SB Nation DC: All Posts by Jake Whitacre

Bullets Forever Bracket Pool Update

2013-04-08T18:44:51Z

UPDATE: Let's use this as tonight's open thread as well.

We understand that most of you probably stopped paying attention to your brackets when everyone's the tourney went kablooey at the end of the second round. But for those who had enough sanity to put the top seed (Louisville) against the youngest, most talented team in the nation (Michigan) there are very important reasons to root one way or another tonight.

If the Cardinals win tonight, KiG's Bracket will be this year's winner. KiG picked three of the Final Four and six of the Elite Eight en route to nailing 39 of his 62 picks so far. However, if Michigan can pull it out tonight, your winner will be Cory Grubbs from Blog So Hard Sports who took the Wolverines to go all the way. You may also know Cory as the guy who got this Wizard tattoo recently.

Tonight's winner will walk away with a Bradley Beal shirsey. The loser will still get to walk away knowing they finished with a better score than any of the site's editors.

Enjoy the game tonight, everyone.

Wizards played enjoyed the Easter Egg Roll at the White House

2013-04-01T19:55:10Z

View this gallery here.

Martell Webster and Garrett Temple belt out National Anthem for Special Olympics

2013-03-05T21:46:50Z

If you missed it on The Bog today, Martell Webster and Garrett Temple put together quite a performance for the Special Olympics (you can read more about the event here).

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The whole thing got us thinking about what songs the rest of the team could perform if they were asked to take the microphone. Obviously, there's are some players who could pick from thousands of songs with ease (Jan Vesely) but we tried to limit it to what we think each player's best song would be.

Trevor Ariza: Straight Outta Compton by N.W.A. Technically, he went to school in nearby Westchester, but nobody's going to sing Straight Outta Westchester.

Bradley Beal: Sexual Bealing by Marvin Gaye - I'm not quite sure how a Marvin Gaye beard would look on Beal, but this is a viral video waiting to happen.

Trevor Booker: It Won't Be Like This For Long by Darius Rucker - Bet you thought we'd go with a Lil' Jon song to poke more fun at him talking about crunk, right? Well, we decided to take it a more practical direction. Booker knows how to play a guitar, so it would only make sense for him to play a song from a fellow South Carolinian.

Cartier Martin: Cartier by Elton John - Don't think we need to explain this one too much.

Nene: The Weight by The Band - Maybe not the best song for his vocal range, but he's had to handle plenty of heavy burdens in his career, both on the court and off the court.

Emeka Okafor: The Smartest Man Alive by The Broken West. Emekapedia might not be able to get up like he used to at UConn, but he's shown this year how much of an impact he can have, just through his hoops IQ.

A.J. Price: Price Tag by Jessie J - Sure the song choice is mostly tied into his name, but it's also probably worth mentioning he's a free agent at the end of the season.

Kevin Seraphin: Harlem Shake by Baauer - We've already seen him dance to the song, and with that deep voice he has, he could probably do a fairly solid rendition if called upon.

Chris Singleton: Blow It Up by R. Kelly - It's the perfect song to play when you're buying lottery tickets.

Jan Vesely: Macarena by Los Del Rio - Like we said earlier, we could pick just about anything here, because it would be awesome, so we went with the craziest song we could think of.

John Wall: Mista Tung Twista by Twista - The fastest player needs the fastest rap.

Wizards vs. Pistons preview: Washington looks to avoid sweep against Detroit

2013-02-27T16:00:05Z

Where, When and What Channel: The game will start at 7 p.m. EST at the Verizon Center. You can watch it on Comcast SportsNet+ (you can find where CSN+ is on your cable provider here).

Wait, wasn't this game supposed to be on ESPN? Yeah, before the season started ESPN had this slotted as a national game before realizing it featured the Wizards and the Pistons. So now it's back on local TV for tonight. Plan accordingly!

The Wizards have knocked off the Heat, Thunder, Knicks, Bulls, Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets and Rockets this year. Why can't they beat the Pistons? Well, no one can seem to figure that one out. Martell Webster blames it on "sorcery" (last time I checked, Wizards are a lot more into sorcery than engine parts) but it probably doesn't help the Wizards didn't have John Wall for the first two meetings this year. The other big factor? Offensive rebounding. In all three games, Detroit has grabbed at least 32 percent of the available offensive rebounds. It's really hard to win when you allow the opposing team to grab nearly a third of their misses.

Wizards' most successful months since 2000
Month	Year	Win %
Dec.	2006	75
Dec.	2001	73.3
Jan.	2005	73.3
Jan.	2007	66.7
Feb.	2006	66.7
Feb.	2013	63.6*
Mar.	2008	62.5
Apr.	2008	62.5
Apr.	2011	62.5
Dec.	2007	61.5
* - With a win tonight, Wizards would improve win percentage in February to 66.7 percent.

