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.

Wiz Lose in the Return of the Mack

Written By Jeremy Batka @eastcoastassn

Tristan Thompson's three point play with 24 seconds left lifted Cleveland to an 87-84 victory Wednesday night moving the Wizards to 3-23 on the season.

Second year point guard Kyrie Irving proved to be too much for the Wizards dropping 26 points and 8 assists. Irving scored in a variety of ways and proved that he is one of the best up and coming point guards in the NBA if he isn't already.

Wizards fans knew coming into Wednesday night that this was a winnable game. Washington had played close against Cleveland in their first match up before losing by ten down the stretch so Wizard fans can't be blamed for being hopeful before this one.

For most of the game, Wizard fans were right. Washington held a slim lead over the Cavaliers for the majority of the game but as the clock dwindled late in the fourth, you just got that feeling that the Wizards were having trouble hanging on.

Washington debuted a new lineup tonight cutting Earl Barron and Shaun Livingston and adding Garrett Temple and Shelvin Mack. Both were spending time in the D-league just last week.

Mack made his return and got the start at point guard after being cut in the pre-season. Mack had six points and seven assists in 29 minutes of play and while he was by no means dominating in his first game back, he certainly didn't look any worse than A.J. Price or Shaun Livingston.

Nene was also in the starting lineup scoring 16 points with seven rebounds in 26 minutes. This could be a good sign for the Wizards as it seems Nene is now healthy enough to not only start but receive more playing time. 

Emeka Okafor and Jordan Crawford both led Washington in scoring with 17. Okafor added 10 rebounds on a night were he actually hitting his mid-range jumper, something that he needs to do to be a productive member of this basketball team.

Crawford had a good look at a long three that would have sent the game to overtime but it was too strong. As Randy Wittman put it after the game, the Wizards just aren't making plays in "winning time."

Tim Grgurich's Top Secret Las Vegas NBA Skills Camp Should Be Good For Young Wizards

According to Michael Lee of the Washington Post, Washington Wizards youngsters Jan Vesely, Bradley Beal, and Chris Singleton are currently joining 60-70 other young NBA players out in Las Vegas for Tim Grgurich's top secret summer skills camp.  (I think Shelvin Mack is also there)

Camp started on Monday and will end on Thursday, but there isn't much information about the camp.  Maybe because as David Aldridge says:

"Rule No. 1 of Gurg Camp: You do not talk about Gurg Camp."

This 2010 article from the NBA is a great look inside this little known camp run by long time NBA assistant coach Tim Grgurich. An excerpt:

It might be the only gym in America that has an impenetrable door with a little slot at eye level, through which eager customers must offer up the right password before that door will swing open. OK, not exactly. But it is a relative secret in a league with few. For most fans and even many alleged veteran observers, Grgurich's camp -- being held this week on the courts of a Vegas high school -- is so below the radar that it requires sonar. Part Xs & Os, part "Skull & Bones."

This more recent write up by David Aldridge is also a great look inside the taped over windows:

Said [Lionel] Hollins: "Gurg has that respect because he's worked with players around the league, with no agenda. It's not about what team you play on. It's not about whether you're a star or not. It's about whether you want to get better. And if you want to get better, we'll be here for you."

The camp is mostly for young NBA players but even veterans like Paul Pierce have attended late in their careers.

If the camp is as beneficial as NBA coaches and executives think it is then it will be a great place for Beal, Vesely, and Singleton to work on their fundamentals and get ready for the season.

Beal Drives, Wizards Win

Wizards 78, Bucks 75

Brad Beal’s aggressive play helped lead a Wizards comeback and the Wiz defeated the Bucks on Wednesday afternoon in Vegas to cap off a 3-2 summer league.  

Beal used the second half to start attacking the basket instead of just shooting jumpers.  He scored several layups off the dribble and drove into the lane at will.  The former Gator led the Wizards with 18 points.  Beal is supposed to be a "shooter" but if he can attack the basket and create space, he should be able to make an impact in his rookie season.

