As we enter Wednesday’s action and the team’s pairing with the Orlando Magic, the Washington Wizards remain the NBA’s lone winless team. The squad’s body language hasn’t been great, they’ve been laughed at by more than a few Twitter wonks due to the team’s lack of heady play, and they’ve even gotten an innocent man chucked from a game due to a “technical glitch.”

And rookie Czech Republic native Jan Vesely, he of the absolutely zero minutes played this season due to a bum hip, seems to have cut straight to the core of the Wiz through some hesitant English. As quoted by the Washington Post’s Michael Lee:

“It’s tough to sit on the bench and see the players, they are playing and they are playing bad,” Vesely said. “Of course, I want to try to help the team.”

No, Vesely isn’t calling his teammates “bad.” He’s just telling Lee that his teammates have been “playing bad.” It’s me that is saying that Vesely’s teammates are “bad.”

It’s early, of course, and nobody expected the Wizards (who made absolutely no moves of significance during the offseason, save for picking up rookies in Vesely and Chris Singleton), to come anywhere near the playoffs this season. This team is rebuilding, and rightfully so. They’ve cast off this year in anticipation of more high draft picks and incoming cap relief.

Even with those lowered expectations in place, though, few anticipated John Wall starting off his second season with a 31.7 percent shooting mark over his first five games, to go along with 4.4 turnovers a contest. And, really, turnovers aren’t the issue with Wall; it’s how he sometimes looks like a sort of observer of his own awarded team at times.

Nobody expected the team to be shooting below 40 percent, not with all those offense-first minds both on the bench and in the rotation, and few could have expected the crew to be outrebounded by 10 per game and beaten by an average of 12 points (the most telling stat) after five contests.  Nobody expected a team full of shoot-first guys to be ranked 30th out of 30 NBA teams in offensive efficiency.

Not a whole lot of fun for Wizards fans, who have been through absolutely too much since the team’s NBA title in 1978. At least they can rally behind the fact that Colin Cowherd remains an absolute, unmitigated tool.

By Evan Dunlap

– Newsdesk contributor

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Jan 4, 2012 – The Orlando Magic (4-2) host the Washington Wizards (0-5) on Wednesday night, playing against Rashard Lewis for the first time since they traded the veteran forward to the Wizards in December 2010. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Eastern on Sun Sports.

Orlando’s four-game winning streak ended Monday against the Detroit Pistons. Fatigue plagued the Magic, who where playing on the back end of a back-to-back set, as they shot just 33.3 percent in the second half and allowed Detroit to take command. Pistons guard Ben Gordon scored 26 to lead all players, while center Dwight Howard put up 19 points, seven rebounds, and five steals in defeat.

The Wizards are the league’s only winless team, though they at least made progress in Monday’s 100-92 loss to the Boston Celtics. In that contest, the Wizards crossed the 90-point threshold for the first time in the 2011/12 season. Former No. 1 overall pick John Wall leads Washington with 13.8 points, 6.8 assists, and two steals per game, but has shot just 31.7 percent from the field. JaVale McGee also averages 13.8 points per game and adds 11 rebounds and 2.4 blocks.

Orlando swept the season series from Washington, 4-0, in the 2010/11 season, winning by an average of 18.3 points per game.

For more Magic coverage, please visit Orlando Pinstriped Post, SB Nation’s Magic blog. For the perspective from the other side, please visit SB Nation D.C. and Bullets Forever, SB Nation’s Wizards blog.

Read More: Rashard Lewis (F – WAS), Dwight Howard (C – ORL), JaVale McGee (C – WAS), John Wall (G – WAS), Orlando Magic, Washington Wizards

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Where/when: Amway Center, Orlando, 7 p.m. TV: Sun Sports. RADIO: WDBO AM 580; Spanish language: WRLZ AM 1270.

MY TAKE

Wiz are NBA’s only winless team so beware. Jason Richardson and Jameer Nelson must step up their play. Nelson is recovering from a neck injury, but hasn’t been a force since opener.

DWIGHT VS.

Howard faces improving JaVale McGee, a young, athletic big. Without C Rony Turiaf (broken hand) in bullpen, McGee needs to avoid foul trouble.

MARQUEE MATCHUP

PG John Wall always a threat, but Magic must control PF Andray Blatche (28 points vs. Celts.) Likely will see Big Baby Davis more than Ryan Anderson, defensively.

