Health Tracker-Offseason Recovery

[FreeBalling]

I'm happy Gils back, very happy but why mess with the lottery balls Gil?

Bad decisions in the past have lead to this situation with you being out, why mess it up now and play? This was the year of endless pain, I know I watched or went to every game. Five games for what?

Sell a few more tickets, lets the fans know your back 100%, stroke your super-ego.

You know your back!

Let’s take a look at 5 games per 48 Gil will make $67,467.00 per minute. WOW!!!! Take the 5 off.

Why mess with the lottery balls, I'd rather have the best possible chance at the 1st pick than see 5 games of Gil this year. JMO

I welcome Gil back, wow have I missed you.

Hands11 I have not forgot your comments about Butler being better than Gil. Time to pony up.

[no D in Hibachi]

I'm stoked for Arenas to return. Of course he thinks he's all the way back and that he's the same old Gil, but is he really? Whether the Wiz get the 1st or not, if Gil is not all the way back the Wizards probably aren't championship caliber. It'd be great to see whether he's the old Gil or not so everyone won't have to worry all summer long about what kind of player he is.

I never bought into the notion that Butler was better than Arenas and I think it's been clear this season that Butler is not better than Arenas.

[hands11]

I'm stoked for Arenas to return. Of course he thinks he's all the way back and that he's the same old Gil, but is he really? Whether the Wiz get the 1st or not, if Gil is not all the way back the Wizards probably aren't championship caliber. It'd be great to see whether he's the old Gil or not so everyone won't have to worry all summer long about what kind of player he is.

I never bought into the notion that Butler was better than Arenas and I think it's been clear this season that Butler is not better than Arenas.

It was never about CB being better then GA as a scoring talent. It was about all the other things that are Gil.

We have seen some small signs that GA may not be just an AI. Now we have to see it.

[hands11]

One day and counting......

And as cool as this is, lets not forget that Haywood is soon to follow.

And CB will no doubt be back soon also.

We will finally get to see our freakn team play and with out EFJ coaching this.

I have been waiting 5 years for this.

Delayed gratification. Hopefully Gil will play very limited minutes. Hopefully if Wood and Butler come back they will also limit minutes so the ping pong balls go don't go down the drain. We've had to suffer for 70+ games, what's a few more? I do look forward to next season with a new coach, a healthy roster (please), maybe Blake or some other addition that is interesting to watch.

I don't think this teams path is grounded in ping pong ball from this years draft. I know a lot think Blake is some kind of team savior. I'm not buying it. This team future has more to do with Haywood, AJ, CB, and GA then is does Blake.

[hands11]

This article is a must-read!

That's right, Arenas pointed the finger at Agent Zero for not helping develop the young players on the team, for not getting Nick Young, Dominic McGuire, Javaris Crittenton, JaVale McGee or Andray Blatche to progress enough during an 82-game gift of an opportunity -- though he said McGuire worked for everything he got.

"Nick, Javaris, JaVale -- I felt personally that they didn't get better this season due to the fact I wasn't around," Arenas said. "All of us are at fault, but I blame myself for them three not getting better."

"We didn't realize what happened, how we got too young too early too fast," he said of the Wizards. "We got rid of veterans every year, and we're bringing in kids. We kept getting draft picks. We kept acquiring projects. Nick is a project. JaVale is a project. Javaris is a project. Eventually when you have enough projects, you live in the 'hood."

Seventeen and 56 is indeed the NBA's 'hood.

"At the end of the day, our problem is we don't have a veteran team," he said. "A team like Cleveland, they went to the finals and got rid of two veteran players and they brought in two veterans. It was hard to watch us fall off. We were right there with Cleveland. Orlando and Atlanta got older, better. Now they all surpassed us. Damn, look at Miami? They were above us, then we passed them and now they're ahead of us again."

Arenas said he has committed to spending most of the summer working out with Young, Crittenton and McGee, to "teach them what I know."

