three seconds, I guess it's actually seven points in 10 seconds, but I'll leave the title alone. It sounds bad enough as it is.) Thanks to Young and Hinrich, who combined for nine of the team's 10 points in overtime, the Wizards still pulled out the victory, which should be applauded considering the monumental collapse at the end of regulation. But they're not getting off that easy. There was very little defense played in yesterday's game from either team, but the defense displayed by the Wizards in the fourth quarter was absolutely atrocious. Not only did they fall apart in the fourth quarter's final seconds, but they allowed 43 points in that quarter alone. Forty-three points! In Friday's win over the Nets, the Wizards didn't allow 43 total points until the third quarter. I know: The Nets are terrible and that's a completely different game -- plus the Nets were chucking up bricks left and right -- but where is the consistent effort on defense? The Kings were getting buckets way too easy; at times it looked like the Wizards weren't even trying.

I don't think it's just Flip Saunders's fault. It's not just the players' fault. And it's not just the assistant coaches' fault. It's everyone's fault. Performances like that make me wonder why teams don't force more pressure on opposing teams more often. I know every team won't fold under pressure and throw the ball away like the Wizards did, but some might.

There's no excuse for the level of defense the Wizards played for much of the game -- obviously in the fourth quarter -- and that's not even counting the fact that the Kings were playing without their best player, Tyreke Evans. Here were the high scorers for the Kings last night: Udrih (26), Garcia (26), Carl Landry (23), Omri Casspi (15), and DeMarcus Cousins (10). There were no Kobes or LeBrons, or Amare Stoudemires or Kevin Durants, etc., on the floor last night, and again, Evans was out.

Now, for the positives. Young had an outstanding game (on offense). He had 43 points on just 22 shots, making 14 of them. He also shot a phenomenal 7-10 from three-point range. Here's a breakdown of his production by quarter: 14 in the first, three in the second, 18 in the third, five in the fourth, and three in overtime.

As a team, the Wizards outrebounded the Kings by 15 (55-40). Three Wizards grabbed at least 10 rebounds -- Andray Blatche (13), JaVale McGee (11), and Rashard Lewis (10). Lewis also had a decent game, scoring 16 points on 11 shots and dishing out six assists. Blatche had 16 points (5-10 from the field), four assists, and four steals. Wall didn't have a very efficient game, pouring in 22 points on just 6-19 shooting. He committed six turnovers, though he had nine assists and six rebounds. He also made all 10 of his free throws.

Off the bench, Hinrich scored 14 big points, all of them coming in the fourth quarter and overtime. He needed only nine shots to get those 14 and also had four rebounds and four assists. In 12 minutes, Al Thornton chipped in nine points on 4-5 shooting.

Nick Young takes charge

With John Wall still out and Gilbert Arenas now in Orlando after being traded for Rashard Lewis, Nick Young has had to shoulder more of the scoring load in the last two games. Against the Heat a few days ago, a game in which the Wizards somehow lost despite leading by five with 32 seconds left and again by four with 18 seconds left, Young perhaps had his best game of the season, scoring 30 points on 13-23 shooting and grabbing four rebounds. He also made both of his three-point attempts and both of his free throws while playing a season-high 45 minutes.

Young followed his performance against the Heat with another efficient effort last night in a blowout (108-75) win over the Bobcats. He scored a team-high 21 points in 35 minutes and shot 8-13 from the field. He also made three three-pointers and got to the line twice (making both), though he did commit five turnovers, a season-high for him.

When Wall gets healthy and returns to the lineup, it's not clear yet whether Young will move to the bench as the third guard or will instead start at shooting guard and force Kirk Hinrich to assume third guard duties. Hinrich does seem to be more comfortable playing point guard and getting his teammates involved, while there's no question that Young's best attribute is putting the ball in the hoop. In his last eight games, Young has scored at least 17 points in seven of them. In his one bad game during that stretch -- a three-point clunker against the Kings on December 8 -- Young made just one of eight shots while also turning the ball over three times.