3 WIZARDS FACTS

Rashard Lewis returns, averaging 10.9 ppg

Ex-FSU F Chris Singleton avg. 3.2 ppg.

Wall avg. 4.4 turnovers

— Brian Schmitz

Read More: Jan Vesely (F – WAS), Washington Wizards

Jan Vesely, the Washington Wizards’ high-flying rookie forward, is feeling “better” in his sore right hip and could return to the court soon, Michael Lee of the Washington Post reported Tuesday. Vesely played in the Wizards’ first preseason game, but has “been unable to fully practice” since then.

Vesely told Lee he got the flu last week, which prevented him from traveling with the team on its road trip. Oddly, the flu may have helped his hip recover. “I think maybe it helped a little bit. I rest like two days. I didn’t do anything. Everything slowed down and I feel better,” said the Czech Republic native.

Vesely could return to the floor later in the week, if his workouts continue to go well. “I’ll see,” he said of the possibility of returning.

The Wizards selected Vesely No. 6 overall in the 2011 NBA Draft. Despite his absence, Washington remains well stocked at small forward, with Rashard Lewis and Chris Singleton earning minutes there, and Nick Young sliding over for spot minutes as well.

For more on the Wizards, please visit Bullets Forever, SB Nation’s Wizards blog.

MILWAUKEE (AP) – Brandon Jennings wouldn’t let the Milwaukee Bucks blow another big lead.

Jennings scored 15 of his 22 points in the second half to lead the Bucks to a 102-81 victory over the winless Washington Wizards on Friday night.

“Right now we should really be 3-0,” Jennings said. “We were up at halftime against Charlotte, and we lost a lead. And tonight we were up (24) at half and let a team come back. That is something we really need to focus on, especially going on a West Coast road trip. On the road in hostile environments you have got to be able to contain the lead and take over.”

Jordan Crawford, benched in favor of Nick Young after scoring one point in a loss at Atlanta on Wednesday, led Washington (0-3) with 24 points. John Wall had six points on 1-of-9 shooting and four turnovers.

Ersan Ilyasova had 16 points, and Carlos Delfino, who missed the first two games of the season with a sprained right wrist, added 15 off the bench for Milwaukee (2-1). Andrew Bogut had 13 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks.

Jennings has scored 22, 24 and 22 points in three games this season.

“He has been very efficient,” Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. “He is doing a good job in the first half of the games of moving the ball around and seeing people and kind of taking his scoring opportunities as they come. And then as the game has gone on he’s gotten a little more aggressive, especially when we’ve struggled a little bit in those stretches.

“That’s what the good players do.”

The first half went about as badly as it could go for the Wizards – starting with a technical foul called when Roger Mason Jr., who was not on the active list, checked into the game.

Mason had come in for Crawford with 3:27 left in the first quarter and scored on a baseline jumper seven seconds later. However, during a timeout at the 2:53 mark, the Wizards were whistled for the technical. The basket was later taken away from Mason and credited to Rashard Lewis. Jennings made the technical free throw to make it 25-18 Milwaukee, and Ronny Turiaf’s dunk made it 25-20 before the Bucks poured it on.

Wizards coach Flip Saunders took responsibility for Mason being disqualified from the game. The Wizards public relations staff also took the blame.

The NBA provides a roster to teams to circle who will be inactive for each game. The list excluded Mason’s name, and neither Saunders nor the PR staff caught the mistake before sending the final active roster to the league office.

The Bucks statistical staff noticed the mistake when they tried to enter Mason’s basket.

“It’s my fault,” Saunders said. “I didn’t notice it. I take responsibility for that. I thought he would have given us some help.”

Said Mason: “It was just human error. Just a mistake. It happens.”

Milwaukee outscored the Wizards 40-21 the rest of the half to take a 65-41 lead. The Bucks, 22nd in the league in field goal percentage coming in, shot 61.5 percent in the half to Washington’s 34 percent. Young and Wall combined to go 1 for 11 in the first half.

Washington opened the second half on a 15-4 run, holding Milwaukee without a field goal for more than five minutes. The Wizards outscored the Bucks 26-13 in the period and trailed 78-67 after three quarters. Crawford had 12 points in the third.