Shelvin Mack & Chris Singleton did what they do.  They were streaky, made several good plays and several bad plays.  Both are good College/D-League players but in the NBA they don’t really fit in.  Vesely twisted his ankle in the first 2 minutes of the game and did not return.

The summer league is now over for the Wizards, and the next thing to look forward to is training camp...

Wizards Win 2nd Game In Vegas

The Houston Rockets and their 19 player roster couldn't bring enough firepower to beat the Czech National Team Washington Wizards on Saturday Night in Vegas.  The Wizards led most of the game by 20 points but collapsed at the end, escaping with a 76-70 win.

Brad Beal was impressive again, not only on the floor (14pts, 4 assists, 5 boards), but also in the post-game interview where he says all the right things.  He only took 10 shots, making 4, but the Florida Gator looks like he is NBA ready.

Tomas Satoransky had a terrible first game on Friday afternoon, but he bounced back on Saturday.  The NBA TV announcers (who know nothing about the players) described the Czech rookie with words like "sleeper" and "first round [talent]".  Tomas the Czech Engine had a nice dunk and finished with 11 points.

Tangent:  The game is almost un-watchable thanks to the C-Team of announcers that NBA TV throws out there.  Botched Cliches ("That won't be the first time he gets stitches"), getting player names wrong ("Sheldon Mack") and not even knowing who players are ("Is that the same guy from Butler?"), and botched Godfather quotes.  There was even a point where Chris Webber tried to reference Ron Burgundy and he accidentally said "Ron Jeremy".  What ensued was about 5 straight minutes of adolescent laughter on the air.  Ok back to the game...

Jan Vesely only picked up 3 fouls on the night, hit another couple of jumpers (4/6 8pts), and missed another dunk (his 4th of the summer - 2x he was fouled).  He is much wider than he used to be which means even more illegal screens to look forward to.

Shelvin Mack & Chris Singleton were Shelvin Mack & Chris Singleton.  Those two guys are very streaky and usually fall on the negative side of the streak.

Garret Siler, a 300 pound center picked up some PT at the end of the game.  The man is enormous but he threw down two dunks and showed some great hands.  While he has no chance to make an NBA roster, he was fun to watch.  He even caused Rick Fox to have a conniption on the air.

Wizards play themselves (the D-League team) on Sunday night, another 10pm game...

Beal Debuts, Wizards Lose

Hawks 102, Wizards 82

The Washington Wizards started their summer league off with a dud, suffering a 102-82 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Friday afternoon in Las Vegas.  The more experienced Wizards were never even close to the Hawks, and gave up over 100 points in a game that was 8 minutes shorter than a typical NBA game.

The Wizards new draft picks Bradley Beal and Tomas Satoransky joined forces with Shelvin Mack, Chris Singleton, and Jan Vesely to take on an Atlanta squad that featured no players from their 2011-12 roster.

Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 22 points and Chris Singleton put in another 20 despite turning the ball over 5 times (and here is Chris getting dunked on).  Overall the Wizards had 19 turnovers and only 13 assists in a Jordan Crawford style one on one offensive showing.

The highlight for the Wizards was the play of Beal who shot 6-14 from the field and hit 9-10 free throws (1-3 from 3).  Beal looked the most NBA ready on the court, outplaying even the experience Wizards players.

Jan Vesely displayed his new and improved jump shot in the contest going 5-9 on the day with 11 points, 3 missed dunks (2 he was fouled on), and 10 fouls.  No, that is not a misprint.  Jan Vesely fouled out of a 40 minute game where they allowed players to have 10 fouls.  The Wizards fouled the Hawks 33 times, and almost 1/3 were Jan.

Tomas Satoransky made his American debut (after almost not even showing up) and looked shaky to say the least.  In one quick span, Satoransky turned the ball over followed by a play where he picked up his dribble early and turned the ball over again.  The Czech draftee finished the game with 4 points in 15 minutes running the point.  No left hand.

The Hawks were led by Vanderbilt rookie John Jenkins who went 4-5 from 3 point range and scored 19 points.

Next up for the Wiz summer team are the Rockets tommorow night at 10pm...