Other than that, Young is averaging slightly more than 19 points per game in nine December games (he missed one against the Blazers because of a bruised left thigh) and shooting over 48 percent from the field. In 25 games so far this season, Young is playing more minutes (which should continue), making more of his shots (48.0 percent), and scoring more points (14.5) and grabbing slightly more rebounds (2.2). He's also taking more threes (3.6 per game) and is still making 38.9 percent of them. For someone who loves to shoot long twos, it's good that Young is shooting and making more threes. I also haven't noticed Young shooting as many fade-aways, though I'm not sure if that's completely true or not.

Young may not continue to play and shoot this well, but he's going to have every opportunity to do so since the Wizards don't exactly have a ton of other options at guard right now. But for someone who hasn't seen a whole lot of consistent minutes throughout his career, Young certainly won't complain about that.

Wizards fight back, stun 76ers against in OT

Because of work, I was unable to watch one minute of the Wizards' 116-114 win over the Sixers last night. But on the way home, I did have the opportunity to listen to the radio during the fourth quarter and overtime, and I will say this: play-by-play man Dave Johnson and color analyst Glenn Consor were shocked at the Wizards' comeback and eventual victory.

From listening to Johnson and Consor and looking at the game's box score, the Wizards were terrible in the first half. They finished the half down 14 points, and from what I could tell by glancing at the box score, no Wiz player was really competing except for JaVale McGee, who already had a double-double midway through the second quarter. (More on McGee and his monster game below.)

After scoring just 38 points in the first half, though, the Wizards turned things around in a hurry, outscoring the Sixers by 10 points (35-25) in the third quarter and scratching and clawing in the fourth to send the game to overtime.

Let's go back to the fourth quarter. With about six minutes to go, Marreese Speights hit a jumper to give the Sixers a 98-85 lead. For nearly the next five minutes, though, the Sixers failed to score any points; meanwhile, the Wizards scored 10 and cut the lead to 98-95. Both teams traded a few buckets, and then Evan Turner hit two free throws with 27 seconds left, giving the Sixers a 104-99 advantage. John Wall then got fouled and hit two free throws, making the score 104-101. Then came arguably the biggest play in the game (at the time, at least): On the ensuing inbounds pass, Trevor Booker tied up Andres Nocioni and forced a jump ball, which he eventually tipped to Gilbert Arenas. The teams traded free throws, and the Wizards got the ball back with 11 seconds to go. Flip Saunders used a timeout to advance the ball and drew up a play, but Nick Young launched a three-pointer that either was an airball or barely touched the rim, giving the ball back to the Sixers. Luckily, though, the Wizards fouled Evan Turner on the inbounds pass, and he missed both free throws.

Still down by three with eight seconds to go, Wall hurriedly drove down the floor and then made an absolutely fantastic decision. With the Sixers looking to foul instead of giving the Wizards a chance to hit a three -- a strategy that simply has not worked in two games against Washington -- Wall pulled up from about halfway between mid-court and the three-point line and was able to draw an obvious foul by Jrue Holiday. Holiday was not expecting Wall to force a shot from that far away. Wall made all three free throws and sent the game to overtime, 106-106.

Overtime was just as exciting, or even more so, than the fourth quarter, but let's skip ahead to the final seconds. Down 114-113 after a Thaddeus Young tip-in, the Wizards drew up another play and hoped for some more late-game heroics. And they got it when Nick Young (on a pass from Arenas) hit a three-point jumper in the corner to put the Wiz up two, 116-114. I'd like to say that the Wizards ran some awesome play to get Young that wide-open three, but judging from the replay, all Young did was run down the baseline, and the Sixers simply lost track of him for a moment, which was just enough time for him to nail the shot. Andre Iguodala missed his shot to tie the game, which gave the Wizards another overtime win over the Sixers.