What's on the line tonight (besides pride and avoiding a sweep against Detroit)? Tonight, the Wizards could put a nice cap on a great month. A win tonight would give them an 8-4 record for the month of February. The last time they finished with a better record than that was back in December of 2006. That month was notable because Eddie Jordan won Eastern Conference coach of the month, Gilbert Arenas was named Eastern Conference player of the month, the Wizards won overtime thrillers on the road against the Lakers and Suns and as you may recall, Gilbert Arenas had a pretty nice game during that stretch.

Who needs to step it up to help the Wizards avoid the sweep? The Wizards could use a good game from Kevin Seraphin tonight. In the Wizards' other three games against Detroit, he's shot 9-30 from the field (30 percent) and only grabbed 12 rebounds in 61 minutes of play. Even with Andre Drummond out, the Pistons still have a formidable collection of bigs. As good as Emeka Okafor and Nene have been for the Wizards this season, this isn't a game where they can control the paint. If Seraphin can't provide a spark off the bench, it's going to be tough to avoid going 0-4 against the Pistons.

Who is averaging more points per game than Trevor Ariza this season? Kyle Singler is. Bet you probably didn't expect that.

Wizards vs. Raptors preview: Rudy Gay leads surging Raptors against Washington

2013-02-25T17:48:23Z

Where, When and What Channel: The game will start at 7 p.m. EST at the Air Canada Centre. You can watch it on Comcast SportsNet.

What happened the last time these two played: John Wall had an awful performance, Jordan Crawford threw his jersey into the crowd in his final game as a Wizard, and the shot clock broke.

How are the Raptors doing with Rudy Gay? So far, Toronto has to be pleased with what they've gotten from Gay from a team output perspective: The Raptors are 7-3 since he arrived, with two wins over the Knicks, a win over the Clippers and a win over the surging Washington Wizards to their credit. On the flip side, Rudy Gay is taking up more possessions with the Raptors than he did with the Grizzlies and he's using them even less efficiently. His turnovers have gone down since joining the Raptors, but his shooting percentages have gone down and his assist rate has remained flat.

Enough about Rudy Gay, how is Andrea Bargnani doing? By all accounts, everyone in Toronto seems to love him.

Are there any notable moments in Wizards-Raptors history I'm forgetting about? Well, there was that one game with Morris Peterson. And then there was that other game with Anthony Parker. If there was anything worse than that in the annals of Wizards-Raptors history, I'm sure we would have found a way to delete from our collective memories.

Is there any other reason I shouldn't like the Raptors? In November, the Raptors waived Dominic McGuire.

Wizards vs. Nuggets preview: JaVale McGee returns to D.C. for first time to face old teammates

2013-02-22T18:00:13Z

One day after trading Jordan Crawford, the Washington Wizards will get to see one of their former "problem players" in JaVale McGee. The Denver Nuggets are in town, and here's your game preview.

Where, When, and What Channel: The game will start at 7 p.m. at the Verizon Center. You can watch it on Comcast SportsNet.

What happened the last time they played: John Wall sealed a shocking win by blocking Ty Lawson's shot at the end of the game to give the Wizards a 112-108 victory in Denver.

What happened to Denver after that loss: After falling at home, the Nuggets rattled off nine straight, including an overtime win over Oklahoma City to get the ball rolling. The streak finally ended in Boston where they lost in triple-overtime on the second night of a back to back on the road. Tired legs from those games hurt the Nuggets as they would go on to lose the next two on the road before the break. They started the second half of the season on the right foot, however, getting revenge against Boston with a 97-90 win at home.

What might surprise you about JaVale McGee: Here are some fun facts to discuss with your friends while watching tonight's game:

Did you know JaVale McGee started more games his rookie year (14) than he has so far this season (0).
Did you know JaVale McGee has a higher PER than Chris Bosh, DeMarcus Cousins and Stephen Curry this season?
Did you know McGee is one of only eight players averaging over 18.5 points and 9 rebounds per 36 minutes? The other seven: Kevin Love, Tim Duncan, Blake Griffin, Al Jefferson, DeMarcus Cousins, Chris Kaman and...Andray Blatche.
Did you know that Nene, plantar fasciitis and all, is averaging more minutes per game this year than McGee?

That last fact is pretty stunning, isn't it? Either McGee is getting squeezed in George Karl's rotation, or there's something he's doing that isn't reflected in those numbers. We're leaning the latter.

Where can I read more about the Nuggets? Check out Denver Stiffs.