“We are all young and we try to force it,” Crawford said. “We all try to do it on our own, which I try to do all the time. Sometimes I want to come back as quick as possible.”

Washington cut it to nine on a dunk by JaVale McGee to open the fourth, but the Wizards got no closer the rest of the way. They cut it to 88-77 with less than six minutes remaining, but the Bucks – who had blown double-digit, second-half leads in each of their first two games – used an 8-0 run to seal it.

Bogut said the late comebacks are not concerning, as the team looks ahead to games at Denver, Utah, Sacramento, the Los Angeles Clippers and Phoenix in the next nine days.

“We have no excuse for it, but at the same time we’re not really pushing the panic button,” Bogut said. “We’re 2-1, and we’ve got room to improve on that.”

Meanwhile, the Wizards, and Wall, are just looking for a win.

“Very disappointed,” Wall said. “I think we could have won these two ones against the Nets and definitely the Bucks. We just didn’t bring the energy. There is no way you could make the playoffs when you are not winning the close games and tough games against teams like this.”

Said Saunders: “Bottom line is we got to figure it out and figure it out quick. We can’t have it where we have some guys go out and compete, or if some guys are not playing well offensively it takes away our energy defensively.”

And he said Wall is one of the problems.

“Wasn’t good,” Saunders said. “John has a tendency to get down on himself when he is not making plays. We got down big, he got down.”

Notes: Wizards forward Andray Blatche again took to his Twitter page after a loss, this time apologizing to fans for his funk, saying he would focus on his

defense and rebounding, and asking them not to give up on the team. . Bucks forward Luc Mbah a Moute missed his third straight game with right knee tendinitis. Mbah a Moute took part in the shootaround. “No idea,” Skiles said, when asked how long he will be out. “We thought he was going tonight.” Bucks forward Tobias Harris, the team’s first-round pick in 2011, also has yet to play for Milwaukee with dehydration issues. . The Bucks assigned rookie guard Darington Hobson to the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Mad Ants of the NBA Development League. Hobson was the 37th overall pick in the 2010 draft out of New Mexico but missed the 2010-11 season after undergoing hip surgery.

“Right now we should really be 3-0,” Jennings said. “We were up at halftime against Charlotte, and we lost a lead. And tonight we were up (24) at half and let a team come back. That is something we really need to focus on, especially going on a West Coast road trip. On the road in hostile environments you have got to be able to contain the lead and take over.”

Jordan Crawford, benched in favor of Nick Young after scoring one point in a loss at Atlanta on Wednesday, led Washington (0-3) with 24 points. John Wall had six points on 1-of-9 shooting and four turnovers.

Ersan Ilyasova had 16 points, and Carlos Delfino, who missed the first two games of the season with a sprained right wrist, added 15 off the bench for Milwaukee (2-1). Andrew Bogut had 13 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks.

Jennings has scored 22, 24 and 22 points in three games this season.

“He has been very efficient,” Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. “He is doing a good job in the first half of the games of moving the ball around and seeing people and kind of taking his scoring opportunities as they come. And then as the game has gone on he’s gotten a little more aggressive, especially when we’ve struggled a little bit in those stretches.

“That’s what the good players do.”

The first half went about as badly as it could go for the Wizards – starting with a technical foul called when Roger Mason Jr., who was not on the active list, checked into the game.

Mason had come in for Crawford with 3:27 left in the first quarter and scored on a baseline jumper seven seconds later. However, during a timeout at the 2:53 mark, the Wizards were whistled for the technical. The basket was later taken away from Mason and credited to Rashard Lewis. Jennings made the technical free throw to make it 25-18 Milwaukee, and Ronny Turiaf’s dunk made it 25-20 before the Bucks poured it on.

Wizards coach Flip Saunders took responsibility for Mason being disqualified from the game. The Wizards public relations staff also took the blame.

The NBA provides a roster to teams to circle who will be inactive for each game. The list excluded Mason’s name, and neither Saunders nor the PR staff caught the mistake before sending the final active roster to the league office.

The Bucks statistical staff noticed the mistake when they tried to enter Mason’s basket.

“It’s my fault,” Saunders said. “I didn’t notice it. I take responsibility for that. I thought he would have given us some help.”

Said Mason: “It was just human error. Just a mistake. It happens.”