I apologize for the long game recap, but it really was an outstanding comeback and an exciting game (at least to listen to, for me). Wall was the story in the second half and overtime after a bad first half in his first game back from injury, but the player of the game for the Wizards has to be McGee, who had the best game of his career with 24 points (9-15 shooting), 18 rebounds, and four blocks. He also had two assists and two steals. Amazingly enough, McGee still would have had a double-double without the defensive rebounds (8) he grabbed because he had 10 offensive boards. And as I discussed yesterday, McGee has now grabbed 10 or more rebounds in four straight games. Phenomenal work, JaVale.

Back to Wall: He led the Wizards with 25 points and was 7-15 from the field -- not great, but much better than he started off the game. He also had six assists, three rebounds, and just one turnover in 36 minutes.

Playing 32 minutes off the bench (partly because of an Al Thornton injury), Young scored 19 points and was also 7-15 from the field. He even grabbed three rebounds and made four three-pointers. As for the starters (other than McGee; Wall came off the bench), Arenas had 17 points and seven assists; Andray Blatche scored 17 points and snagged 12 rebounds; Kirk Hinrich chipped in seven points and six assists; and Thornton had no points and a rebound in eight minutes before departing. Neither Arenas nor Blatche shot well, though; they were a combined 14-37 from the field (ouch).

Overall, the Wizards won a game in which they were outshot (46.2% to 43.9%), outrebounded (48-45), and out-assisted (29-25). But they made four more three-pointers and shot better from the free throw line (76.9% to 71.0%), which certainly ended up mattering.

The Wizards improved to 5-8 on the season with the win, and they travel to Atlanta to face the Hawks on Thursday (on TNT). Also, in just 13 games, the Wizards have already played three overtime games.

Note: According to Basketball-Reference.com, since 1986-1987 only eight other players (other than McGee) have had games with at least 24 points, 10 offensive rebounds, a field-goal percentage of 60 percent (or higher), and four blocks. Those players, in descending order sorted by points, are Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Shaquille O'Neal (three times), Patrick Ewing, Elton Brand, Billy Thompson, Dikembe Mutombo, and LaMarcus Aldridge.

Wiz handle Raptors without Wall, Yi

Now with a 2-9 record after last night's 109-94 loss to the short-handed Wizards, it's fair to say that the Raptors are one of the worst teams in the NBA. Still, the Wizards improved to 3-6 with the win, and they did so without John Wall, and to a lesser extent, Yi Jianlian.

The Raptors, far from a good defensive team, allowed the Wizards to shoot over 56 percent from the field and dish out 28 assists. The Wizards ended the first half with a seven-point lead and then outscored the Raptors by 15 points in the third quarter (36-21) to put the game away for good.

With Wall out, Gilbert Arenas and Kirk Hinrich started together in the backcourt, and both had solid games. Arenas scored 20 points on 7-14 shooting, including 3-6 from three-point range, and he also had seven rebounds and six assists. Hinrich was also efficient, scoring 13 points on eight shots, while also dishing out a game-high 12 assists. Andray Blatche led the Wizards with 22 points (9-13 from the field) and also had seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Rounding out the starting five, Al Thornton added six points and seven rebounds, and JaVale McGee had eight points, nine rebounds, and four blocks.

Nick Young (30 minutes) and Trevor Booker (20 minutes) both played a sizable chunk of minutes off the bench. Young poured in 20 points on 8-15 shooting and also managed to do something else other than scoring points, grabbing six rebounds. The 20 minutes for Booker were the most he's played so far in his young career, and his eight points were also a career high. Also, Hilton Armstrong scored 10 points in a productive 16 minutes off the bench.

As a team, the Wizards held the Raptors to 40.7 percent from the field and outrebounded them 47-36. The Wizards also had nine more assists than Toronto (28-19), but they did turn the ball over three more times (16-13).

After beating the Raptors in Washington, the Wizards face the Celtics in Boston today. Unfortunately, they may still be without Wall, whose status is "still uncertain." The Celtics won't roll over like the Raptors did, and Wall's presence will likely be missed much more in tonight's game.