Jordan Crawford's greatest hits: A look back at the steeziest player in Wizards' history

2013-02-22T16:01:52Z

When Gilbert Arenas was traded to Orlando in December 2011, it created a goofy void in the locker room that no one will ever be able fill. But if there was ever a player who could come close to filling that void, it was Jordan Crawford. He may not have had all of Arenas' skills, and he may not have had the off the court star power Arenas had, but he brought a special quirk that helped a fanbase desperate for some entertainment get through some rough times.

While most of us can probably agree it's for the best that the Wizards and Crawford have moved on (regardless of how you feel about what the Wizards got back in the trade) there's still a part of me that's going to miss Crawford. To understand what I'll miss, let's take a look back at some of his finest moments.

ON THE COURT

Years from now, this is what we'll probably remember most. Not only was this a dramatic win on the road (which has been quite a rarity recently) but it allowed Steve Buckhantz to break out "DAGGER!!!" from its dusty sheath for the first time in ages. Plus, it was the quintessential Jordan Crawford play: Awkward looking and a little harder than it needed to be, but very rewarding when it worked.

The most underrated aspect of Crawford's game was his ability to find players for alley oops. For a guy with a well-deserved reputation as a gunner, he knew how to find a guy streaking to the basket for a highlight dunk. This oop to John Wall over Baron Davis is my favorite but there are plenty of others to enjoy:

One of the great shames of the trade is that with Crawford, John Wall was free to unleash his speed off the ball to create highlight plays like the one you just saw. Now that he's gone, Wall has to be the facilitator on the break almost exclusively. That said, we'd be remiss if we didn't bring up Crawford's most (in)famous pass:

OFF THE COURT

In the future, if you ever have to explain Jordan Crawford to someone who has never heard of him, I'd recommend just showing them the following section and they should have a pretty good understanding by the time they're done.

Least Romantic Wizard goes to Jordan Crawford with this gem.

"I'm the wrong person to talk to about Valentine's Day," he said laughing. "I usually get rid of my shorties around now."

via Sarah Kogod

"When it's time to score, I score. As I should." via Mike

"It really comes down to if I make the shot, it's a good shot." via Craig Stouffer

Crawford isn't a fan of Bieber or his music, but couldn't help but ignore his celebrity as he drove to practice and pre-teen girls surrounded the arena holding signs and screaming.

"He's a popular guy," Crawford said. "I seen all the little girls in there waiting on him before practice. So, you know, it's definitely here."

When asked if he was sure if the fans weren't waiting for him, Crawford had a long laugh before saying, "Nah. Not them young ones." via Michael Lee

Just ran into a grinning Jordan Crawford at Verizon Center. Me: Going to Vegas? JC: "Yes". Me: To play? JC: "To be a Playa." #Wizards
— Ben Standig (@BenStandig) July 10, 2012

And let's not forget his amazing Instagram page, where you can find pictures of him riding in planes with Jan Vesely, dunking on grocery displays, and posting his post-workout meal, which I'm pretty sure consists of a hot dog bun, shredded cheese and Ramen noodles.

Best of luck in Boston, Jordan. I'm pretty sure they have no idea what's coming their way up there, but we certainly know what we'll be missing.

Midseason Grades: Can Jan Vesely prove his worth with John Wall?

2013-02-18T17:48:00Z

It's not technically midseason, but with this being the all-star break, we could think of no better time than to issue midseason report cards. In this edition, everyone's favorite Czech import: Jan Vesely.

The Good

As many hoped and expected, Jan Vesely's play has improved with John Wall's return to health. Last month, he posted two double-digit scoring efforts in nice wins and seems to have a slightly longer leash with Randy Wittman.

The Bad

Almost all the things that most were hoping Jan Vesely would improve on in his second season haven't panned out so far. Yes, he's slightly more comfortable taking jump shots (7-25 so far this season) but he's still a long ways away from making anyone think about trying to contest it. His free throw shooting is down to 27.6 percent (8-29) this year from 53.2 percent last year. He's averaging 1.8 fouls per 36 minutes more than he did last season, and last year he averaged 5.2. Oh, and his rebounding for the season is down from last year as well.

Expectations for the second half

Jan Vesely has a lot to prove as we get ready for the rest of the season. Now, that Wall is back, Vesely doesn't have any excuses for lackluster performance moving forward. Vesely needs to show he can provide the spark he's shown as a tempo-changer and a running partner with Wall more consistently while he works on developing your classic basketball skills. While no one expects him to suddenly transform himself into a lottery player overnight, we'd like to see him fit his conceptual role with the roster more before the season ends.

How would you rate Vesely's season on a scale of 1-10, and what would you like to see from him in the second half of the season?

Poll

On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate Jan Vesely's season?

1

47 votes

2

46 votes

3

22 votes

4

13 votes

5

6 votes

6

1 votes

7

2 votes

8

0 votes

9

1 votes

10

3 votes

141 votes | Poll has closed