Milwaukee outscored the Wizards 40-21 the rest of the half to take a 65-41 lead. The Bucks, 22nd in the league in field goal percentage coming in, shot 61.5 percent in the half to Washington’s 34 percent. Young and Wall combined to go 1 for 11 in the first half.

Brandon Jennings scored 15 of his 22 points in the second half
to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 102-81 victory over the winless
Washington Wizards on Friday night.

Ersan Ilyasova had 16 points, and Carlos Delfino, who missed the
first two games of the season with a sprained right wrist, added 15
off the bench for Milwaukee (2-1). Andrew Bogut had 13 points, 15
rebounds and three blocks.

Jordan Crawford, benched in favor of Nick Young after scoring
one point in a loss at Atlanta on Wednesday, led Washington (0-3)
with 24 points. John Wall had six points on 1-of-9 shooting and
four turnovers.

Washington also was called for a technical foul when Roger Mason
Jr., who was not on the active list, checked into the game.

Jennings has scored 22, 24 and 22 points in three games this
season.

The first half went about as badly as it could go for the
Wizards – starting with the technical.

Mason had checked in for Jordan Crawford with 3:27 mark left in
the first quarter and he scored on a baseline jumper seven seconds
later. However, during a timeout at the 2:53 mark, the Wizards were
whistled for the technical. The basket was later taken away from
Mason and credited to Rashard Lewis.

Jennings made the technical free throw to make it 25-18
Milwaukee, and Ronny Turiaf’s dunk made it 25-20 before the Bucks
poured it on.

Milwaukee outscored the Wizards 40-21 the rest of the half to
take a 65-41 lead. The Bucks, 22nd in the league in field goal
percentage coming in, shot 61.5 percent in the half to Washington’s
34 percent. Young and Wall combined to go 1 for 11 in the first
half.

Washington opened the second half on a 15-4 run, holding
Milwaukee without a field goal for more than five minutes. The
Wizards outscored the Bucks 26-13 in the period and trailed 78-67
after three quarters.

Crawford had 12 points in the third.

Washington cut it to nine on a dunk by JaVale McGee to open the
fourth, but the Wizards got no closer the rest of the way. They cut
it to 88-77 with less than six minutes remaining, but the Bucks _
who had blown double-digit, second-half leads in each of their
first two games _ used an 8-0 run to seal it.

Notes: Bucks forward Luc Mbah a Moute missed his third straight
game with right knee tendinitis. Mbah a Moute took part in the
shootaround. “No idea,” Bucks coach Scott Skiles said, when asked
how long he will be out. “We thought he was going tonight.” . Bucks
forward Tobias Harris, the team’s first-round pick in 2011, also
has yet to play for Milwaukee with dehydration issues. . The Bucks
assigned rookie guard Darington Hobson to the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Mad
Ants of the NBA Development League. Hobson was the 37th overall
pick in the 2010 draft out of New Mexico but missed the 2010-11
season after undergoing hip surgery.

MILWAUKEE — Roger Mason Jr. angrily walked from the scorers’ table to the baseline in search of his warmups. He suddenly stopped, batted his head with both hands and shouted, “This is . . . nuts!”

The Washington Wizards have had plenty of reasons to repeat the same frustrated refrain over the past three seasons — which have been filled with losses, embarrassing and disturbing moments, and annual trips to the lottery in May.

This truncated, 66-game season is only three games old, and there have already been a couple of head-scratching incidents that have signaled that more bumbling bad times are ahead. In a 102-81 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, Mason entered a game that he was ineligible to play in, made a jumper, received a technical foul and was sent to the showers for a situation that was beyond his control.

As he sat in the locker room incensed, Mason had to watch his teammates crumble the rest of the half, rally, then collapse again in fourth quarter — and wonder if he could’ve made a difference.

“It just stinks,” said Mason, saying that he had never witnessed a situation so bizarre in his seven-year career. “I was looking forward to making a contribution to our team. But it’s not just about me. You have to move on. I’m one player.”

The problem was the result of an error that started with the league office and worked its way down to Coach Flip Saunders, who didn’t see that Mason’s name was omitted from the 15-man roster the Bucks printed from a list the NBA provided. How Mason was left off the roster was unclear since he was active — and played — in the season’s first two games.