Brief note: I realize that Young was likely to play more minutes in this game because of Wall's injury, but it's still funny to see how his minutes change from game to game. His 30 minutes last night were a season high, but he hadn't even played 20 minutes in a game since November 2 against the 76ers. I realize that Young basically is who he is at this point -- a guy who doesn't bring a whole lot to the table other than his ability to heat up and score points in bunches -- but I guess he's sort of settling into his role as the fourth guard, which essentially means that he'll see some playing time if Wall, Arenas, or Hinrich misses a game. If not, then I guess he gets to spend most of the game with Sam Cassell on the bench.

Wall, Young score 18 apiece in Wizards win

John Wall and Nick Young each scored 18 points as the Wizards moved to 2-0 in the NBA Summer League, beating the Clippers 89-64. Young shot 6-11 from the field, including 4-7 from three-point range. But (obviously) the story for the Wizards -- as will be the case for many games this season -- was the rookie Wall, who filled up the stat sheet (both good and bad) and led the Wizards to victory.

Wall was 5-12 from the field and got to the free throw line eight times, making all eight. Besides his 18 points, he dished out 10 assists, grabbed one rebound, and picked up five steals. Unfortunately, for the second straight game he turned the ball over eight times.

Wall may be turning the ball over too much, but it's impossible to question his talent. Watching the game highlights embedded above, it's difficult not to be impressed with Wall's hustle and court vision. When he drives past opponents, he always has his head up and isn't just looking to score. He's looking to find open Wizards either standing near the three-point line or cutting to the basket. It's going to be exciting watching Wall mature into a great basketball player.

After a strong first game, JaVale McGee seemed to struggle a bit. He scored 10 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, but he shot just 3-10 from the field and committed seven personal fouls. He also had five turnovers. Definitely not his best game.

In 24 minutes, rookie Trevor Booker scored eight points, making all four of his field goal attempts, and had four rebounds. Cartier Martin also scored eight points on three shots -- not bad.

The Wizards' next Summer League game is on Thursday against the Mavericks.

Wizards hold on to defeat Bucks

Playing in the second game of a back-to-back, the Wizards survived some solid performances from unlikely players on the Bucks and held on late for a 104-102 win at home.

Despite holding Brandon Jennings and Andrew Bogut to 25 points and a combined (and inefficient) 11-35 from the field, the Wizards allowed starter Charlie Bell and bench players Hakim Warrick and Luke Ridnour to almost score at will. Bell finished with 15 points on 6-11 shooting, while Warrick and Ridnour each had 20 points -- Warrick's on 6-9 shooting (and an 8-8 mark from the free throw line) and Ridnour's on 9-16 shooting. If that wasn't enough, the Wizards also turned the ball over 17 times; the Bucks only had nine turnovers.

Three things saved Washington in this game: strong rebounding, good shooting, and an ability to get to the free throw line more than Milwaukee.

Rebounding: The Wizards outrebounded the Bucks 42-36, and Brendan Haywood led the team with 14 boards. Haywood also managed to keep Bogut off the glass -- he only had seven rebounds in 39 minutes.

Shooting: The Bucks made nine three-pointers, six more than the Wizards, but Washington shot better from the field -- 54.3 percent to 44.2 percent. Gilbert Arenas had a team-high 22 points, but he only made 10 of 24 shots. Nick Young was right behind him with 21 (on 7-12 shooting). Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler each chipped in 15 points.

Free throws: While the Bucks shot just 12 free throws, the Wizards shot 34, though they only made 25 of them. Butler and Earl Boykins each got to the line 10 times.

Some leftover thoughts/concerns on this game:

- I'm impressed with Young. He turned the ball over five times last night, which is too much, but he shot well from the field and seems to play well with the other starters. I wasn't sure if he'd be able to bounce back from not playing much to start the season, but he worked hard and is certainly contributing right now. I'm not sure if Randy Foye is completely healthy or not, but Young's recent play and the presence of Earl Boykins have really cut into Foye's minutes. Last night, Foye played only five minutes and didn't score a point.