Excellent. Looks like GA has become who I wanted him to be and this also confirms my beliefs and goals for the team. This is why he needs to come back and show us that this is what we will become. Sounds like a leader in the making.

[hands11]

Tankscott is talking about playing Gil 24-28 minutes right out of the chute.

I don't think we're going to go a full 36 or 38 minutes," Tapscott said. "That just would not be realistic or prudent on our part. I'm sure 24, 28 would be more like it." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 02187.html[url][/url]

All I can say is WTF. How about 12-15 minutes for his first game rather than 28?

GA is a lot farther along then most people understand. I trust he is ready for it. I'm not worried at all.

[hands11]

Guard Mike James injured his right pinkie during practice and was wearing a brace afterward. James was to undergo an MRI exam yesterday afternoon, but he theorized that he might have broken the finger. - This is either some good BS or the basketball Gods are shinning on us. This clears the way to try some line ups that actually matter since I don't think he is part of the longer term plans.

Forward Caron Butler, who has missed the past seven games with tightness in his left hamstring, practiced and will test the leg at shoot-around this morning. He's officially a game-time decision, as are forward-center Darius Songaila (pinched nerve in neck) and guard Juan Dixon (strained Achilles').

The plan Tapscott has talked about for Arenas calls for him to play in each of four remaining home games and possibly two road games: at Cleveland on April 8 and at Boston on April 15.

----------------

I'm pretty sure we will see CB. Seven games off was all about being ready to play with GA when he returns so you can be pretty sure that will happen. They are going a good job of balancing the losses with the return of some core players.

It's also interesting to me that there is no mention of The Big Three. Instead CB refers to The Core Guys. This is something to monitor. Hopefully I'm not jumping the gun here. If you continue to see it worded like this then you can read into it that EG is changing the focus and the internal messaging for this team and hopefully getting everyone on board for a team concept.


Adding Gil instantly changes everything because now we have a pure outside shooter and a vet to man the PG who can also shot from the outside. Those are two things that have killed this team this year. I think he is mostly going to play playmaker shooter from the outside to start with Nick driving for a few games. James is irrelevant for what they are trying to evaluate right now. They will also want to see Crit run with GA soon enough.

Starter will likely be

Blatche, AJ, CB, DMAC, GA with
DSong, McGee, NY, Critter

James, Dixon and OP will be available but probably not get much time. With GA, Crit, NY, CB and DMAC they should be able to cover the minutes at PG and SG with different combinations.

This is kind of exciting. I can see all kinds of line ups. But even with adding GA back, the roster is not great because it has holes. But add Haywood back to the mix and things really change. That is going to have a huge impact because it plug our other glaring whole - a starting quality center. But for now, this is a huge opportunity for Blatche. I don't think he has ever started with AJ, CB and GA.

I also think McGee should be excited. Now he has someone else to run the court with him. I can see a fast breaking trapping line up of ...

McGee, Blatche, DMAC, GA and Critter. or
McGee, Blatche, DMAC, NY, GA

In the past, we had problems against athletic teams like ATL because we didn't have the horses to match up with them. Now we do. Give EG some credit. This team should be able to play with power when it needs or speed when it needs. We have a nice combination of height, speed, jumpers, youth and vets when we are healthy. This really is a very interesting roster when healthy.

Haywood, Blatche, AJ, CB, GA will be interesting.

And one day soon before the season is over I hope to see

Haywood, McGee, Blatche, CB, GA

And if NY can continue to round out his game with passing and rebounds and quality shots, I would like to see

Haywood, McGee, Blatche, NY, GA

That would be a crazy line up. Super tall with a strong post presence in Haywood. McGee would grab any rebound Haywood didn't. Actually Haywood would probably do a lot of boxing out on defensive rebounds to clear space for McGee to rebound. The middle would be shut down for the opponents. Lots of shot blocking. McGee, Blatche, NY and GA could run on the break with high flying dunks and alley opps. Blatche, Nick and GA can handle the ball and all three can drive and shoot from the outside. Nick and GA would nail the threes. The D should be solid with the post covered so they can cover the outside shot. Also on offense, Haywood, McGee and Blatche could pull all the bigs out of the middle and NY and GA would have a field day driving and popping from the outside. With all these line up to explore, it's easy to see what EG was waiting for and why he didn't change everything up until we got Haywood and GA back.