The Wizards’ public relations staff circled every name on the list except Jan Vesely and Maurice Evans without noticing the mistake and Saunders signed off on a sheet that had only 12 active players instead of the possible 13.

“It’s my fault,” Saunders said. “The league sends us the list and what we do is circle the guys that are active and for some reason on our list, Roger wasn’t on it and I didn’t notice it. So, I take responsibility for that. I guess the only fortunate thing is, it wasn’t a situation that cost us down the stretch.”

The situation was exacerbated when Mason went to the scorers’ table and was allowed to check in for Jordan Crawford, who had just picked up his second foul with 3 minutes 27 seconds left in the first period. Saunders said before the game that he had planned to give the veteran Mason more playing time after he received just eight minutes in the first two games. “I thought he would’ve given us some help,” Saunders said.

Mason quickly hit a turnaround jumper but Rashard Lewis (14 points) was credited with the basket, which brought the Wizards within 24-18. After a timeout, Mason was set to reenter the game when referee Danny Crawford informed him that he should not have been allowed to play.

“I was pinching myself to see if it was a joke. Obviously it wasn’t,” Mason said. “Accidents happen. Just human error. A mistake. I wish it didn’t happen to me.”

“Every body need to shut up I didn’t call out my coach or team mates I said I had a bad game need it n the post instead of jump shots,” Blatche tweeted.

Blatche wasn’t happy after the 90-84 defeat in which the Wizards blew a 21-point lead, saying afterward he wasn’t being used to the best of his abilities. He scored 11 points on 5-for-13 shooting and was called for a technical for exchanging words with Kris Humphries

“You can’t keep having me pick-and-pop and shooting jump shots,” he said in the locker room. “Give me the ball in the paint. That’s where I’m most effective at. I’ve been saying that since training camp: I need the ball in the paint. I don’t want to be the pick-and-pop guy that I used to be. It’s not working for me.”

Blatche has been known to be a bit of a wild card during his seven seasons in the Wizards locker room, but this outburst was exceptional because he had introduced himself as “your captain, Andray Blatche” to the crowd during a pregame speech — and because the team is only one game into the season, playing under the theme “New Traditions.” If this keeps up, the Wizards could somehow manage to make even a lockout-shortened season seem long.

“It’s disappointing,” coach Flip Saunders said Tuesday. “But, look, we were all disappointed.”

Saunders met with Blatche before practice to sort things out.

“We talked about what he said about as far as wanting to be in the post,” Saunders said. “And I told him, that’s something to my ears. I love hearing that. … But then he also has to understand that just because you get it at 17 feet, you don’t have to shoot it either. I’m not twisting his arm to do that.”

Saunders also clarified the captaincy situation. He said he plans to rotate captains for the time being because the team had such an abbreviated training camp. Blatche and John Wall served as captains for the first game.

“It was a situation last night, he’s been here longer than anybody else,” Saunders said. “And so we’ll rotate as far as who it’s going to be.”

Before the lockout, Saunders gave Blatche a book titled “The 17 Essential Qualities Of A Team Player.” Blatche has said he read about half of it. At media day following the lockout, owner Ted Leonsis said: “I talked to Andray, and he understands that the fan base, media are all looking to take cues on can his focus and dedication match his skills.”

Blatche did not speak to reporters Tuesday, opting to exit the court through an alternate door after practice. The closest thing to a captain-like comment came from rookie Chris Singleton, who already doesn’t care for the taste of NBA losing despite having experienced it only once.

“I don’t want it to be a recurring thing,” Singleton said. “I want to change this culture, and there’s too much losing the last couple of years. Some people might just like that. I’m not used to it, and I’m not trying to get used to it.”

___

Joseph White can be reached at http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The Washington Wizards’ season begins Monday, the day after Christmas. Like lots of kids, the Wizards have a long holiday wish list. Let’s look at what the Wizards want for the upcoming National Basketball Association (NBA) season.

A healthy John Wall: The Wizards’ super-fast point guard is the key to any team success. Wall had a good rookie season last year, averaging more than 16 points and eight assists a game. Wall might become a star, but he needs to improve his shooting and commit fewer turnovers. Wall seemed to wear down during the long 82-game NBA season. Because of the late start, the NBA will play 66 games during a shorter regular season. The Wizards will need Wall at full speed for all of them.