- Speaking of Boykins, why exactly is he the one making plays in crunch time? Don't get me wrong, that late-game pass to Haywood for a dunk and his pump fake to get fouled with only a second or so left to win the game were both great plays, but where is Arenas in those situations? Even though things worked out this time, it's frustrating to see Arenas in the game without the ball in his hands. I never thought I'd see a crucial play late in a game where a healthy Arenas isn't the one with the ball. Arenas seems to have no problem deferring to Boykins -- but in the long run, is that a good thing?

- What was Flip Saunders's (or the rest of the coaching staff's) reasoning behind not making Boykins miss that final free throw? With that made free throw, the Bucks were able to move the ball all the way up the court and at least have a chance to win the game. Obviously the Bucks missed the shot, so it's not a big deal, but the Wizards haven't exactly been awesome when it comes to stopping plays like that. Just an odd move.

Anyway, the Wizards get a win and move to 7-10 on the season. Next up: Toronto at home on Friday.

Wizards fall to Hawks; Butler bruises knee

After a strong team effort in the season-opening win against the Mavericks, the Wizards jumped out to a 15-5 lead about five minutes into the first quarter against the Hawks. Caron Butler hit a three, Brendan Haywood dunked, Gilbert Arenas made a jumper, Fabricio Oberto hit a short jumper, Arenas knocked down a three, Mike Miller made a free throw, and Haywood dunked again. Arenas and Miller each had two assists, the Wizards were scoring at will and moving the ball around, and the Hawks were forced into taking jumpers on offense -- and they were missing. Sure, it was early, but the Wizards again looked solid.

Then, things turned south. The Hawks outscored the Wizards 24-9 to finish out the first quarter and led 29-24, and Atlanta never really looked back. Washington tried to close the gap, cutting the Hawks' lead to seven with about eight minutes left and again after a Gilbert Arenas three-pointer with 2:35 left in the game, but the Hawks were able to answer and prevent a comeback.

Overall, the Wizards didn't play horribly. They shot a higher percentage from the field (44.3% to 41.0%) and out-assisted the Hawks 19-18. But Atlanta outrebounded Washington 47-40, committed fewer turnovers (14-12), and shot more free throws (34-22). The Hawks also hit 31 of those 34 free throws (91.2%), which is outstanding. (For the record, Atlanta shot 73.7% from the free-throw line as a team last season, third-worst in the NBA. Funny how that works sometimes.)

More or less, the Wizards couldn't stop fouling on defense and were unable to get any kind of consistent offensive rhythm going, especially since they were already playing without Antawn Jamison -- and then Caron Butler after he suffered a bruised knee and didn't return after halftime. After an inspiring first game showcasing his all-around play, Arenas scored a game-high 23 points but failed to show those same play-making skills, turning the ball over seven times while dishing out just four assists. After Arenas, Haywood had 19 points, Andray Blatche scored 13, Randy Foye had nine, and Miller and JaVale McGee each had seven.

So was this just one of those tough games where the Wizards couldn't get things together, or is this a sign of things to come? Probably the former more so than the latter -- but we'll get the chance to find out a little more when the Wizards face the Nets tonight in their home opener.

Other game notes:

- After Miller got in early foul trouble, DeShawn Stevenson entered the game and couldn't stay out of foul trouble either. He took one shot -- and made it -- but he only played 11 minutes and still doesn't look quite right. (And if you're curious, yes, he did the I-can't-feel-my-face thing after making that shot. At this point, it's not even annoying to me -- it's just hilarious.)