This is why we needed to get ride of EJ. Everything is opened up now. From what I have seen of Tapps, he will be more likely to mix it up. A good coach should be able to be like a mad scientist with this roster. And if GA can focus on the roster more then just his own game, he can be a huge part of making this team sing. He is key because he works with the older vets and the young guns. He has so many aspects to his game. He just needs to be able to give different thing at different moments as he plays with different line ups. The fact that we have other glue type players also helps. I consider Blatche, CB and DMAC to be those players.

With the right coach, this is a very interesting team.

Haywood, Blatche, AJ, CB, GA
DSong, McGee, DMAC, NY, Critter

Keep OP around as a cheap extra Center/PF. Keep him inactive.
Dump James, Etan, and DS when it makes sense. You may want to keep Dixon another year. He is a decent back up hybrid SG/PG who is ready when called on. Use him as back up to Critter until we find out if he can make it or not. I'd draft a PG who you could grow over the next few years in case Crit doesn't work out. If you end up with two quality PGs, that ok as GA can get moved to SG or you trade one. We have drafted every position except PG. I think that is where we may go this draft. Either that or maybe a center again since they take a while to grow in the NBA and getting one somewhere else is to expensive. McGee may end up being more of a PF for now then a center until he develops and Blatche is kind of a C/PF/SF. No way we let him go since he can play all three.

There are several ways to make this work. We will just have to wait to see which pick we get.

[fishercob]

James was to undergo an MRI exam yesterday afternoon, but he theorized that he might have broken the finger.

Wouldn't you just get an X-ray for that? Good to know the Wiz med staff has yet to figure out how to actually practice medicine.

[hands11]

James was to undergo an MRI exam yesterday afternoon, but he theorized that he might have broken the finger.

Wouldn't you just get an X-ray for that? Good to know the Wiz med staff has yet to figure out how to actually practice medicine.

I believe a MRI is a lot better then a simple XRAY.

[RhythMic-]

I'm stoked for Arenas to return. Of course he thinks he's all the way back and that he's the same old Gil, but is he really? Whether the Wiz get the 1st or not, if Gil is not all the way back the Wizards probably aren't championship caliber. It'd be great to see whether he's the old Gil or not so everyone won't have to worry all summer long about what kind of player he is.

He doesn't think that. These last few remaining games he'll play in is all a "part of rehab".

"I know everybody is harping on 'What do you feel like?' and all that, but I'm still looking at it as rehab," Arenas said yesterday afternoon via his cellphone. "I'm not looking at it as a comeback. This is the final stage of rehabilitation, me learning what I can do, what I can't do and what I need to work on."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 04082.html

This article sheds light on what he plans and what was going on in his head during the season. Great read.

[fishercob]

James was to undergo an MRI exam yesterday afternoon, but he theorized that he might have broken the finger.

Wouldn't you just get an X-ray for that? Good to know the Wiz med staff has yet to figure out how to actually practice medicine.

I believe a MRI is a lot better then a simple XRAY.

X-ray's can tell you if you have a bone fracture or not. MRI's are needed to see if there's ligament damage.

[hands11]

I'm stoked for Arenas to return. Of course he thinks he's all the way back and that he's the same old Gil, but is he really? Whether the Wiz get the 1st or not, if Gil is not all the way back the Wizards probably aren't championship caliber. It'd be great to see whether he's the old Gil or not so everyone won't have to worry all summer long about what kind of player he is.

