Jan Vesely Alley-Oop High Jump

Here is Airwolf, our favorite player, looking like a high diver stretching out to make this catch and slam.

Follow me at @FCLittleCity for my new bar/restaurant blog

Wizards Law; What can Go Wrong.....

Written By Jeremy Batka @EastCoastAssn

The Wizards looked lethargic coming off the All-Star break dropping their first game of the second half of the season 96-88 against the Raptors in D.C. Tuesday night.

Not only did Washington look like a team still on vacation but even the Verizon Center had troubles. With a broken scoreboard the stadium was forced to use an air-horn and a make shift high school scoreboard with shot clocks on the corners of the court. Only in Washington.

But in the scoreboard's defense, who would show up to see a team play as poorly as the Wizards did Tuesday night? Despite being down only five in the fourth quarter Washington never really stood a chance in an ugly effort from Randy Wittman's team.

Bradley Beal led the team with 25 and Martell Webster had 16 as both drained three shots from beyond the arc. After that it's tough to find positives on a night that saw John Wall commit more turnovers than assists (7-6).

With the majority of the Wizards having a rough night Wittman opted not to play Jordan Crawford or Jan Vesely and gave less than five minutes to Chris Singleton and Kevin Seraphin. Crawford, who is the speculation of many trade talks hasn't played significant minutes since January.

Crawford also threw his jersey to the crowd after the game. Maybe he already knows he's gone or maybe he was just giving the fans, who were chanting his name, what they wanted.

And to make matters worse, here's a tweet from Wizards' reporter Frank Hanrahan after the game:

 So yeah, there's that.

Wizards next game will be Friday when they host JaVale Mcgee and the Nuggets.

JANuary Raises Over $400 For The Boys & Girls Club

Back at the start of January, we thought a great way to kick of 2013 would be to raise some money for people who need it much more than we do.  We also thought that a great way to get readers involved was to give the fundraising a Wizards theme.

Since it was January, and our favorite player on the team's name is Jan, we thought combining the two was a no brainer.  JANuary was born!

We chose the Boys And Girls Clubs of Greater Washington as our charity, and got to work.

Instead of just collecting flat donations we decided to make it a little interesting.  While we accepted flat donations, we also had people pledge money for every point that Jan Vesely scored in the month of January.

Our friends at Blog So Hard Sports stepped up and pledged to let their money ride on the success of Jan Vesely along with a few of our readers.  (One reader was from the UK and donated to a separate charity over there).

Even Jan Vesely himself got involved.  He stepped up his game on the court and even donated over $7 per point to go along with our $1 per point pledges.

Vesely finished January strong and we raised a grand total of....

Wiz Blow Out Magic - Win Third Straight

The Wizards never trailed Monday night and dominated the Orlando Magic 120-91. By far the Wizards biggest victory of the season.

For Wizards fans it's a sight for sore eyes; a healthy roster for the first time all year leading to a three game win streak. Six players were in double figures for Washington and the team defense is stronger than it's been all year

The Wizards did play sloppy at the end of the first half and the Magic were able to cut their deficit from 19 to 6. But for the most part Washington dominated, in fact the Wizards scored 37 in the third quarter, the most of any quarter this season.

Its obvious the team has a new swagger with John Wall back in the lineup. Wall had 12 points and six assists in 20 minutes off the bench.

But Wall isn't the only Wizard returning from injury contributing to the team. A.J. Price played well in his third game back dropping18 he also had six assists.

Believe it or not Wizards fans but Jan Vesely had yet another impressive game. Vesely finished strong in the paint multiple times including a few alley oops.  On the night he had ten points seven rebounds and four assists. Hopefully the negative criticism on Vesely was pre-mature and we can look forward to more progress from the former number six overall pick.

Kevin Seraphin also continues to impress snagging 18 points with five rebounds and four assists.  

The Wizards will now take their three game win streak out west for a five game road trip. The first stop is Wednesday night in Sacramento.

And...John Wall...nuff' said...

Written By Jeremy Batka @EastCoastAssn

Some GIFs from tonight:

• Ted Leonsis with the Ass Slap
• John Wall gets leapfrogged, then breaks ankels

Jan and John: How John Wall's Return Will Benefit Jan Vesely

During his second season in the NBA, Czech forward Jan Vesley has taken a small step backwards in his growth as a basketball player.  Vesely's numbers are down as he has struggled to find his niche in the stagnant and slow Wizards offense.