A good rookie: The Wizards drafted two players in the first round of the NBA draft. Jan Vesely is an athletic 6-foot-11-inch forward from the Czech Republic known for his rim-rattling dunks. But Vesely is young (21 years old) and never played college or professional ball in the United States. So it might be expecting a lot for him to be good right away. Chris Singleton played three years at Florida State before being drafted by the Wizards. The rugged 6-foot-8-inch forward might help on defense and with rebounding, but don’t look for him to contribute much on offense.

Improved big men: It seems that every Wizards season begins with the hope that the team’s big men, Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee, will become big-time players. Both have shown flashes of talent. Blatche averaged almost 17 points a game last season, and McGee blocked a ton of shots. Coach Flip Saunders really needs Blatche and McGee to improve at rebounding and defense. The Wizards were near the bottom of the league in both.

A winning record: The Wizards had 23 wins and 59 losses last year. They haven’t changed much from the team that was overmatched against good NBA teams. Like the pony that some kids put on their wish list, a winning record may be too much to ask for.

Fred Bowen writes sports opinion column for the KidsPost. He is the author of 17 sports books for kids that combine sports fiction and sports history, including six basketball books.

For those that watched the Washington Wizards get spanked in their preseason opener, take heart. The team again faced off against the Philadelphia 76ers, which roasted them 103-78 on December 16 in D.C. Instead of looking like a dysfunctional high school team, the Wizards came out tonight and went toe to toe with Philly. The result December 21 was still a 101-94 loss, but the effort was much more encouraging.

There were a number of notable performances that coach Flip Saunders can only hope will continue into the season. JaVale McGee had a very nice game, leading the team in scoring with 20 points and grabbing nine rebounds. I still have serious concerns about his maturity level though. He had one dunk tonight that he just had to stop and stare down his opponent just for good measure.

That kind of stunt can get you a technical during the season, so it is time for this kid to wise up and just play basketball. You could hear the disappointment in Dave Johnson’s voice as he called the game on WJFK 106.7 FM in Washington D.C. I also took great pride in the work of Trevor Booker, who fills a role that this Wizards team so desperately needs. He is a bruiser that does not mind getting in the middle and banging the boards. He ended the game with a team high eleven rebounds.

Washington fans also have to be excited about newcomer Shelvin Mack out of Butler. He just seems like one of those guys you need on the team. Mack does everything well and his numbers show this. He gave the team seven points and five assists, showing he will be a quality sub coming off the bench.

So how then did the Wizards lose on this night? Simply put, they did not have anyone that was ready when crunch time hit. The game was tied with as few as five minutes to go, but then the hoop on the Washington end seemed to grow a cover. Nothing was falling, while Jrue Holiday of Philadelphia had his way with the Washington defense. It should be noted though that many of the starters were on the bench down the stretch for the Wizards.

I am sure the team would have liked to win, but the better effort will be the thing that will stay with them. Some guys obviously still need work. Nick Young looks like he needs to work on getting that shooting touch back. John Wall and Jordan Crawford also need extra shooting because they can both shoot better than what they did tonight.

Finally, I think Flip Saunders and this organization have to decide on what to do with Rashard Lewis. He was once again horrible on the night. A few rebounds and three points do nothing for this club. I say let him go and sign a few guys for the same dough that will give a better effort.

John Atchison is a Washington based writer that enjoys the Washington Sports scene. He has followed the Bullets/Wizards since the early seventies and hopes for a return to glory soon. Follow him on Twitter @John_Atchison.

Source: stats.washingtonpost.com/nba

WJFK 106.7 FM

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

“They wanted to get rid of it, and I said, ‘No.’ That’s the goal,” Wall explained, his rat-a-tat patter off the court as swift as his play is on it. “I don’t touch it, though. I don’t want to touch one ‘til I win one.”

Even Wall would concede that isn’t happening this season for the Wizards, who are coming off a 23-59 record and last-place finish in the Southeast Division. They are in the early stages of rebuilding a roster that used to revolve around All-Stars Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler and Jamison, but now is based on Wall.

“We can sneak up on some people this year, because we’re smarter, and I’m smarter, and learning how to close out games and doing whatever it takes to win down the stretch,” Wall said in an interview with The Associated Press. “And next year, for sure, we’re going to be a team that can surprise a lot of people.”