He doesn't think that. These last few remaining games he'll play in is all a "part of rehab".

"I know everybody is harping on 'What do you feel like?' and all that, but I'm still looking at it as rehab," Arenas said yesterday afternoon via his cellphone. "I'm not looking at it as a comeback. This is the final stage of rehabilitation, me learning what I can do, what I can't do and what I need to work on."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 04082.html

This article sheds light on what he plans and what was going on in his head during the season. Great read.

I think those comments are intended to lower exceptions so he has more room to operate with a little less pressure. I read somewhere else about how he doesn't plan of driving a lot the first few games. It's also intended to let people know he isn't going to try to score 50. That shouldn't be the measuring stick for if he is back.

Like I posted before, I expect to see him bring what he knows he has which is some passing and an outside shot. He will drain some 3s and feed his teammates. I fully expect him to scoring in the 20s several times before the season is over. The line will look impressive.

15-20 pts 7-8 assist, 2 steals.

He knows everyone will be evaluating his game regardless of what he does. He just needs a little wiggle room to hold back some of the over evaluating which is going to happen. For me, I'll be more then happy to see him bring the game I outlined above. We don't need him to dominate the ball with shots. AJ, CB, and Blatche can help carry the scoring load. Then you also have Nick and DSong. Crit adds a few drives. DMAC a few here and there. McGee gets a little also. We will be fine with pts. Specially once Gil helps open the court.

[CourtsideTV]

so gilzero is only playing home games and 1 away at the cavs???

i have him for fantasy and he's just icing on the cake as playoffs started and i think i'll win out this week ready to contend for championship:)

wow i waited so long..hopefully in the 15-20 minutes he plays he puts up 13/4/3

[no D in Hibachi]

You've waited so long? How do you think Wizards faithful feel?

[CourtsideTV]

You've waited so long? How do you think Wizards faithful feel?

I drafted him like 10th round out of 15 rounds in hopes he would come back by allstar break..instead since wizards are in tank mode I had to wait until now and even now he's only playing home games + 1 away which is all I need as long as they dont limit his minutes to 10mpg.

he's better than the alternative (sasha vujavic) even if he's limited.

i'm going to watch this game bc mr. hibachi is an exciting player to watch.

[MJG]

Mike James done for the season ...

In this worst-case scenario season, you can add Mike James to the list of injured players who won't play again this season for the Washington Wizards. Wizards Coach Ed Tapscott was hoping that James had merely jammed his finger in practice on Friday, but James emerged from shootaround Saturday morning wearing a cast on his shooting hand after an X-ray revealed a broken right pinkie.

The veteran guard said on Saturday morning that he broke his right pinkie in three places and likely will have surgery on Tuesday. James even put aside any doubt the severity of the injury when pulled out his iPhone and showed his X-ray.

James said he was chasing down a loose ball when he and Caron Butler slapped at the ball at the same time. He said that he knew immediately that he was done. "I felt it," James said. "I knew as soon as I grabbed the ball, I couldn't feel the ball and that side of the hand was hurting."

Sucks for him, but I'm not complaining about anything that gives us less James and more Crittenton. I just pray to the gods that Tap doesn't decide to give Arenas 30+ minutes to fill the void.

[dobrojim]

Post today mentions that Gil's comments in the Wise article hurt
poor Andray's (and maybe some other kids too) feelings. TFB.
Time to grow up and be a pro. Sometimes the truth hurts.

[Rafael122]

Andray should look in the mirror. Wasn't he the one who was sleeping at the V b/c he was blowing through all of his money?

[MOrgil]

Nick Young and McGuire have shown improvement, especially McGuire but Blatche has been the same player the last few seasons. He needs to get serious. If we land Blake Griffin, I would have no problem trading Blatche somewhere.

[Pollinator]

Hopefully this will light a fire under Andray's butt and get him to up his trade value. I still say trade him for a mid first round pick and get a DeJuan Blair if possible.