Earlier in the season, Jan Vesely was an NBA starter.  That stint lasted just 4 games.  Vesely has logged 10 or more minutes just 16 out of the Wizards 33 games, a shade over 50%.  There were 7 games where Vesely DNP'd, not logging a single second, and another game where his playing time was actually under a full second.

As a rookie Vesely played almost 19 minutes per game, but in 2012-13 his minutes dropped down to around 13.  That stat would make more sense if the team had improved, but the Wizards have been decimated by injuries and losing at a rapid pace, yet JV can't seem to stay on the floor.

Part of the problem has to do with Vesely's propensity to foul.  This season Vesely averages over 6 fouls per 36 minutes.  With that line of reasoning Jan would foul out of EVERY SINGLE GAME if his minutes increased.  In fact, it took Jan all the way until Monday night's game against the Thunder to finally raise his points scored above his personal fouls for the first time since November!

Another part of the problem is the offense, created by the point guard situation.  With the ballhogging Jordan Crawford sharing this season's point guard duties with 2 D-Leaguers and AJ Price, a player far from elite, the fast break is almost dead.  The Wizards were ranked 3rd in fast break points in 2011-12 and have plummeted to 17th with John Wall shelved.  (Team Rankings)

Without John Wall, Vesely has been relegated to running around the floor like a chicken with its head cut off.  At times it looks like he is going in circles trying to set screens all over the floor hacking and whacking. When the Wizards do open up the offense, Vesely picks up easy dunks and alleyoops.

However, John Wall is scheduled to return to action on Saturday and no one is more excited than Jan Vesely.  To find out why you one only has to look at last year's statistics when Jan & John teamed up.

In 2011-12, John Wall was on the floor for 70% of Vesely's minutes.  In that time Wall helped generate another 2 points per game for JV.  That doesn't sound like much but during that time Jan's field goal percentage raised 9 percentage points as John Wall created easier baskets for Vesely.  With Wall on the bench Vesely ended up fouling more as well, which is what he turns to when the game slows down.  Jan was even with Wall on the floor, and a -11 when Wall was on the bench.  (NBA Advanced Stats)

Via NBA.com

Jan had a great game on Monday night against the Thunder, racking up 10 points and 7 rebounds.  The game may have been the beginning of something exciting.  Wall will be back next game and if Jan continues to play the way he did on Monday the addition of John Wall running the break could help JV finally make Varsity.

Jan Vesely & The Secret Cipher

So our favorite player Jan Vesely sent out some pretty strange tweets last night.  We thought it may have been one too many Czechvars or perhaps some pocket tweeting, but it was actually a secret code that Jan left for the KGB.

Jan has already successfully infiltrated the Washington Wizards, and is currently planted right in the midst of our nation's capital.  Watch out everyone!

And all joking and fun aside, donate some money to the Boys & Girls Club here for JANuary!

Bradley Beal, Meet Dagger

Dagger! 

No, seriously, Dagger!  You did not misread that.

With under 13 seconds left of a tie game, the Washington Wizards looked to do something that they haven't done in several years.  They tried to get the ball to a player and put the game in his hands.  And would you believe it, his name wasn't Gilbert.

Dagger!

Bradley Beal drove to the foul line, pump faked sending two Thunder players soaring past him, and jumped around them to hit the one handed floater with 0.3 seconds to give the Wizards their 5th win of the season, a 101-99 victory over the Thunder.  (He finished with 22 points, tied for the team high)



Dagger!

Beal started his career rather slowly, but as the season continues Beal has been the one to take and hit the few clutch shots the Wizards have had this season.  A week ago fans wondered how a Washington Wizards player could have possibly been the rookie of the month in the Eastern Conference (for December), but after tonight they may have begun to believe.

Dagger!

Just three days prior, Beal hit a 3 pointer at the buzzer of the first overtime against Brooklyn to give the Wizards a second chance in another extra frame.  (Watch the fan reaction here)  And on Monday night the rookie from Florida hit the first game winner of his young NBA career.  The signs of Beal's improvement are evident on the court and are making it look like a pretty decent draft pick.

Dagger!

The Wizards only had 9 players available with AJ Price and Trevor Ariza returning to the lineup, but Shelvin Mack (cut), Jordan Crawford, Nene, and Cartier Martin out with injury.  Chris Singleton played just 6 seconds.

The Wiz had a lead for much of the second half, and the Thunder kept the Verizon faithful (consisting of a lot of Kevin Durant fans) holding their breaths as KD tied the game on a 3 pointer with under 40 seconds left.  Same old Wizards?  Not tonight.