It’s clear to everyone that Wall is going to be the player that leads the Wizards, wherever they go.

President Ernie Grunfeld and coach Flip Saunders, meanwhile, are holding out hope that players such as power forward Andray Blatche and center JaVale McGee can fulfill the promise each has demonstrated occasionally.

Blatche, in particular, regularly finds himself defending his effort, which is why he announced at the team’s media day: “I told my teammates, ‘I’m going to give y’all 100 percent every game. I’m going to die for this.’ Whatever we do, we’ve got to change this whole atmosphere from losing, and people used to us losing, to winning.”

At 25, he’s older than nine other players expected to be on the roster when Washington opens its regular season next Monday.

Such youth prompted owner Ted Leonsis to use variations on the word “build” more than a dozen times during a recent half-hour news conference. As in: “I’ve been unabashed on what we’re doing. I hope I’ve been honest and transparent, that we were rebuilding the team.”

It all starts with Wall.

Despite dealing with injuries to his right knee and left foot, he averaged 16.4 points, 8.3 assists (tied for sixth in the NBA) and 4.6 rebounds last season, finishing second to Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers in voting for rookie of the year.

“He has such speed and quickness in the open court that you’ve got to get back and proverbially build a wall against Wall, so he’s seeing bodies,” Philadelphia 76ers coach Doug Collins said. “He’d be the equivalent to a guy who sees cracks as a running back who’s got great vision. If you don’t close those down, when he starts running downhill, he puts all sorts of pressure on your team.”

The Washington Wizards have officially re-signed Nick Young, according to a press release sent out by the team. Terms of the deal were not disclosed by the team, but according to sources, it is for the one-year qualifying offer for just under $4 million.

“Nick is a very good scorer who has continually developed and shown steady improvement over his four years with us,” said Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld. “His size, shooting ability and athleticism allow him to get his own shot and compliment our other backcourt players, making him a valuable part of our young core.”

Young led the Wizards in scoring last season with a career-high 17.4 points over 64 games. He scored a career-high 43 points on Jan. 11 vs. Sacramento and posted the second-highest scoring increase in the NBA from 2009-10 to 2010-11 (8.6 ppg – 17.4 ppg) behind Golden State’s Dorell Wright.

Young returns to pair with John Wall and form one of the more explosive backcourt pairings in the league. Having him back in the fold takes a lot of pressure of Wall and frees up enough space to operate freely. The contract is also short enough that Young will be given the chance to duplicate his performance from last year and earn the long-term contract he covets.

WASHINGTON – After beating up on each other for days, the 76ers were anxious to face the Washington Wizards and test themselves against another NBA opponent.

They are still waiting for that test.

Facing a team that looked as if it still wanted to be locked out, the Sixers easily handled a disinterested-looking Washington team, crushing them by 103-78 at Verizon Center Friday night in the preseason opener for both teams.

“We were sharp; our defense was quick. We were helping each other out,” Sixers coach Doug Collins said. “All in all, I thought through the first three quarters we were sharp. I liked our countenance. Can I say that? Is that a word?”

He could, and he would have been safe referring to the game as an annihilation.

Granted, this was just the preseason, but the Sixers jumped on the Wizards early and never relented. Six players finished with double-figure scoring, led by reserve guard Lou Williams’ 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting. Evan Turner, coming off the bench, scored all but two of his 16 points in the second half. Playing 30 minutes, Turner added seven rebounds and three assists. Center Spencer Hawes was one rebound short of a double-double, finishing with 14 points and nine boards. Jrue Holiday had five assists to go along with his 12 points, and Elton Brand and Thad Young added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The Sixers turned what was a 21-point halftime lead into an 87-47 advantage after Williams sank the second of two free throws in the final minute of the third quarter.

“It’s a little surprising being up by 40,” Brand said. “Being up by 20-plus, we wanted to really step on them and get ready for the real season. I’m glad we were able to do that.”

Not that the Wizards offered even a modicum of resistance.

They were wretched from the start.

They opened the game by making just 5 of 20 field goals in the first quarter on the way to making just 26 of 79 on the night. This compared to the almost 51 percent (39 of 77) that the Sixers made.

Forward Andray Blatche was the only Washington player to reach double figures, finishing with a team-high 18 points on 5-for-11 shooting. Last year’s No. 1 pick, guard John Wall, was sloppy, finishing with almost as many turnovers (six) as points (eight).