- After three quick fouls sent Stevenson to the bench, Nick Young got on the floor after not playing at all against Dallas. Unfortunately, Young played horribly, missing all eight of his shots (six jumpers and two layups) and failing to get to the free-throw line. In 13 minutes, Young failed to record an assist and grabbed just one rebound. It's definitely too early to write him off or suggest that he won't get a ton of playing time, especially with the injury to Butler, but it's hard to figure out exactly what Young's role on this team is going to be.

- Why doesn't Mike Miller shoot the ball more? In 33 minutes, he took only five shots, hitting three of them. He had a strong all-around game -- 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals -- but how does Young take three more shots in 20 fewer minutes played? Shoot the ball, Mike. You're good at it.

- Blatche had a decent game (13 points, 6 rebounds, one assist, one block) following his superb performance in Dallas. He shot efficiently (5-7) and got to the free-throw line five times. Oddly enough, he had a team-worst +/- of -17 in 34 minutes. Still, I like the new-and-improved Blatche who hustles and seems to have his head on straight. Hopefully he keeps it up.

- Foye regressed a bit, shooting just 3-12 from the field. Still, he hit a three-pointer, dished out a team-high six assists, and had two rebounds.

- McGee gave the Wizards a little spark in his 10 minutes in the second half. He threw down a couple of dunks and blocked two shots.

Hilarious Wizards video

I don't quite understand what exactly is happening or why Mike James (in a hoody for some reason) is even in this video with Andray Blatche, Nick Young, and JaVale McGee. All I know is that I just watched it about 10 times in a row.

(HT: Bullets Forever)

Wizards Insider: a little late, aren't we?

I'm a big fan of Wizards Insider, which is written by Ivan Carter and Michael Lee on washingtonpost.com. Carter does a great job covering the Wizards from most, if not all, angles, and Lee does a solid job of writing about the rest of the NBA to keep fans informed.

But yesterday, Lee, who occasionally covers the Wizards, decided that now is the time to jump on the bandwagon of giving the younger players like Javaris Crittenton, Nick Young, and JaVale McGee more playing time. Dominic McGuire and Andray Blatche have both been playing more, so he was mainly focused on the other three (but primarly Young) in his post:

But perhaps it is time to start focusing on the future and giving JaVale McGee and Nick Young more consistent minutes. Yes, giving, even if they haven't earned them. Their sometimes poor and sporadic play might well be the result of insecurity and fear. If they make mistakes, they will not always get much of an opportunity to correct them.

I was talking to an NBA veteran recently about Young and he said he believed Young should get more minutes. This veteran was a fan of Young and his potential. He mentioned that when he watches Young play, he notices that if Young makes his first few shots, he's fine, but if he misses his first few, he immediately starts looking at the bench, expecting to get yanked. While waiting for the inevitable hook, Young gets distracted and unfocused on defense, then an avalanche of mistakes follow -- more bad shots, defensive lapses, etc.

The veteran said the only way to resolve that is to guarantee Young at least 20 minutes a night, so that he can shoot his way out of slumps and figure out how to mature on the floor. If Young knows that he has 20 minutes to work his way through his problems, he might actually do it. He might even earn a few more minutes.

Who was the NBA veteran? Captain Obvious?

I'm glad that someone close to the team is finally on board with this idea, but why didn't he write this a few months ago? It's March already! There's only 17 games left in the season! They're 15-50! Sorry for all the exclamation points, but it's not like the Wizards just suddenly turned into a bad team.

I don't really want the Wizards to tank, but what's wrong with playing the young guys to see what the team has? When a team is 15-50, the goal is to improve the team for next season. The Wizards already know what they have in Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler; they don't need to be playing 40 minutes in any game, such as the other day when Jamison played 38 minutes against the Minnesota T'Wolves.

And Crittenton and/or Young not getting at least 20 to 25 minutes a night is just disappointing. Who would rather watch Mike James for 30 minutes than one of those two?

I'm not saying that any of these guys will be superstars, but if the Wizards are going to compete next year, which hopefully means Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood are healthy, then they'll need a solid bench. They already have McGuire and Blatche; what's wrong with seeing if Young, Crittenton, or McGee can make a similar jump?