Jan Vesely had a very active game scoring 10 points and getting 7 points in 20 minutes of hustle time.  (That earned $30 for charity...click here to find out more about JANuary)

Beating the Thunder one game doesn't change where this team is going, or where it has been.  But hearing Steve Buckhantz scream his trademark line helps Wizards fans forget the record, forget the woes, and forget the awfulness, at least for one night.

Dagger!

Pushing Jan Vesely

JANuary continues (you still have time to pledge or donate!) and today we have one of Jan Vesely's Wizards teammate pushing him!  Hey lay off!!!

Guess who knocked down the Thunder guy on the floor...JAN!

Jan Vesely Records First Ever "Jan Trick"

One of my favorite parts of basketball is the triple double.  It is a really cool accomplishment, although it is often tainted by idiots trying to rack up stats.  (And by idiots I mean this Wizards player and this Wizards player)

I kind of like hockey's "hat-trick" better because it is hard to "rack up" goals in a cheap way (although many are achieved on an empty net).

Well last night Jan Vesely just accomplished a "triple-hat-trick".  Jan had a hat trick in points, a hat trick in fouls and a hat trick in missed foul shots!  The Jan-Trick!!!

Jan accomplished this feat in just 13 minutes of playing time!  What a performance!

Sadly the Jan-Trick was wasted as the Wizards fell to the Nets 115-113 in double overtime.

And if you aren't aware about JANuary, we are raising money for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington.  Whenever Jan Scores, the Charity scores!  Go here to pledge  (it is fast, easy, and you can use a credit card) and remember to cheer loud for Jan Vesely all January long! (and beyond).

Pacers Fans Bored To Sleep By Wizards Basketball

Indiana lead from the first basket Thursday night and really had no trouble rolling over the Wizards 89-81 for their ninth straight win.  Randy Wittman looks like his soul is now gone, commenting about not having enough timeouts to fix all the problems.

"I'm gonna call [David] Stern tomorrow and see if maybe I can buy some, I'd pay a lot for a couple more extra timeouts" - Wittman

Paul George lead the Pacers with 29 points he also snagged 14 rebounds. George added his name to a long list of players that have feasted on Washington's lackluster defense.

The Wizards fought back from another defecit, this one 17 points.  They even trailed by just two in the fourth, proof that effort is not the problem with this team. Having a lack of talent on the other hand, is a clear disadvantage.

Here are three Bros in the crowd that aren't into the Wiz talent.  As you can tell they are more than thrilled to be watching their Pacers play the bottom-feeding #Wizards.

Jordan Crawford once again lead Washington in scoring with 20. Crawford has come off the bench in the last two games but it's clear for this Wizards team to win, they need as much Jordan Crawford as possible, he's the only consistent scorer on the team. (He also shot this airball)

The Eastern Conference rookie of the month, Bradley Beal had 14. And yes he did win that award, we are currently checking the archives to see if there is in fact, another rookie in the Eastern Conference.

Chris Singleton saw action tonight after not playing a minute in the previous three games. He had just four points. Combining that with Jan Vesely's zero points that means the 2011 first round picks for the Wizards had a whopping four points in just 19 minutes of play.

Other than Crawford, Nene is the only other player Wizards fans can rely on night in and night out. Nene had 15 points and six rebounds for a Wizards team that desperately needs more help in the post.

Andray Blatche returns to Verizon on Friday...

Donate To Boys and Girls Clubs For JANuary

We have picked a great charity to donate to for JANuary.  It is the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington.

The mission of Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington is to help boys and girls of all backgrounds, especially those who need us most, build confidence, develop character and acquire the skills needed to become productive, civic-minded, responsible adults.

For every point scored (or fouls if higher) by Jan Vesely in the month of January, the DC Sports Nexus will contribute $1 to the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Washington.  And since right now Jan has 49 points and 52 fouls on the season, if his foul total is higher than points in January, we will donate that number instead.

But alas, we are just poor bloggers.  We need some help!

You can join us by clicking on this link, or on each site of the DC Sports Nexus there is a donation widget in the top right corner.  Pledge a flat rate (min $10) or join us in our Per Point pledge.

And if your organization wants to step up and match our donation or up the ante a bit, I'm sure the Boys & Girls Clubs won't mind!

If you are pledging points, then just go to the comments section of the Charity Page, tell us how much per point, and then when the time comes in February just donate that amount!

If Jan doesn't score too much, we will up our donation a little, but we believe in Jan Vesely to take this number higher!  In fact we are going to donate a minimum $24 to get started.  Hopefully Jan gets more than 24 points so we can contribute more!