The teams will play again Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Center in what will be the last preseason game for both teams. Both teams begin the regular season on Dec. 26.

However, the difference is the Sixers will begin their season with five games on the road. Their first week of the season is perhaps more harrowing than that of any other team.

“We only have two games as a tune-up,” Brand said. “That’s why we’ve got to take [Tuesday's game] as seriously as we did tonight. We have to continue to be sharp and execute.”

The Sixers did not bring their entire preseason roster, leaving behind guard Antonio Anderson and centers Mike Tisdale and Dwayne Jones. Those three will likely rejoin the team on Sunday for a morning practice and for a team scrimmage – free to the public – Sunday at the Palestra.

 

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Contact staff writer John N. Mitchell at jmitchell@philly.com or @deepsixer3 on Twitter.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Swingman Maurice Evans, a union vice president during the NBA lockout, has re-signed with the Washington Wizards.

The Wizards announced the one-year contract with Evans during halftime of their exhibition opener against the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night.

Evans averaged 9.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in 26 games with Washington after arriving from the Atlanta Hawks in a trade in February. He has averaged 6.7 points and 2.5 rebounds in eight NBA seasons with seven teams.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Saunders also referenced Jordan Crawford, a second-year guard who averaged nearly 12 points per game with Washington last season, and Andray Blatche, the enigmatic forward with a game that at times can be as frustrating as it is promising.

“There’s certain players, when you step in the gym and they smell the popcorn, they play at another level,” Saunders said. “Popcorn-type players, so I’m anxious to see tomorrow what players that we have when they walk into that gym that their game goes to a new level. You have some players that play great in practice, and that doesn’t translate as far as into games. Hopefully we don’t have too many of those players.”

The Wizards open the preseason at home against the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday, and the teams will play again on Tuesday at Wells Fargo Center in the final preseason game. By that time, Saunders figures to have a better feel for which veterans are fully committed to what owner Ted Leonsis called a change in culture and which newcomers are the best fit to spur that growth.

At the top of the list following the week-long training camp are rookies Jan Veseley and Chris Singleton. Veseley was the Wizards’ No. 6 pick overall in this year’s NBA draft, and Singleton arrived at No. 18 of the first round.

Veseley is particularly intriguing because of his ability to finish in fast-break and unsettled situations despite being listed at 6 feet 11. Washington last season led the NBA in fast-break opportunities, but too often turnovers or missed shots derailed them.

“He can jump out of the gym,” Blatche said of his new teammate, who played in the Euroleague for Partizan Belgrade before coming stateside.

Singleton, meantime, drew the assignment of defending virtually all of the front-court players during a training camp in which Saunders constantly preached defense and rebounding. That was just fine with Singleton, who was the unanimous ACC defensive player of the year last season with Florida State.

Even though Singleton, Veseley and Shelvin Mack, the 34th overall pick, are rookies, the newest member of the team is Ronny Turiaf, who joined the Wizards from the New York Knicks on Saturday in a multi-team deal. Turiaf has played with the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State and the Knicks over his six years in the NBA.

With a roster comprising many new faces and missing some old ones, most notably free agent Nick Young, Saunders said Friday’s preseason opener wasn’t so much about winning as making sure everyone gets involved.

“We’ve got to play a lot of people. We’ve got three rookies in there who’ve never played, point-blank,” Saunders said. “Those guys, you’ve got to get their feet wet if you expect them to play when you start [the regular season] on Dec. 26, so you’ve got to try to blend them in with the right players. I don’t know if I want to put all three rookies in there together.”

One thing’s for certain, though, and that’s Wall will be heavily involved regardless of who else is on the court. The face of the franchise immediately after being drafted, Wall averaged 8.3 assists per game last season, leading rookies in total assists. He also led rookies in steals.

If there was a deficiency in Wall’s game, it was shooting, so the MVP of last year’s rookie challenge spent a good portion of the offseason as well as training camp working on his form. Wall shot 41 percent last season and just below 30 percent from three-point range.

“I became a better shooter,” Wall said emphatically. “Throughout training camp I’ve been working on going under screens, and I’ve just been making jump shots. That’s the main thing I’ve been working on throughout the whole summer to make sure I’m prepared for the season.”