Nick Young: change he probably didn't need (updated)

With President Barack Obama attending the Bulls-Wizards game tonight, perhaps Wizards guard Nick Young wanted to show off a new haircut to impress him -- or maybe not. Either way, things didn't quite work out that well.

Ivan Carter writes:

Nothing really new to report about the Wizards, who have lost two straight - both here at home - and continue to lack anything looking like consistency. Nick Young will sport a bald look however. Apparently he messed up while doing something with the clippers and had to shave it off. He was getting killed in the locker room before the game.

It doesn't really look that bad, but maybe that's because he's wearing a headband right now. Still, I'd expect nothing less when Young is involved.

(I just added the picture, so now you can see Young's new look. Also, Brad Miller makes some odd faces.)

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Note to DeShawn Stevenson: Stop shooting

The Wizards are 4-20 right now, and they have the worst record in the Eastern Conference. It's pretty hard to believe that -- only four wins.

Yet the Wizards still play hard but find ways to lose winnable games. Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler have both been their usual selves; they both can score plenty of points and rebound, but neither can be called a defensive stopper by any means. Andray Blatche is actually playing better since Eddie Jordan got fired, and young guys like JaVale McGee, Dominic McGuire, and Nick Young have all shown glimpses of how they can significantly contribute down the road. And even though no one knows how good he can be, Javaris Crittenton could eventually turn into a serviceable young point guard to spell Arenas when/if he ever comes back. Hopefully Crittenton has a chance to play more as he becomes comfortable with the offensive and defensive schemes.

Mainly, Tapscott has done one thing well as interim head coach: play Blatche more. Blatche, who has now played more than 30 minutes four games in a row and started the last three, is averaging more minutes per game (23.7 to 16.9) and more points per game (11.5 to 6.7) in the 13 games under Tapscott. He's far from consistent, but Blatche actually appears to be improving each time he steps on the floor. More importantly, the Wizards have played better with Blatche in the game; he's the only player who plays consistent minutes with a positive +/- number at +14.

Unfortunately, Tapscott refuses to stop playing DeShawn Stevenson so many minutes. Stevenson is shooting 32.0 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from three-point range, yet he plays 29.7 minutes per game and also starts every game. Consider this: Out of 44 shooting guards who have enough three-point attempts to qualify, Stevenson is ranked 42nd. If he was just shooting a few a game, it wouldn't be a big deal; instead, of those same 44 players, Stevenson ranks 10th in three-pointers taken per game (4.7). So not only is he shooting a horrible percentage, but he also refuses to stop chucking them up. (Here's an idea: Remove hand from face -- then shoot.)

I'm not trying to blame Stevenson for the Wizards' 4-20 start by any means. Right now, they're just a bad team. But Stevenson shouldn't be playing more minutes than Nick Young, who is averaging more points (9.8) and a better field goal percentage (43.1) in 8.3 fewer minutes per game. Young isn't a good defensive player, but Stevenson isn't exactly Ron Artest either. When was the last time you watched a game and said, "Man, Stevenson is really locking his man down!" Probably never.

Watching Stevenson brick a bunch of shots on a four-win team isn't exactly thrilling. At least giving Young, McGuire, and McGee more minutes would give Wizards fans something to get excited about.

Wizards have a few bright spots

There aren't many positive things to look at when a team is 3-13 like the Wizards are, but the team has actually shown signs of improvement over the last few weeks -- even if it's only brought wins over the Warriors and Nets. Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler are both producing; Jamison (20.9 points, 9.3 rebounds) is putting up solid numbers and shooting 49.8 percent from the field, and Butler (21.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists) is scoring a point better per game through 16 games this season. But both Jamison and Butler are expected to produce, so that's really no surprise.