New Year, Same Wiz

Written By Jeremy Batka @eastcoastassn

The Mavericks found a way to put an end to their six game losing streak beating the Wizards 103-94 in D.C. Tuesday night.

The Wizards had a 52-48 half time lead but Dallas controlled the second half  and led by as much as 15 in the fourth. Washington cut the lead to seven with just over a minute to  play but never had a serious chance to take the lead after halftime.

Vince Carter looked like the Vince-sanity of old leading the Mavs with 23 points. The Wizards defense had no answer for Carter making him seem like an ageless wonder.

Rookie guard Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 22 points, he made four three pointers and went 7-16 from the field. Beal has shown signs that he can shoot at an NBA level but unfortunately for the Wizards he is still struggling on the defensive end. Beal had a negative 18 rating on the night.

As a team the Wizards still lack offensive consistency. Washington doesn't have one shooter that can get you a bucket every possession. Combine that with poor defense and you have a 4-25 basketball team.

Dirk Nowitzki had 11 points in just 17 minutes of limited play. It was the first time Nowitzki's hit double digits this year. Amazing how that Jan Vesely defense didn't slow him down at all.

Emeka Okafor and Martell Webster both chipped in 14 points. Okafor added 11 rebounds giving him yet again the strongest proformance on a sub par team.

The Wizards will be back in action tomorrow night at Indiana, tip off is at seven.

JANuary Charity Donation

Since we are celebrating our favorite NBA basketball player Jan Vesely this JANuary, we figured that doing something good for the world would also be nice.

That is why the DC Sports Nexus will donate $1 to charity for every point that Jan Vesely scores this JANuary.  I'll let Jan pick the charity (if he doesn't respond I'll pick one)

If any company or organization wants to step up and contribute money for JANuary that would be cool too!  We are just poor bloggers, but a company with some cash could really make this count!  Perhaps if someone on the Wizards sees this they will donate?  

Right now as I'm writing this Jan just flew through the air for the JAN SLAM so thats already $2.

If you want to be a part of this, stay tuned to the DC Sports Nexus, and either comment here or let us know on twitter @DCSportsNexus.

Also if you know how I can set up a charity collection online so others can just contribute direct to the charity as a group, then let us know (editor@DCSportsNexus.com)

Happy JAN-uary! Let's help some people!

Welcome To Jan-uary! Nip-Slip Style!

Hey everybody!  Happy New Year!  This January we want to pay tribute to one of the greatest Washington Wizards of all time; Jan Vesely!

Throughout this special Jan-uary we will be paying tribute to this living legend from the Czech republic.

Here is a JAN-et Jackson Nip Slip from the Super Bowl!

Wizards Win Their 4th Game

After a slow start the Washington Wizards looked like a professional basketball team for one of the few times this season, defeating the Orlando Magic 105-97 at Verizon Center on Friday night for their 4th win of the season.  The Magic looked like the team that was fighting for a moral victory as the Wizards controlled the game for most of the second half.

Jordan Crawford (27) and Nene (23) each scored over 20 points which was the first time all season the Wiz had two players accomplish that "feat" in a single game.  Crawford played a more controlled game, and the times that he was in "jack mode" the shots fell.

The Wizards also got a surprising performance out of Garrett Temple who shot 6-8 from the field and scored 13 points, causing Randy Wittman to stick Shelvin Mack on the bench.

In young player news, Chris Singleton didn't play and Jan Vesely made a cameo for under 4 minutes.  Bradley Beal scored 11 points but shot poorly again.  He did provide a rare Wizards highlight on a long  athletic alley-oop from Jordan Crawford.

In the first few minutes of the game the Magic took a commanding lead when Jameer Nelson hit 3 straight 3 pointers.  That was another reason that the starting point guard Shelvin Mack found himself in the doghouse.  Wittman may consider starting Garrett Temple tomorrow night in Chicago.

Light Sticks Don't Help Wizards, Pistons Win

The Washington Wizards lost to the Detroit Pistons for the second straight night, falling 96-87 on Saturday night at Verizon Center in front of the most sparce crowd of the entire season.  The few thousand fans who showed up were relatively quiet the entire game, except when they had the chance to win a free Chick-Fil-A sandwich of course.

The Wizards started off slow, scoring just 13 first quarter points after a late 5 point spurt to end the period.  The Pistons had the lead the entire game but with some help from a college style half court trap, the Wizards cut the lead to 6 points in the 4th quarter.  But every opportunity the Wizards had to steal the momentum they missed a shot or played poor defense to crush their chances.

Before the game Martell Webster came out and wished everyone a happy holidays and thanked fans for the support.  However during the game the Wizards missed several layups and even a dunk and at times drawing small rounds of boos from the Verizon crowd.

Wizards Lose Control of Magic

It's two losses in two nights for the Wiz kids after falling in Orlando tonight 90-83.

Before the game it was announced that Bradley Beal would have the night off after taking a nasty spill in last night's loss to Atlanta. Not only did this limit Randy Wittman's options to ten players, it also made for an interesting starting lineup.

Shaun Livingston started at the point moving Jordan Crawford to shooting guard. Earl Barron earned the start down low after snagging 14 rebounds in what was really his first significant playing time of the year the night before. Emeka Okafor and Martell Webster completed the starting five.

In the first half it looked like Wittman had struck gold with this new lineup. The Wizards picked up were they left off last night and outplayed the Magic for most of the first half. But being the Wizards, you knew a let down was coming.

Here is a classic Steve Buckhantz line you have to hear

That let down came in the third quarter when the Wizards were outscored 24-13. It was a combination of poor defense and selfish offense that let Orlando pull away. J.J. Reddick had 17 off the bench and E'Twaun Moore added 15, Washington had no answer on defense for either of them in the third quarter.

The Wizards made this game close down the stretch as they tend to do, but as a fan, you never really felt like they were going to get over the hump and win.  They just lacked the offensive discipline to make a real push at the lead.

A night after going for a triple double Jordan Crawford dropped 19 points but struggled from the field down the stretch and had poor body language to go with it.

Nene lead the team with 20 points in 25 minutes of play. Wittman said before the game he would keep Nene around 20 minutes which means we can get used to seeing Okafor constantly bricking open jumpers as a member of the starting lineup.

The Wizards played nine of their ten available players, guess who was the odd man out. It rhymes with .....with.....well it doesn't rhyme with much but it was last year's number six overall pick, the Czech heartthrob himself Jan Vesely (who had a cold according to the coach)

Worst Video Ever, Golden Eagle Steals Jan Vesely

I wasted like 30 minutes on my life with this, so now I am subjecting you to the pain:

Nexus Now Episode 3: Jan Vesely

We haven't done a Nexus Now show in a while, but we decided to bring it back.  This episode talks about all the major DC sports teams with a special focus on my favorite NBA player, Jan Vesely.  Check it out!


And check out the previous episodes on the Nexus Now playlist!  And all Caps fans check out Hockey Shopped, one of the only other places out there that does fun stuff!

RG3 Effect; Wizards Stun Heat

Written By Jeremy Batka @EastCoastAssn 

Wizards fans are probably hoping Robert Griffin III makes it out to the Verizon Center more often. With RG3 in attendance the Wizards played what was probably their most complete game of the season and shocked the Miami Heat 105-101.

• GIF:  John Wall Hugging Lebron
• GIF:  RG3 Reacting To Verizon Center Ovation
• VIDEO: Sportscaster Michael Jenkins Goes Nuts On The Air

No this isn't a joke. The Wizards controlled the Heat for the majority of the game and despite some terrible alleyoop attempts and horrendous bricks on open shots late, the Wizards managed to hang on winning their second home game of the year.

 Jordan Crawford lead the Wizards with 22 points off the bench, he also had 6 assists. In both of the Wizard's victories this season Crawford has had a huge impact off the bench. Still it's hard to live with many of the shots he takes but its also hard to critique the only person consistently scoring on a 2-13 team.

Lots Of Missed/Blocked Layups For The Wiz

Their were stretches in this game when Kevin Seraphin looked like he was playing basketball for the first time, missing open look after open look. But to Seraphin's credit he did play much better in the fourth knocking down a few key baskets to kill some Heat runs. Seraphin ended the night with 16 points and 10 boards.

Lebron James had probably the quietest triple double in NBA history. He dropped 26 points and had 13 rebounds to go along with 11 assists but he almost seemed a little lethargic, as if the Wizards weren't worth his time.

James also missed two open three pointers late in the game that would have more than likely lead to a Miami win.

The birthday boy Martell Webster played well off the bench contributing 13 points. One player who didn't leave the bench was Jan Vesely. In the two games Washington has won this year, Vesely has seen the court for a grand total of 0.2 seconds.

While we can't prove RG3 inspired the team to victory, it can't hurt to invite him back.