The biggest surprise, though, has been rookie JaVale McGee. Many figured McGee was either a poor pick by the Wizards or at least a project who would take a few years to develop. Instead, McGee supplanted Etan Thomas in the starting lineup after only a handful of games and hasn't looked back. By no means is McGee done improving, but he's given the Wizards a lot more than just about anyone expected.

Out of all rookies, McGee currently ranks 19th in minutes per game (19.4), 15th in points (8.1), 16th in field goal percentage (48.6), ninth in rebounding (5.2), and fourth in blocks (1.2) -- not bad for a guy who many thought would sit the bench for the entire season.

Besides McGee's hustle and energy, the best thing about him is that he obviously has so much room to improve. Most of his buckets right now come off of alley oops or dunks on fast breaks. Wizards' fans can only imagine what will happen when he starts to develop both his offensive and defensive games. McGee, who turns 21 in January, could be the center the Wizards need to compliment Haywood when he returns.

Four other young players on the Wizards have also shown their potential: Nick Young (23), Andray Blatche (22), Dominic McGuire (23), and Dee Brown (24).

Young, in his second season, is scoring 11.8 points per game, 4.3 more than last season, and he's shooting 46.7 percent from the field. Out of all NBA Sophomores, Young ranks eighth in points and 14th in efficiency. Even though he comes off of the bench, Young is third on the Wizards in scoring. If DeShawn Stevenson continues to shoot 32.9 percent from the field, Young's minutes should increase, especially in crunch time.

This season, which happens to be Blatche's fourth, may be the one where Blatche finally starts to realize his role in the league. His numbers so far this season aren't really better than last year's -- 8.0 points per game compared to 7.5 last season -- but he's also playing about three fewer minutes per game. McGee's emergence has taken some of those minutes away from Blatche, but so has Blatche's own failure to significantly improve his conditioning.

Just by watching Wizards' games, fans can see that Blatche has been hustling a bit more and taking better shots. He still settles for his jumper a little too often and usually commits one boneheaded turnover per game, but his +/- number of +15 is third-best on the team.

McGuire and Brown have also performed well. McGuire, who is arguably the team's best defensive player besides Haywood, averages only 10 minutes per game, but his presence is usually felt through his perimeter defense and rebounding ability. McGuire will never be a scorer in the NBA, but he can be someone used to give Butler the occasional breather and to help get key stops late in games or at the end of quarters, which the Wizards struggle doing. And Brown, who was forced into the starting point guard role because of the poor play of Juan Dixon and an injury to Antonio Daniels, has looked much more comfortable over the last few games. Averaging 2.4 points, 2.1 assists, and 1.9 rebounds in 14.9 minutes per game, Brown isn't going to scare anyone offensively. But he has caused some turnovers with his defense and given the Wizards a few baskets on fast break situations.

As much as I admire Daniels (4.8 points, 3.6 assists, 1.7 rebounds, 22 minutes) and his leadership on the floor, if he's not healthy or able to keep point guards in front of him on defense, Brown may be the best option for backup point guard whenever Gilbert Arenas returns to the lineup this season.

One more thing: I'm tired of seeing the veterans get priority over the younger players in the fourth quarter. While Arenas was out last year, playing Daniels and Stevenson together in the backcourt in crunch time was fine because they both played defense and helped get a few stops. Now, neither is really playing much defense, and the team is suffering. A key example was the team's last game against Portland. Brown had a solid first half, but he barely played at all in the second half while Daniels was getting torched on key plays by Steve Blake, a pass-first point guard. For some reason, Brown, who finished the game with a +3 differential, played four fewer minutes than Daniels, who finished -14 from the game. The Wizards are -52 for the season in the first quarter and -30 in the fourth quarter, and a big reason for that is the poor play by Stevenson. It's not surprising that not only are the Wizards +23 in the second quarter when more substitutions are made, but also that the Wizards played possibly their most complete game of the season against New Jersey on Tuesday when Stevenson was actually making his open threes -- imagine that.

I guess I just can't understand how or why Stevenson gets 29 minutes per game.